Jessica H.
Internship Program: Unpaid Internship
Company/Type: Kyushu Gaigo College
Nationality: German
Again a new Intern will be introduced. Today’s intern Jessica from Germany looks after preschool children in Kyushu Gaigo College.
Why did you choose Asahi Nihongo?
I found Asahi Nihongo thanks to a travel agency. They work together with Asahi and helped organize my internship.
Why did you pick this internship?
I am studying English at a German university. To gain my bachelor’s degree I have to do an internship. As I want to be become an English teacher in the future, an English school would be a perfect place for such an internship. Moreover, I wanted to do something extraordinary. I am interested in Japanese culture and have many Japanese friends, so they just recommended me to go to Japan and teach there. Because I was really interested in how Japanese schools teach English, I thought to myself: Yes, going to Japan is a cool idea.
What were your tasks?
It is summer school now. Summer school is a bit different of the normal school lessons. We normally have a so-called “activity time” from 1 pm to 4 pm. At this time, we planning short trips to a museum or park or just sit together and make things like for example traditional Japanese fans. From 4 pm to 6 pm, I am working as a teaching assistant in a normal English class. The lessons are a bit stricter than the ones earlier that day. The children have to learn Grammar or certain phrases they can for example use when playing a card game. After the summer school I will work as a teaching assistant all the time.
Were there any (cultural) problems you had to overcome during your internship?
There weren’t any problems during my internship. But when I came to Japan, I was overwhelmed by the three different writing systems.
What do you like the most about your internship?
The thing I like the most is that the school is intercultural. We have so many English teachers from different countries. Everyone is really nice and I really love to work with the children. It is so great to see the differences between an English school in America and one in Japan.
And how do you like Fukuoka?
Fukuoka is a nice green place with a lot of parks. That’s why it is not so polluted like other big cities in Japan. There’s is also a good connection to other cities. You can easily go to Kyushu or even Osaka or Tokyo with the shinkansen. In Addition, the ramen here is very delicious.
Do you have any tips or recommendations for people who might want to do an internship?
What you really need is an open-mind. If you are going to another country with different views on certain things, you should not be to quick to judge. Just be open for anything new.
Program: Unpaid Internship
http://www.japanese-school-asahi.com/
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