Introduction

My name is Viktoria Becker and over the past eight months I have been working as a
foreign language assistant for German at Cistercian College in Roscrea, Ireland. Since
I am a qualified secondary school teacher for the subjects German and English and I
always wanted to go abroad, the language assistant programme was the perfect
opportunity for me to not only gain personal but also professional experience and
improve my English language competence. I applied for a placement in Ireland as part
of the weltweit unterrichten programme and was delighted to be accepted and
assigned to work at Cistercian College Roscrea.

The school

Cistercian College Roscrea is a private boys’ secondary school which is located in the
grounds of Mount St. Joseph Abbey in Roscrea, a town in County Tipperary in the
Midlands of Ireland. The school is a boarding school with around 250 students from
first to sixth year. As the college places great importance on an international
mindedness, there are many international students from all over the world who are
either staying for one academic year or until the Leaving Certificate.
The school’s mission is to provide a high-quality, holistic education. The teachers are
dedicated and very supportive of the students, offering a lot of additional help and
Saturday tutorials once a month. In addition to its academic programme, Cistercian
College offers a wide range of extracurricular activities, such as sports, debating, music
and community service. Furthermore, there are also weekend activities for the
boarding students. The college places a strong emphasis on rugby, with teams
contesting in the Leinster Schools Rugby Cup for Juniors and Seniors. Due to its
location in the extensive monastery grounds, the school has numerous sports facilities,
for instance rugby and hurling fields, a golf simulator, gyms and an indoor swimming
pool.

Working practice

My main tasks as a German language assistant were to support and collaborate with
the German teacher in class and to teach cultural topics, especially topics about
Austrian culture and life. I was either assisting in class, team-teaching with the German
teacher or teaching smaller groups on my own. As there is only one German teacher
on the staff, I also volunteered to teach the German classes when the main teacher
was out. This was an at first challenging task because I had no previous experience in
teaching German as a foreign language, but I really enjoyed it and learnt a lot.
Moreover, I found that my linguistic and didactic knowledge in German as well as
English helped me immensely. Outside the classroom, I also assisted the German
teacher with organisational tasks, such as creating materials and tests, correcting work
of students and organising co-curricular events for German.
Apart from work related to German class, I went on school trips, attended staff
meetings and parent-teacher meetings, and went to various school events, such as
school concerts, the school play, hurling and rugby matches and graduations.
Moreover, I supervised a homework club for first-year students once a week and met
senior students individually or in smaller groups to practise their speaking skills in the
evenings. This was a lot of extra work which was partly required because of my living
arrangements with the school but mostly because I enjoyed my time and wanted to
make the most of the year at Cistercian College.

Accommodation and the town

As the college is located around 5km outside of the town centre of Roscrea and cannot
be reached by public transport, I was offered to live at the boarding school which I was
happy to accept. I had my own fully furnished room with a bathroom; I didn’t have a
kitchen, but I could eat at the school canteen. In return for the free accommodation, I
supervised the first-year homework club at first once week (October – March) and later
twice a week (April – May). The arrangement was ideal for me; however, it has led to
a high level of involvement in school life and therefore less privacy which is probably
not for everyone.
Roscrea is a quite old town in the Midlands of Ireland. There can be found many
historical buildings in and around the town, such as Roscrea Castle, Damer House,
the Round Tower, the remains of a Romanesque church, Monaincha Church and
Mount St. Joseph Abbey, which gives the town a certain charm. In town, there are small
cafés, restaurants, shops, supermarkets, a library, gyms as well as a leisure centre
with a swimming pool. Close by are the Devil’s Bit mountain and the Slieve Bloom
mountains offering nice walks. Using public transport, there are direct connections to
Dublin, Nenagh, Limerick, Athlone, Portlaoise and Ballybrophy.

Evaluation of the stay abroad

The stay abroad provided me with unique learning and working experiences that I
definitely would not have gained otherwise. Working at an Irish secondary school gave
me insights into the Irish education system as well as teaching and learning German
as a foreign language. Thus, I have gained practical experience, broadened my
understanding of language education and developed new strategies in terms of
teaching and classroom management.
Moreover, living in Ireland was an invaluable experience that has broadened my
horizon. By immersing myself in the local culture and participating in cultural and social
events, I learnt a lot about the Irish history, culture, heritage and traditions, which I
highly appreciate.
The stay abroad has equipped me with a variety of didactic, linguistic, cultural and
interpersonal competencies that will be highly beneficial for creating an inclusive,

supportive and diverse learning environment. Therefore, I believe that this experience
will be of great value for my future career as a teacher.
However, this stay abroad is of even greater personal value as it has deeply influenced
my personality. I have become more independent, self-confident and courageous
which I am incredibly proud of. The opportunities and challenges I encountered
throughout the year have strengthened my resourcefulness, resilience and flexibility.
The respect, trust and support from my colleagues at Cistercian College significantly
contributed to that positive development.

Conclusion

The opportunity to work as a language assistant in Ireland was a life-changing
experience and therefore exceeded all my expectations. Staying abroad provided me
with an unforgettable experience and helped me to grow on a professional and
personal level. I would highly recommend participating in the language assistant
programe as it is an unique and enriching opportunity for young people.