STUDENT
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I have been a student at Kiel University for several years now and finished my Bachelor’s degree last fall, 2018. During my studies, there have been many seminars, classes and lectures, some of which I attended with great pleasure, eager to learn more about the course’s contents, some others bored me so much that I questioned the German educational system more than once. Often I wondered how we can be expected to become good teachers if teaching is not an active part of our studies, only a mere theoretical framework. That is why I enjoy classes given by actual teachers the most because I feel that they have the greatest impact on me as a future teacher. Aside from classes on teaching, I am especially keen on learning more about literature, culture and the use of language in cultural contexts. I find it thrilling to analyse literature, film and music and to develop an ear for different accents within a language – the realm of languages has always fascinated me.
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I consider myself a vivid learner under the right circumstances, meaning that I learn best when I feel activated through student involvement, discussions, interactive tools and the possibility to think outside the box. Teacher-centered classes have always been challenging for me because if I don’t have to actively take part in a class, my mind often wanders which makes it hard for me to follow lectures. On the other hand, I am inspired by classes that open new horizons and that take current topics in politics and society into account. What bothers me most is to simply repeat what has been taught for many years without questioning it or putting it into context. It has to make sense to me to learn something, otherwise I often feel like I am wasting my time which might also be why I am more of a practical than a theoretical learner. Therefore, I have always been drawn to other activities outside university. Aside from a job to pay the bills, I do voluntary work for the student newspaper as well as the student organization Weitblick, focusing on social, educational and NGO work. Looking back at the past years, I can only emphasize how much I value these learning opportunities. Through these jobs and voluntary work, I have met inspiring people from all different kinds of fields, attended enriching and interesting seminars and acquired many personal as well as professional skills, all of which I do not want to miss in my life. Through these activities I have also met many of my close friends. I feel that when talking about learning, we often jump to school, university and education, when – in my mind – the people that surround us play a very important role in our learning processes. I consider my friends and family an integral part of many of my learning processes because they challenge my views and vice versa, enrich my life with new topics, opinions and people and have often inspired many of my decisions.
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LEARNER
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TEACHER
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My wish to become a teacher was inspired by my first teacher in primary school, the woman who taught me how to read and write, who always had a big smile and a warm heart and made everyone of us feel cared for. The idea of teaching has stuck with me ever since and, most importantly, it always fit my personality well. This is why after finishing school, I decided to study to become a teacher of languages. Since this idea had been with me for so long, I didn’t even question it anymore and just thought of it as a job that fit me. When I was asked to think about why I want to become a teacher in my first pedagogy class at university, I thought back to that first teacher of mine as well as a few other important teaching figures I met in high school, and I realized that it wasn’t only that I enjoyed teaching, it was also the fact that I could be someone inspiring to young people; that I could be able to teach more than just a language. I want my students to understand more than vocabulary and grammar; I wish to teach the culture behind a language and encourage students to take this as an opportunity of reflection about their own culture and language so that ultimately it makes sense to them to learn something new.
For more on my teaching experiences, please click here. |
AS OF RIGHT NOW, I EXPECT PROPIC TO BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO... |
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