Teaching gave me purpose
Luke Anderson,
Masters in languages
With a Masters in applied translation studies, I set out on a career with a language services company. I’ve always enjoyed sharing my knowledge of languages, so teaching was a natural step. Using my language skills was a key to my role, but it didn’t provide opportunities for interaction.
I opted for a school-led route into teaching to get qualified, which allowed me to be based in a school from the very start of training. It gave me more time to put the theory I learnt at a university into practice.
I decided it wasn’t something I could see myself doing in the long term, as there was no sense of purpose. Teaching, for this reason, has so far provided this in spades!
This style of training is very much a hands-on approach to learning to teach, with the focus on the practicalities in the classroom. It also helps pupils to accept you as a member of staff from the beginning instead of an outsider part-way through term.
I was also supported by a university, which I attended once a week, where we learnt the pedagogy to support classroom experiences. Interacting with lots of different people – both children and adults – and the varied work from beginners to advanced level.
I got valuable school experience which meant I could observe lessons in a school and talk to teachers. I really recommend doing this as it will help you know if you would actually be able to cope with a group of children!
