Preparatory Seminar

Yesterday, I went to Zurich for the LAP preparatory seminar. It lasted from 9:15 to 17:30 and I found it really helpful and interesting!


The seminar was organised in two parts: Workshop I and Workshop II. The representative from the British Council, Harriet, presented the first workshop, which was about the school system in England and about administrative stuff. We could also ask questions to previous assistants, which was very helpful!

The second workshop was presented by a French teacher, who told us about the teaching of French as a foreign language. She gave us useful advice and Internet links, as well as good youth magazines' titles. We also had to prepare an oral lesson in small groups and then talk about it with the whole "class". Then again, we could talk with the previous assistants, and it made the whole thing more genuine and concrete =) They told us that we certainly would not get to talk much about Switzerland, as the French courses there are mainly based on French culture of France. That's a good thing to know!

I got to meet a lot of nice people. French assistants in the UK, in Germany and in Austria, and German assistants in the UK and in France. Really nice people. And I learned a lot of things too! Now I start feeling as a true French language assistant! =)

Hellow Cambridgeshire!

So this is it guys!

My mentor teacher sent me an email on Wednesday to offer me a position at Soham Village College and City of Ely Community College, Cambridgeshire, England! Ok, what you can see here is the Cambridge University escutcheon, but hey, Ely is only 15 minutes away from Cambridge by train so yeah, it's almost Cambridge =D Which is great, really. I love Cambridge and knowing that I'll be able to spend everyday there if I want to makes me feel really truly and deeply happy =)

But I won't actually teach in Cambridge. I will be in a school in Ely and in another in Soham, which is just next to Ely. You have seen some pictures of Ely already. It is said to be a really beautiful city (it is considered a city, even though it only has about 15'000 inhabitants) and its cathedral is one of the most beautiful in England. So yeah. I'm pretty much looking forward to discovering this small city (Wikipedia told me it's the third smallest city in England mwa ha ha). What about Soham... I have to admit that I got very excited about Ely and I didn't really look for much information about Soham, but I know it's a small town of about 9000 inhabitants.

Here is a map of the county of Cambridgeshire, so you can situate where I'm gonna be spending next year!

Ok, now, what about my schools? I will be working in two colleges. My main school is Soham Village College, which looks a bit like Hogwarts; it is organised in Houses and pupils wear uniforms and ties (well that is the case in many English schools actually, but anyway). As I have understood, it is a language school for 11 to 16 year old pupils. It looks lovely! And I really love the fact that there are Houses haha!

And my other school is City of Ely Community College, which doesn't look like Hogwarts haha. It looks more modern and less picturesque and pupils' uniforms are less... Harry Potterish. They have theatre classes, art classes, sport classes, which is great, because as a language assistant, I am allowed to follow any course I want in my school/s! =D I think the pupils will be about the same age as at Soham Village, though I am not sure!

I guess I won't be allowed to wear jeans to teach. Hem. I don't know yet but I'm like 98% sure. My mentor teacher said she would send me a "formal offer letter" with more information; I should get it soon. She looks nice, though it's a bit hard to tell only from two emails ^^.

I have started looking for an accommodation in Ely. Maybe my main school will help me, maybe not. I WANT to be with English people, because I want to learn how to live like the English and because I want to improve my English!

To finish this oh so interesting article, here are some more pictures of Ely!

Destination: East Anglia!

Good evening people!!

Yes, you've read correctly! East Anglia! I've received the email from the British Council tonight! My provisional allocation is region 14, namely, East Anglia (and even more precisely, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk)!! In my application form, I did mention Cambridge, but I insisted on Liverpool, thinking there was no way I could be in/near Cambridge! And hey! I'll be near Cambridge! I don't know the exact city/town yet. The waiting nightmare is not finished yet haha but that's a step forward anyway and I am really happy and really excited about region 14!!

Here it is:


My region is in green:


Gosh, I'll have to answer my school/s IMMEDIATELY! But the problem is that I'm gonna be in the USA from the 10th of July to the 10th of August hem hem hem. I have warned the wbz cps already, but still, I hope there won't be any problems...

But let's not think about that now. East Anglia. It's a nice name, don't you think? Well I've seen some pictures on Google image and it does look nice. Here is some information I found on Wikipedia (thank you Wikipedia!):

~ Much of the area is characterised by its flatness, partly consisting of fenland (a fen is a type of wetland fed by surface water, or groundwater, or both) and reclaimed marshland (in geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood), though much of Suffolk and Norfolk is gently rolling hills. Well isn't that great! Switzerland is not flat, my town is surrounded by mountains! I'll discover flatness yay!!

~ The principal East Anglian cities include Norwich (informally regarded by some as the region's capital, although the East of England Regional Assembly is seated in Bury St. Edmunds), Peterborough and Cambridge. Ipswich, and Huntingdon are technically towns, although Ely is also a city. Well now I know where the Great Exploration of Briton's Land will start!

~ Some parts of the region are classified as semi-arid due to their exceptionally low rainfall. Isn't that interesting? Semi-arid? Semi-ARID? Wikipedia, are you sure? Anyway, it means that I won't get as much rain than if I had ended up in Liverpool hahaha.

~ The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads form a network of waterways between Norwich and the coast and are popular for recreational boating. Cool!! I like water a lot!

~ The Royal Air Force constructed many airfields here during the Second World War and a few of these remain in use. One, near Norwich, has become Norwich International Airport. Good to know!

And here are some pictures of the cities listed above:

Norwich:

Bury St. Edmunds:

Peterborough:


Cambridge (I know it like the back of my hand hehe):


Ipswich:


Huntingdon:


Ely:

I am really really really excited about region 14. I don't know where I'll end up exactly, but I'm looking forward to knowing! =)

Preparatory Seminar: Invitation and Program

We're in June, yes, and I thought I'd only write one stupid post about that stupid fact, but NO!! Because when I came home just an hour ago, my mum told me I'd received something from the wbz cps concerning the LAP! Oh joy! But, alas, it was "only" the invitation and program of the preparatory seminar that will take place in Zürich, on the 17th of June... But anyway, it's better than nothing and I'm looking forward to it!

Here is the program ladies and gentlemen!

09.15-10.00 ~~ Arrival, administration, refreshments

10.00 ~~ Welcoming / seminar objectives

Introduction and organisation

10.15-12.30 ~~ WORKSHOP I

Language assistants to the UK

Introduction to the school system

The role of the language assistant

Organisation and administration on arrival

(travel, immigration, tax, health
and social security, pay)

12.45 ~~ Lunch at restaurant

14.00-17.00 ~~ WORKSHOP II

FFL (French as a foreign language)
in the UK, Germany and Austria

"The teaching of FFL in the UK and

in the German-speaking countries"

17.30 ~~ End of the seminar

Tah dah! Doesn't it sound exciting? =D Well it does to me!

We're in June!

Dear friends,

Here's just a totally useless post to say - in case you didn't know - that we're finally in June!!! June. June. June. Doesn't it sound nice and perfect? Well I think so. The email-checking madness has started!! When will I get some news from the British Council? Some people already got their allocation... I'm jealous of those people. I. WANT. TO. KNOW. Patience patience... Patience is the best of all virtues, as we say in French. Well in that case, I am not virtuous... too bad...