Entry #8 - Overall Reflection

This post is intended to showcase your final reflections about your internship experience. Use it to demonstrate your process, progress and growth as a language learner. How have you changed through the internship experience? 

Goals

Go back and read Entry #1. Did you attain the goals you had set at the beginning of the intership? Why or why not? Overall, what helped you to achieve your goals? What barriers were in place? 

Strategies 

Looking back, which language learning strategies did you use from the article, Profile of a Successful Language Learner? Which strategies worked for you? Which strategies did you abandon? How will you continue to use these strategies in your life now?   

Language

How has your level of English improved? In which areas do you notice the most difference (grammar, vocabulary, language level, structure of ideas, fluency, accuracy, pronunciation, etc)? What was the most challenging for you? What did you find easy?

Growth

What have you learned about yourself through this experience? What has it taught you about your strengths and weaknesses? How has it changed your perception of anglophone culture? What will you take away with you? 

The internship 

What did you gain from this experience? If you had to do it over again, what would you do differently?   

Gratitude

How did you thank your host? What did you write in your thank you note or card. You can type the text here. 

The placement 

Would you recommend this internship placement to another student? Why or why not?

Blog entries 6, 7 & 8 are due Thursday, November 28 by 9pm. 

** Even if you still have hours left to complete, you are expected to write post 8 about your internship up until now. 

Entry #7: Practice makes perfect

In this post, compile some examples of dialogue that you have been witness to in your internship. 

Choose 2 of the following, and write about your experience. Don't forget to explain what you have learned from these examples. What conclusions can you draw?

1. Write out a dialogue where you made mistakes and another to show how you would avoid those mistakes in the future. Give the context of when and where this happened.

Phone interaction

Me: Hi Mister

Man: Excuse me, hello?

Me: Hi, I am calling to tell you about the party. 

Man: Who is this?

Me: Oh, I am a stagiare ...uh...intern from The Lasalle Community Centre.

Man: Oh, hello. And what party is this?

Me: The Christmas party on twenty-one December. Can you come?

Man: I will see. Thank you. (hangs up)

What I would say in the future

Me: Good afternoon, Sir. 

Man: Hello.

Me: I am sorry to bother you, but I am calling to invite you to our annual holiday party.

Man: Oh, thank you. When is it?

Me: It will take place next week, on Friday, December 21st.

Man: I will check my calendar and get back to you.

Me: Great. We'll be very happy to see you if you can make it. 

Man: Thanks for calling. 

2. Write out a dialogue to demonstrate an Ah-ha! moment where you realized something about language. Explain what happened and what you learned.

                 e.g. 

3. Write out part of a formal dialogue that you heard or participated in during your internship. What makes this conversation formal? What words or structures are formal? (e.g. If you are doing telephone work, write your script)

4. Write out part of an informal dialogue that you heard or participated in during your internship. What makes this conversation informal? What words or structures are informal? (e.g. If you interact with people your own age or hear your supervisor speak with a friend)

Note: Do not only provide the dialogue or example, make sure that you explain why you chose this dialogue and especially what you have learned from these experiences. 

Entry #6: Breaking it down

In your sixth blog entry:

It is very important that you demonstrate your language learning. Remember, this is an English course. You must give as many concrete examples as you can. For vocabulary, don’t simply write the new words you’ve heard. Explain the context where you heard these words, what they mean and how you will remember them and you may use them in the future.

How has your English improved so far during your internship?

Listening Comprehension

Is it easier for you to understand the people you work with at your internship than it was in the beginning? How has this changed? What strategies do you use to make sure that you understand the instructions you are given? Give examples.

Accent

Has your English accent changed at all during your internship? Are there words / phrases that are easier for you to say now? Have you learned new ways to pronounce words and vowels? Have you had any misunderstandings based on pronunciation? Are there words that you still struggle with? Do you notice different positions in your mouth when you speak? Give examples.

Fluency

Have you become more fluent in English? Which subjects are easier for you to talk about? Which subjects still cause you hesitation? What strategies have you used to become more fluent? Give examples.

Humour

What have you noticed about English humour? Give an example of a joke or funny situation that you understood. Give and example of a joke or funny situation that you didn’t undertand. How is English humour different from French humour? 

Accuracy

Have you made an attempt to speak more accurately? Or is your main goal fluency? Have you improved your language accuracy? e.g. Remembering to pronounce the 's' after plural nouns, or the third person simple present; pronouncing 'ed' after regular past tense verbs, as /t/, /d/ or /id/. Have you made any observations about language structures, grammar, questions word order, word endings or verb tenses in English?

New words, expressions or structures

Where did you hear/see this language? What was the context? What does it mean? How will it be useful to you in the future?