A Valuable Summer Internship Experience in HK

Ms Crystal Chen Jialu, Year 2 Student from the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Language Studies and Bachelor of Education (Honours) (English Language) in 2024/25

In an internship programme last summer, I gained many experiences I could not learn directly from textbooks. The following is my reflection on this one-month programme.

The first thing I mastered was the school’s regulations. Unlike schools in mainland China, my host school had stricter requirements, particularly regarding the dress code of teachers and diverse responsibilities. Although I initially felt a bit confused, I gradually realised that teachers should act as role models for pupils and guide them to behave at school and in their daily lives. This is especially crucial for primary school pupils, where cultivating good habits is the first step.

Besides, through class observation, I learned how to teach young children. Unlike secondary school students, class activities considerably raise pupils’ interest and catch their attention. Take one of my supervisors’ classes as an example, which was a phonetic class for primary 2 pupils. The teacher played a flashcard game, which helped pupils distinguish similar phonemes and strengthened their memory through visual help.

What impressed me most was the experience of teaching pupils. I had learnt some teaching skills after several opportunities of teaching English to primary one and three pupils. For classroom management strategies, I could handle situations when pupils talked without permission. I also used Educational Television Programmes as teaching material and designed class content around the programmes’ topic. Besides, my classroom language had improved a lot. At first, I felt nervous and had to pause to rephrase my words. Over time, I developed the ability to provide clear, age-appropriate instructions for young learners.

In conclusion, the whole internship was really meaningful, through which I learned some teaching methods and gained an initial impression of the roles of a primary school teacher. This experience gave me valuable insights for my future career.

 

 

 

 

Pupils learn different kinds of technology in an after-class technological activity

 

 

 

 

Pupils showcase their talents and act as judges in a small-scale music competition

 

 

 

 

Students look energetic and enjoy themselves in P.E. lesson