Sandra Zagon, Teachers of English as a Second/Foreign Language, Class of 2011

Posted on Friday, April 29th, 2011

Sandra Zagon is a graduate of the One-Year Teachers of English as a Second/Foreign Language (TESL) Program.

I spent three weeks teaching English at the Lycée Jacques Feyder in Epinay-sur- Seine, a suburb in the north of Paris. I worked primarily with students preparing their “Brevet de Technicien Supérieur d’Animation du Tourisme Local”, helping them with speaking and writing. A very challenging but rewarding experience indeed, one that might serve as a model for Algonquin’s International Marketing, Recruitment and Student Services at the International Education Centre and the Teaching as a Second Language Program with the Lycée.

Challenging because I got little direction and had no texts to work from and rewarding because I succeeded in helping the students prepare for their real-world tasks in English, by using my own creative skills and initiative in developing lessons and activities which were directly related to the students’ learning requirements, and this from the very first day to the last day at the school. Equipped with the knowledge I had already gained in the TESL course I was enrolled in at Algonquin and aided by some of my TESL textbooks which I fortunately brought with me, I eagerly offered my TESL services to any and all, students and teachers alike, so that they took full advantage of my limited time among them.

Because the students I worked with are learning primarily from real-world work experience and because one of these situations occurred after the first week I arrived at the school, I was able to assist them to prepare for that experience and as importantly, to learn from that experience and to do so in English. Finally, needless to say, working on the outskirts of Paris afforded me the opportunity to visit one of my favourite cities in the world. A win-win for all concerned.

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