Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Archives - Page 6 of 6

Time is Liquid, Time is Gold…Time is Liquid Gold

September 14, 2015

Samantha Kay Kobs, 2014-2015, Fulbright ETA to South Africa - 2

Samantha Kay Kobs. 2014-2015, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to South Africa, works with students in an after school English club that she and Fulbright partner Meia Geddes created at their school in Bloemfontein, South Africa. These games, provided by the Office of English Language Programs, help students improve their English speaking skills by prompting them to answer a variety of questions about themselves and the world around them (Photo Credit: Meia Geddes, 2015 Fulbright English Teaching Assistant placed here with me in Bloemfontein, South Africa).

The bell rings. Moments later, I hear the shuffling of 1,300 pairs of shoes as I brace myself for yet another lunch break spent working in the library; our library—the one at Dr. Blok Secondary School in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The one that my Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) partner and I just reopened after six years of being locked up behind giant iron bars.

As a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in South Africa, I’ve had many responsibilities: helping teachers, creating after school clubs, and reaching out to businesses for sponsorships. I’ve also spent plenty of time reestablishing the school library that was seemingly forgotten. Abandoned. Thousands of books—mostly outdated, torn covers, and enough dust to cause some serious asthma attacks—had to be cleaned and organized in a logical manner. Then came teaching my students the absolute basics of library etiquette. This has been exasperating to say the least, but I often remind myself that my students do not mean to disorganize with their frantic book grabbing—they are simply enjoying the privileges of a library for the first time in their lives. Challenges aside, I love what I do, but sometimes it’s difficult to see the impact that you’re having when you’re so caught up in the busyness of it all.

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U.S. Fulbright

Falling in Love with the Inferno: Adjusting to Life in Piauí

September 10, 2015

Ilana Robbins Gross, 2012-2013, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Brazil (second from right), visiting her students’ hometown in rural Piauí, Brazil – one of the many examples she experienced of people opening up their homes to her

Teresina, a small capital in the almost forgotten state of Piauí in Brazil, is known with affection, pride, and frustration as “the Inferno,” both for its intense heat and historic lack of opportunities.

Despite the roughly one million people who live in the greater metropolitan area, Teresina feels like a small town: everyone knows everyone or at least they know your people. A native New Yorker, I landed in Piauí as a Fulbright English Language Teaching Assistant (ETA), felt the heat (joy!), saw the mainly empty streets (panic), watched as people slowly ducked from shady sliver to shady sliver (behavior I was soon to adopt) and asked myself what the inferno was I going to do for the next nine months?

Once I had gotten over the initial shock, (mostly) adjusted to the heat, and accepted that people would stare at me no matter what I did since for many I was the first foreigner they had ever seen, I set about the business of becoming part of the community and falling in love with a city largely forgotten even by other Brazilians.

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U.S. Fulbright

Learning about Home—from Abroad

September 7, 2015

Brandon Tensley (far right), 2012-2013, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Germany, with one of his fifth grade classes at Realschule Stadtmitte in Mülheim an der Ruhr

Most of the time, I’d hear them before I’d see them.

“Are you the teacher from America?”

I’d spin around, and there’d be a knot of students, their shyness trumped by their curiosity, hungry to confirm the rumor floating around about an Ausländer—foreigner—on campus.

“That’s me,” I’d say, laughing. “And who are you?”

But they’d rarely be interested in talking. A moment later, I’d have about a dozen tiny fists, clutching bits of paper, waving in my face.

“Your autograph!” they’d demand. I’d comply, and they’d make off with their new bounty.

When I first boarded a plane to Germany, where I spent 10 months as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant at Realschule Stadtmitte in Mülheim an der Ruhr, I wanted to learn more about this country that stands among Europe’s largest receivers of migrants, who spill across its borders from almost every corner of the globe. But what I really wanted to learn, I now realize, was a bit more selfish. I wanted to learn what it is about Germany that attracts a migrant like me, a black man from the American South.

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U.S. Fulbright

Confidence in the Face of Fear: Reflections from a Current Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Malaysia

August 20, 2015

Akirah Crawford, 2014-2015, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Malaysia (third from right), preps her students for the annual Debate Competition. They are the opposition, running up against the government!

