Great experience

The experience was unique because it was something I’d never done before and I wasn’t too sure what I was letting myself into! Therefore this was a good oppurtunity to learn something new and see if it was for me. I learnt a lot of new skills and ideas which has really helped with going forward in a job. However, future participants should be aware that although it’s a fairly laid back course with a friendly atmosphere and lots of support there is also quite a lot of work involved in completing the portfolio so time management is key. A useful tip would be that if you’re completely new to teaching like I was, dont be nervous and assume from the start that you will be bad, once you start you completely forget about anyone else in the room that may be observing and realise that it is a lot easier than expected. It was good that we had teaching experience in two different types of schools, one with around 15-20 students in a class and one with around 40 students. This taught us different types of class management which is a necessity in any sized class. Plus it was good to see and experience a different part of Shanghai.