Having successfully mastered your initial pedagogical internship (“Allgemeines Schulpraktikum”), the next step is a subject-specific programme for future teachers of English. You will focus on the necessities of the syllabus but also on recognised standards, e.g. the Common European Framework and educational standards established across Germany (“Bildungsstandards”).
The course is designed to help you make the transition from your university-based view on teaching to actually mastering the complex role of a classroom practitioner.
Since your internship is likely to take place in Lower Saxony, the most recent version of the Core Curriculum (2016) will be explored and applied to the planning process of units of work and individual lessons. Participants are expected to critically analyse and develop complex tasks but also come up with short exercises and practice sessions as a means to foster language learning. Different teaching resources and textbooks will be studied against the backdrop of scientific insights into the subject.
Lesson planning and creating units of work will be an integral part of the preparation for the upcoming field experience. A critical reflection of English lessons observed and taught during the initial pedagogical internship will serve as a basis for reflective lesson planning.
A hands-on approach to developing key professional skills therefore involves
• preparing and planning lessons and units of work,
• realistic target setting
• administrative skills such as reporting and recording,
• assessment / testing and
• planning for differentiation.
By the end of the course you should be familiar with key requirements of lesson planning and teaching as well as the underlying principles of language learning.