A Semester in Karlsruhe University of Education: From Laos to Karlsruhe with Erasmus+ by Chansamone Sengsayyachak
Guten Tag zusammen! Hello everyone!
I am Chansamone Senxayyachak, an Erasmus+ exchange student from Laos who just finished a semester at the Karlsruhe University of Education in Karlsruhe, Germany. This is my second blog post, and I hope you enjoyed my first one. In this post, I want to share my experiences, particularly my semester here in the Karlsruhe University of Education in Karlsruhe, Germany.
I have been living in Karlsruhe for almost six months now, and it feels like heaven on earth for me because I could finally live the way I have always wanted. I dreamed of living alone abroad where no one knows me, like starting a new life with new culture, new environment, and being surrounded by new people. The Erasmus+ program has been a priceless journey, offering incredible experiences such as living abroad, gaining independence, and studying at the best university in my life. It has given me the chance to meet people from various cultures, enhance my perspective, and adapt to a new environment. I had to adapt to German culture in several ways. For example, it is quite common for people to openly stare at others in public places. At first, I thought I had done something wrong, but I soon realized it is just a normal part of the culture, to look at people. Most importantly, the stay here has helped me improve my language skills, allowing me to communicate and speak more frequently.
It was an exciting and wonderfully enjoyable experience to take the German language course; it broadened my cultural understanding, and enhanced my overall cognitive abilities. It also opened up new opportunities and made my experience in Germany even more enriching. I know a little bit of German to order food in a shop, do my groceries, and go shopping without asking the seller to speak English. I always find it amusing when I speak German with locals, knowing I am not a native speaker, it feels like a cute and endearing situation to me. Not only was language learning enjoyable, but it was enhanced by the chance to interact with other international exchange students, as the German language class was the only one we all attended together.
The Classroom Linguistics course with Ms Miaoxing Ye was incredibly insightful. I learned that in today’s world of global communication, “good pronunciation” is not about sounding like a “native speaker” but rather about being easily understood by another international speaker/listener in a given context. I also realized the importance of developing skills for effective mutual understanding, especially since English is a global language for both native and non-native speakers. Before taking this course, I was worried about my accent and pronunciation and often felt afraid to speak English. However, I now understand that everyone has their own English variety or accent and that the key is to improve our English to be clearly understood in global communication.
Furthermore, the seminar on “Global Englishes & Global Citizenship Education” with Prof. Dr. Isabel Martin was really interesting. It showed how important global education is for helping people understand and work together in today’s connected world. What I liked most about this course was that it brought together students from many different backgrounds, creating a lively environment where we could discuss global issues from many points of view. The students in the class were divided into groups to prepare presentations on topics related to Global English and Global Citizenship, then the course leader prepared the session with them, and they presented and involved everyone with activities afterwards to discuss the findings and new questions with the entire class. In this course, there were a lot of international students, so I also learned a lot about how English is taught in countries like Israel, Turkey, Ukraine, and South Korea, which helped me see language education from a wider perspective.
As an exchange student from Laos, Somchai and I gave a presentation about education and culture in Laos. We shared some details about the Lao language, how English is taught in Laos, and important traditions like the Baci ceremony and Lao New Year. The best part was when we held a small Baci ceremony in class, which was a unique cultural experience that allowed us to share Lao culture with our classmates – and they were very interested!
Planning and Designing Lessons (PDL) for Primary and Secondary Classrooms with Ms Tania Brennan and Ms Rebecca Dengler was my first experience studying lesson planning for teaching. I had planned a lesson plan for primary school level in the PDL class, then I realized that creating clear goals for what students should learn and finding the right materials takes time and effort. Managing time during the lesson to cover everything without rushing can be tricky. So, teachers also have to handle different classroom behavioúrs and make adjustments if things do not go as planned. Plus, the lesson needs to fit with educational standards and requirements, which adds to the complexity.
Overall, lesson planning involves a lot of thought and preparation. In Germany, aspiring teachers must undergo one and a half years of practical pedagogical training after finishing their university degree to prove their didactic qualifications. It is a challenging process that ensures teachers are well-trained.
The last course I took was “Germany Today”, which covered Germany’s culture, climate, and history with Mr Nils Drixler. I really enjoyed this course because it helped me understand Germany better. We learned about Germany’s history, different cultures, and its unique climate. One of the highlights was learning about the Oktoberfest. This festival started in 1810 as a royal wedding party in Munich and has grown into the biggest beer festival in the world. It is a lively celebration of Bavarian culture with traditional music, costumes, and food.
Additionally, I got the opportunity to observe primary English classes in two primary schools (Strombergschule in Oberderdingen and Albert-Schweitzer-Schule in Muggensturm). I and Somchai went to the primary schools by car with Prof. Dr. Isabel Martin, who mentors the students in the ISP (Integrated Semester Practicum) by visiting their lessons in the primary classroom.
During the classes, I observed a well-prepared lesson plans and carefully arranged classrooms, which helped create a great learning environment. The lesson plans were clearly organized, with clear goals and activities that kept the pupils interested and engaged. This good planning ensured the lesson ran smoothly, making it easy for both the student-teacher and pupils to transition from one activity to another. Additionally, I was impressed by how focused and involved the children were throughout the lesson. They listened closely to instructions, took part actively in discussions, and showed real excitement for the activities. This high level of attention and participation demonstrated the success of the teaching methods and highlighted the pupils’ eagerness to learn, be part of the lesson, and communicate in English.
On the other hand, a few primary pupils were a mixture of bored, aggressive, and active, and there were some boys who were bored and aggressive, so the teacher warned them to stop that behavior, if they kept doing it, the teacher would give them the yellow card, but if after they got the yellow card they kept doing bad behaviour, the teacher was going to give them the red card. The situation had surprised me because I had not experienced something like this before. The yellow and red cards system is often used for behaviour management, the yellow card serves as a warning for minor misbehaviour and for the red card is usually issued for more serious or repeated misbehaviour (it often leads to more severe consequences such as detention, a meeting with parents, or other disciplinary actions depending on the school’s policies). This experience has taught me so many new things, such as how to teach, arrange classes, and the importance of being a good teacher in the future. Even though, I did not study teaching as my major but I really enjoyed learning about it.
Along with that, I really enjoy living here, especially in the summer. In Germany, summer is a busy time with lots of social activities. I like taking photos and making videos about my life to share with my friends, family, and Savannakhet University students. I made some video about my life here and posted it on my page, ‘HelloIt’sme-Am.’ I want to show them how important English is and encourage them to study it for future opportunities.
I gained many new experiences at the Pädagogische Hochschule Karlsruhe and embraced every opportunity to learn and grow. However, without the support of Savannakhet University, the Karlsruhe University of Education, Prof. Dr. Isabel Martin, and particularly the Erasmus+ +programme, I would not have been able to achieve these valuable experiences.
Text by Chansamone Senxayyachak
Photos by Chansamone Senxayyachak, Somchai Chuangbaikham, Phetsavanh Somsivilay, Isabel Martin & Tomer Zafrir
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