Мой первый журнал SUNRISE November № 1 2018 | Page 14
PEDAGOGICAL EXPERIENCE
My Experience of Teaching Abroad
Anna Kharlamova
German and English teacher,
Blagoveschensk (Russia)
Can you tell me which things inspire
you? I’m convinced that the majority of people
will answer that it’s travelling – the possibility
to v i s i t d i f fe r e nt p l a c e s a n d to m a ke
acquaintance with a new culture. This article is
dedicated to my experience of living and
working in Germany.
To begin with I’d like to say some words
about the program which I took part in. It’s a
pedagogical exchange program with
Germany (PAD). Young people from different
countries go to Germany to help to teach their
native language. So I was a representative of
the Russian language and culture and worked
at school as an assistant. This program lasts
from October till June (almost the full
academic year).
Luckily I got “a golden ticket” and was
sent to a really great place. It’s a special
language gymnasium “Salmannschule
Schnepfenthal”. They study many languages,
even such as Chinese, Japanese, Arabian,
Indian and so on. It is not typical of an ordinary
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SUNRISE
German school, so I had a unique chance to
live and work not only with German but also
with Chinese and Spanish girls (they were also
assistants).
It is really amazing when you have a
possibility to get into a country of a studied
language. You communicate with native
speakers and absorb the culture on the inside.
For example, holidays. Some words about
Christmas: I can hardly describe my
admiration. Germany and the whole Europe
turn into a fairy-tale: beautiful Christmas
markets with fir-trees, pyramids,
performances and of course a lot of delicious
traditional food.
One more interesting thing about the
culture is national stereotypes. Some of them I
broke for myself. For instance: German people
are stand-offish, sparing and snobbish. Vice
versa! They are extremely nice, friendly and
hospitable; they always meet you with a wide
smile and want you to be a part of their active
life. Being in Germany I visited a great number
o f i n c r e d i b l e eve nt s, s u c h a s fe s t i va l s,
concer ts, excursions and just places of
interests. And almost all this is thanks to my
new German friends and colleges.
November 2018 №1