A primary school's experience
Francis Askew Primary School hosted a teacher from Germany in December 2014 as part of the 'Host a Teacher' programme.
Despite German not being taught at the school, the visiting teacher brought German language and culture to every class in the school and shared her teaching experience with staff, many of whom plan to incorporate her ideas into their lessons.
"German is not taught in our school so Martina enriched the children's language skills by introducing them to various greetings and terms." (UK coordinating teacher)
And it was not just the UK school that benefited. Through in-depth discussions with staff and INSET training, the visiting teacher learnt a great deal about the way reading is taught in the UK and how technology is used in lessons.
"Martina was interested in our use of the interactive white boards as she had never seen them before." (UK coordinating teacher)
The visiting teacher was also impressed by the way children's work was brightly displayed throughout the school to support learning - something which she planned to incorporate into her own classroom upon her return to Germany.
Pupils were so enthusiastic when learning about daily life for children in Germany, that both schools wish to develop their link, and plan to use Skype to enable the children to communicate and learn about each other's cultures.
Top tips from Francis Askew Primary School
- Make good use of emails so that everything can be arranged smoothly
- Create an action plan of events before the visit
- Set up Skype so that you can introduce pupils from both schools
