Blake Harris is both a student in Linguapolis’ Dutch Preparatory One-Year Programme and an intern with its Academic English team this spring. Blake is currently completing a Master in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MTESOL) at Arizona State University (ASU). The final part of his master, an internship in an English teaching context, coincides with his first year as a student in the Dutch preparatory programme. Both programmes play an important role in Blake’s future plans: studying at UAntwerp and a career in English teaching.
Blake: "During the pandemic, my local school back in the States was struggling to find teachers. So, I put my background and qualifications in laboratory science into practice and stepped up to teach secondary school science. This meant I taught students who were non-native English speakers. That experience ignited a passion in me to pursue educational studies and therefore change my career field. The MTESOL at ASU involves an internship related to English teaching and testing. So, In the summer, I contacted Linguapolis, where I was already planning to take the Dutch Preparatory One-Year Programme , to ask whether I could do my internship with their Academic English team. Zoë, the team co-ordinator, approved and I’ve become a member of the team this semester to carry out my 150-hour internship. I’m now involved in a wide range of activities, from testing students and lecturers to the ACE workshops for UAntwerp students.
One of my favourite parts of this experience is the opportunity to practise Dutch and use it as both a social and working language together with English. I enjoy studying Dutch because it brings me closer to the family and community I‘ve made in Belgium. As a student of the Dutch Preparatory One-Year Programme, I couldn’t wish for a better way to practise what we’re learning in the classes in real life.
Next year, I want to study linguistics at UAntwerp, which means I need level C1 in Dutch. This isn’t an easy task, but Linguapolis offers many opportunities to use the language, from museum trips, going to see Dutch language films, and even book clubs. I’m also amazed that in a matter of months our group knowledge of Dutch is now higher than our group knowledge of English. This makes it really exciting to have conversations and to make new friends through Dutch.
My experience in the Dutch Preparatory One-Year Programme has also influenced my teaching philosophy. One of the teaching principles supported by modern research is the strong relationship between language and culture. Immersion in culture is present in all elements of the Dutch courses. What’s more, Linguapolis teachers use a variety of video, audio and texts in their lessons. What’s great is that they use authentic and recent content. They also use a combination of group, independent and one-on-one activities. In my Academic English internship, I see these same principles being used. I’ve now met quite a few Linguapolis Dutch and English teachers, and it’s great to learn from them, because effective teaching practices go beyond individual languages. Seeing firsthand their skills and enthusiasm has made me even more determined to be a great teacher!"
Zoë: "Blake's internship application came at an ideal time for the Linguapolis Academic English team: the Interuniversity Testing Consortium (IUTC) had plans to develop sample tests with feedback for the Interuniversity Test of Academic English (ITACE), just like with the Interuniversity Language Test of Dutch for Non-native Speakers (ITNA). However, there’s already another huge project ahead for us this year: transferring all tests to a new platform. Thanks to Blake's help with the sample tests, we’ll manage to get both projects done by next academic year. His fresh perspective, as someone who’s just completed a didactic training course and is currently studying a language himself, is a bonus.
During his internship, Blake is also observing some of our new ACE workshops, which offer Academic English language support to UAntwerp students. This is interesting for him because it gives him a chance to see Linguapolis' didactic approach in action, in addition to his own classes in the Dutch Preparatory One-year Programme. For us as a team, Blake's feedback on the ACE workshops from the student's point of view is also particularly valuable with a view to evaluating and optimising the ACE offer.
So Blake's internship is a textbook example of a win-win situation and perfect timing. Besides, it’s also just nice to have Blake as an office and lunch colleague. Both in terms of approach and personality, he fits perfectly into the team!"
