Report from Alina Dutzi

Photo is taken by Alina

The university, school or company

Overall, the university was very good. I was able to travel comfortably to the university by train, which ran almost directly from my home and stopped in front of the university. The courses were all in Portuguese, as there are no English courses offered for the primary school in the winter term. However, I was promised English support beforehand. Unfortunately, this was not possible in all the courses, and I had to change some courses. Luckily, at the beginning I met nice girls who helped me and advised me on which courses I could learn a lot and on the other hand I could get English support. This was then implemented without any problems. I have also received good support from the university, including help finding a school internship.

School practice or working practice

I had the opportunity to organize the internship for the school after I arrived in Portugal. This went without problems. I got the contact from a teacher through the mobility coordinator, who welcomed me very warmly. The children in the class were all very curious and attentive, even though hardly anyone spoke English. One boy in the class grew up bilingual with English and Portuguese and had great pleasure in translating. This allowed me to learn a lot about the Portuguese school system and how they teach there.

Accommodation

I lived in a house with five other Erasmus students. I found this through a university website. There would have been room for two more roommates in the house, but to be honest, there were more than enough people in the house. The house is always rented out to Erasmus students every semester and the two houses next to us are the same. We each had our own room, but I shared a bathroom with another girl. On the ground floor were the shared kitchen and living room. The home was very central in the city, and we could walk almost everywhere. The only downside was that there was no washing machine and we always had to go to the laundry next door to be able to wash there.

The city

Setubal is a very nice town, which is rather small and manageable. But it has everything you need. A mall, bars, a club, cafes, cinema, etc. There are also beaches and a harbor. From there you can take the ferry to the nearby peninsula of Troja. On the route in between, you often see dolphins. Also, you can get to Lisbon by bus, train or ferry in about 40-60 minutes. Lisbon is also beautiful and there is always something to discover.

Has this stay abroad influenced or changed your personality?

Evaluation of the stay abroad in academic / cultural / social terms

My Erasmus experience provided insights that I could not have gained without going abroad. Academically, studying at a Portuguese university presented both challenges and opportunities. Like I said before, the courses were conducted entirely in Portuguese, which was initially challenging given my very limited knowledge in Portuguese. This language barrier required me to develop greater adaptability and resilience. The friendships I made with local students were essential, without them I don’t know if I could have done it. This mutual assistance taught me the importance of cultural exchange, as well as how to work through language challenges—a skill I believe will be essential in any multicultural workplace, including future teaching roles with German as a second language kids.

Have you gained learning or working experiences that you would not have gained without a stay abroad?

During my school internship, I gained hands-on experience that showed me the Portuguese education system. The internship was well-organized, and the welcoming nature of the teacher and students helped me quickly integrate into the class. Despite the language barrier with the children, I found creative ways to communicate and engage with the students. This experience was really rewarding as it allowed me to observe different teaching styles and learn how educators in Portugal handle classroom dynamics. In the class I was in, the teacher had open courses and the kids relied on each other. The cultural insight into Portugal’s teaching approaches broadened my perspective on educational methods and will likely enrich my teaching practice back home to make my classroom more inclusive and adaptable to different learning needs.

Do you think that the stay abroad will be beneficial for your future work (as a teacher)?

Yes definitely. First, of course, all the experiences I was able to gain at school with the different teaching style. Secondly, I was able to experience what it means not to speak and understand a language that everyone else speaks. That feeling of not quite belonging. I think especially children with a different first language often feel that.

Has this stay abroad influenced or changed your personality?

Partly. Of course, I’m still me and not a completely different person, but I think I’ve evolved in some ways. On the one hand, the experience that you don’t understand a word that’s being spoken, but on the other hand, meeting new people from very different cultures. My housemates were from the Netherlands and Belgium, my fellow students were all from Portugal and a lot of friends from Poland. So I was able to get to know a lot of different points of view and maybe adopt a few of them.