Онлайн-занятия с преподавателем из США Лорен Андерсон
На базе кафедры романо-германской филологии и Информационно-образовательного центра английского языка и культуры в 2020–2021 учебном году регулярно проходят онлайн-занятия студентов 4 курса факультета иностранных языков с преподавателем из США Лорен Андерсон. Лорен — профессиональный опытный преподаватель-методист, который должен был приехать для работы в нашем университете в рамках программы академического обмена English Fellow. Однако ввиду неблагоприятной эпидемиологической обстановки было решено проводить занятия дистанционно.
Лорен Андерсон имеет богатый опыт работы в качестве преподавателя английского и испанского языков в США и других странах мира (Horizons Elementary, Appleton Area School District, WI, Rome Corners Intermediate School, Oregon, WI, Lakes International Language Academy, Forest Lake, MN). Она работала не только со студентами, но и с преподавателями на курсах повышения квалификации и переподготовки (Janet Berry Elementary, Appleton Area School District, WI, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, WI). С августа 2019 года по март 2020 года Лорен Андерсон преподавала курс прикладной лингвистики для магистрантов в Латвии (University of Latvia) по программе English Fellow.
На занятиях под руководством Лорен студенты нашего университета не только общаются на иностранном языке, но и одновременно изучают различные методы преподавания иностранного языка, что напрямую связано с их будущей профессией. Студенты имеют возможность проявить себя и использовать все свои знания иностранного языка при общении с носителем, что является ценной практикой на пути их профессионального становления.
Мы взяли небольшое интервью у Лорен Андерсон и узнали о ее впечатлениях от совместной работы.
— How did you come to teach at Mogilev?
I have my Master’s Degree in Second Language Acquisition and have been teaching Spanish and English in the U. S. for 15 years. I have experience at all levels, from primary school to higher education. Last year, I worked for the U. S. Embassy in Riga, Latvia as the English Language Fellow. I taught at Latvijas Universitate (and continue to teach there virtually this semester as well), and I worked with the Ministry of Education in the Skola 2030 project. The U. S. Embassy in Minsk asked me to continue as a Virtual English Language Fellow teaching a methodology class with the Philology Department in Mogilev for the fall semester. I am also the Assistant Professor of Developmental Education at National Louis University in Chicago, Illinois.
— What was your first impression of your classes?
I was excited to work with my collaborating partner, Diana. She really worked to set the situation up and was willing to experiment until we found a good setup for a virtual teacher. The students seemed really eager to learn and participate, and I was impressed with their English skills. After the initial lectures, the students have taken over the class to participate in a learning through teaching experience. I have enjoyed hearing the students’ ideas for their future English teaching careers!
— What have the challenges been?
The virtual environment definitely presents challenges. I am very grateful that I can continue with my work here and be connected to teachers of English around the world. We have been using Zoom, which allows me to share presentations and live video feed with the students. At times, it is hard to hear. When the students speak, the audio is only captured by the computer microphone so it can be hard to hear anyone except the person closest to the mic. I am not sure if they can always hear me. So far we haven’t had any troubles with internet connection, but that might be because it is very early in the morning here in the U. S. when we meet. As the internet traffic increases during the day, lag time can be a problem. On a positive note, when students have to miss class they can still join directly to our Zoom class. When students are on their own computers, it actually increases the participation possibilities.
— What are you looking forward to?
I am hoping to interact with other professors when I present on teaching languages in the U. S. in higher education. During international week, November 16th, I will present on life on the American campus for international students and I think the students will enjoy that. Diana and I are working on organizing a debate so that my American students can interact with my students in Mogilev! Finally, the students will get a chance to teach a demonstration lesson. I can’t wait to see how they put everything they have learned about methodology together. I always relish the chance to play the student in the class of one of my students!
Смоляк Диана Алексеевна
руководитель информационно-образовательного центра
английского языка и культуры