My experience thus far as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) at SMK Tan Sri Abdul Aziz secondary school in Malaysia has truly opened my eyes to the importance of cultural exchange for building and maintaining lasting relationships with other countries. I am also realizing the importance of English not merely as a language but also an avenue to opportunity. At times it is clear that my students lack motivation when speaking English, not only because they are uncomfortable speaking it but also because they are unsure of its relevance to their lives. This is where I come in! As an ETA, I like to think of myself as the “Motivator” or “Confidence Queen.” Motivating my students to utilize their newly acquired skills as a means of social empowerment made me realize that my students are powerful in ways in which they do not always recognize themselves.

One of my most rewarding moments thus far was my school’s participation in the English-speaking Debate Competition. We were the opposition going up against the government on the issue that international schools hamper nation building. My students panicked upon realizing their position was the opposition. I remember one student saying, “Teacher, who is going to believe us? We are going up against the government you know.” I chuckled at this remark while immediately dispelling his conceived notions of doubt. “We are going to win,” I said and he believed me. It was in that moment that a seed was planted. On the ride to the competition I had students silently repeat to themselves affirmations including: “I am the best,” “We will win” and “I am the best English speaking student in all of Perak.” I saw their nervous energy transform into a burning desire to win. After much doubt from others and only one day to prepare, my students surprised themselves and their competition! They blew the competitors out of water! Everyone was amazed by how eloquently they presented their arguments in English.

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U.S. Fulbright

A World of Imagination

August 10, 2015

Julie Baer, 2011-2012, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Malaysia (third from left) with students engaged in one of their final Imagination Nation projects involving building moon landers which protect eggs dropped from the third floor of a building

Every Wednesday afternoon at SK Seri Bunian, a small elementary school in Pontian, Malaysia, my English Language club Imagination Nation, gathered together to delve into the world of our imaginations. My students walked into the classroom and picked up their passports which “permit the citizens of the Imagination Nation to pass without delay or hindrance, to any place as far and wide as their imagination will take them.” We transformed into robots and then became the engineers who created them. We flew around the world, saw how pollution and plastics harm our Earth, and then made recycling boxes to keep our school clean; we Skyped with a NASA Astronaut Educator Diane Sartore and made moon-landing devices. But when the clock struck 1:30 p.m., we were back in Seri Bunian.

To me, being a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) was much more than practicing sentence structure with my students. My English Language club and other school activities sought to challenge my students to think creatively. I wanted my students to harness their imagination, work determinedly to achieve their dreams, and turn the figments of their imagination into reality.

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U.S. Fulbright

Chica in Costa Rica

August 3, 2015

Taylor Bernard, 2012-2013, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Costa Rica (center), with her host niece and nephew, Maria Fernanda and Esteban

My experience as a Fulbright English Language Teaching Assistant (ETA) in Costa Rica was nothing short of amazing. Upon my arrival in February of 2012, I knew instantly that the next 10 months would change my life forever. I served as an ETA at La Universidad Nacional in the rural city of Heredia. I assisted in over five different classes on subjects such as grammar, creative writing, and North American culture. A huge part of my job was assisting in student development in actually learning the English language. I participated in study groups, oral discussions/presentations, and even practiced with students through song! During my stay in Heredia, I also took advantage of staying with a Costa Rican family as an exchange student. It was an awesome experience as I was able to interact with natives of my host country and completely immerse myself in Costa Rican culture. My host mother was unbelievably welcoming and leaving her after my stay was one of the hardest things I have ever done. The 10 months spent in one of the most traveled countries in Central America were some of the most amazing months I have ever experienced.

Outside of assistant teaching, I was able to lead many class discussions and give presentations on several topics related to both North American culture and also different topics of choice. With a research interest in Afro-Hispanic culture and identity, I took the liberty of introducing the topic of “racism in Latin America”. With the help of the great Afro-Hispanic author Quince Duncan, Costa Rica’s first Afro-Caribbean writer in the Spanish language, I was able to successfully give a presentation on the topic (for the first time ever) at the university and open an intense discussion regarding racism in Central America. I was able to discuss the correlation between racism in Latin America and the institutionalized racism that exists even today in the United States. For me, presenting on this particular topic was the most memorable and influential experience as it allowed for the discussion of a topic otherwise considered “taboo” in Latin America. Seeing the emotion in my students’ eyes and reading their reflections on the topic was more gratifying than anything.

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