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 13 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