Hello everyone !!

Hello everyone !!

It has already been a month since I left Belgium and began my new life in the Netherlands ... I remember at first how scared I was. Now, it has calmed down and I really have put forward my learning. Of course I encountered some difficulty but it is part of the experience and it is needed in one's initiation.

When I first arrived at my new school, I was impressed by its infrastructure and its organisation. This is really something of which Belgian schools should take a leaf out. It really seemed perfect to me, on the surface. It was quite intimidating. But little by little I took notice that this establishment was not that perfect at all. Authority and respect were two mains problems that I have had to cope with. Indeed there were no distance between the teachers and the pupils and this added a difficulty for me because I was not considered as a teacher yet. I was still observing the classes and still assisting 5 teachers. This put me in a rather particulate position.

At the same time, I was teaching little classes of 5 to 10 pupils with whom I especially practised their oral skills. We played games such as role-plays and went on the internet. This was a very interesting research to do because they had to answer a questionnaire through the Internet. As such, it was easier for me to establish my own rules and have the pupils respecting them. It gave me a certain freedom that not all of us can obtain and which I am aware of.

I expect from that experience not only to improve my Dutch (language) but also to learn more about the Dutch culture which is so different from ours and yet so close. I am very lucky to have had the opportunity to realize/carry out such an experience. Moreover, it gave me the possibility to practise my TFE subject ( the suggestopedia) and observe their reaction towards it. That way, I could modify it if necessary and enlarge my knowledge in this field.

Last week, I had an examination session (oral and written). It was very interesting to see how the pupils reacted in such conditions towards us, the teachers. It is a totally different situation, the pupils were extremely stressed out and so was I. I participated to the oral examination and at the end of it, the teacher and I gave them grades. We talked about our decision to be sure of the final grade the pupils got. I was rather suprised because I found myself as stressed out as them. Certainly because I will soon be in the same position as theirs in a few weeks time.

Well, that is pretty much what I could tell you about my experience until now. I hope everything will continue that way because I am enjoying it at the maximum level/at the most. I hope everything is fine for you too.

Take care,