Intern coordinator from the Twin Cities German Immersion School in St. Paul - Minnesota

Katharina Schirg visited the Goethe-University on the 8^th of July in 2021. She presented the TCGIS and its outstanding internship program in a video-interview with Andreas Hänssig.

At the TCGIS, interns get the chance to experience a vivid school culture. Through the option of living in host families, interns further discover the American culture and support children in practicing German even more. The TCGISs immersion method also plays an important role in studying to become a teacher at the Goethe-University. If you want to get to know more about the TCGIS, we highly recommend Tainah Jopp’s report of her internship and the school’s homepage.

UniReport Artikel: International Teacher Education« (ITE) / Mit frischen Ideen aus dem Ausland Schule innovativ gestalten: Katharina Schirg und vier Studierende berichten von der TCGIS.

Principal of the German School Medellín

Anke Käding, the principal of the German School Medellín, visited the Goethe-University on the 15^th of July in 2022 and presented the German School Medellín as workplace for students and qualified teachers from Germany in a lecture as well as in a video-interview with Andreas Hänssig. The conversation offers an overview and gives a first impression of our cooperative school in Columbia.

More information about the German School Medellín can be found on their informative website. 

German School Guatemala - between Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean

As part of the series "Talks by Schooldirectors" we were pleased to welcome Paul Hölzemann, the director of the Colegio Alemán Guatemala City, to the Goethe-University on June 12th 2019. Paul Hölzemann presented the life in Guatemala, the everyday school life as a teacher at a German School in general and of course deepened, at the German School Guatemala. The exciting report was rounded off with pictures of the diverse nature and culture of Guatemala and small, traditional Guatemalan gifts to the students. We were very happy to welcome Mr. Hölzemann to our university.

Max Hofferbert (left) will do an internship at the German School Guatemala in September 2019. Here he had the opportunity to get to know Paul Hölzemann (DS Guatemala) beforehand.

source: ABL

For further information one may visit the schools informative Website.

German School Barranquilla

The series „Talks by Schooldirectors“ is reaching its ninth round! This time the Goethe University had the pleasure to sign the Memorandum of Understanding with the German School Baranquilla on May 20th 2019. Inna Schoenfeld and Marius Steies were invited, who presented their beautifully situated school from a pedagogical and economical perspective and thus depicted working and living in and around Baranquilla. The two speakers also provided important information for the application process for internships, Andreas Hänssig explained scholarships and financing options. As always, the lecture gave nice insights into the daily school life at a German school abroad.

Source: ABL Pictured: Inna Schoenfeld and Andreas Haenssig

German Schools in Mexico

For the eigth lecture in the series "Talks by Schooldirectors", Goethe University hosted the principal of the German School in Puebla, Mr Thomas Czaska. Mr Czaska shared his experiences as a teacher at the German School in Mexico-City, as well as his knowledge on living and working in Puebla. He introduced the German School Puebla (Colegio Humboldt A. C.) to the attending students, teachers and student-teachers, and spoke about the unique opportunities and challenges when working in Puebla.

The German School Puebla is a partner school to Goethe University and regularly offers internships to students. For more Information, please contact Mr Hänssig.

Teaching Abroad - Possibilities and Opportunities

The seventh lecture in our series "Talks by Schooldirectors" took place on 17th January 2019. Mr Bernd Schwesig, former principal of the German School Montevideo, shared his experience on teaching in Uruguay and gave advice from his time as a consulting German As a Foreign Language teacher in Denmark.

Mr Andreas Hänssig (ABL - International Teacher Education) also informed the attendants on possible employment and internships as a prospective teacher abroad.

Source: ABL

Internships & work placements in the Netherlands

The sixth lecture in our series of school principals speaking about their experiences at schools across the globe took place on Tuesday, the 6th November 2018, as part of Goethe University's annual International Day. The talk "Internships & Work Placements: The European School Den Haag" was given by Eugene Voornemann, the Elementary school principal of the European School Den Haag.

Mr Voornemann introduced the fundamental concepts behind European schools in general and shared useful information on both work opportunities and the process of application.

A thorough report will follow soon.

In the picture, from left to right: Mr Andreas Hänssig (ABL - International Teacher Education) and Mr Eugene Voornemann (Principal of the European Elementary School Den Haag). Source: ABL

The fifth lecture: Opportunities and possibilities for german teaching students and teachers in Southeast Asia

As a teacher abroad - opportunities and prospects

The fifth lecture in the series reports by school directors from abroad "As a teacher abroad - opportunities and prospects" Johanna Vänskä was very informative and very well attended. Once again, the cooperation of the ABL International Teacher Education with Alumni Teaching Office was well-attended by student teachers, preparatory teachers and already licensed teachers.

In the picture from left to right: Prof. Dr. med. Elsner (Director of the ABL for International Affairs), Ms Johanna Vänska (Head RIS Swiss Section Bangkok) and Mr Andreas Hänssig (ABL - International Teacher education). Source: ABL

Mrs. Johanna Vänskä, Elementary School Principal of the RIS Swiss Section in Bangkok, talked about the history of the school, it’s current status and how everyday life, school life and parental work are shaping up in Bangkok. She offered helpful suggestions and tips for applying to foreign schools in general, and underlined them with anecdotes and experiences from her impressive career as head teacher, and the experiences of the teachers and trainees who currently and formerly worked at RIS. The series of lectures also enables teachers to obtain important first-hand information from foreign experts, and thus to start an "internationalization at home". Because unfortunately it is still a matter of money, despite a possible partial scholarship from the DAAD, whether a practicum can be realized abroad. All the more important are such offers to offer students "internationalization at home". Many topics, including inclusion, language-sensitive teaching and sensitivity to cultural diversity, are becoming increasingly important at schools in the Rhine-Main area.

Detailed information can be found in the Power Point presentation by Ms. Vänskä. The lecture was paused for an interlude by Lukáš Drexler on the accordion, a musical instrument that he learned to play during his practical semester at the Willy Brandt School in Warsaw. The attendees had the opportunity to ask questions to Mrs. Vänskä and Mr. Drexler.

The lecture series will be continued in the winter semester 2018/19. In addition, there will also be information sessions which will provide teaching students with the opportunity to report on their experiences abroad and to give other teaching students important tips and recommendations on the topic of internationalization of teacher education.

Mr. Hänssig introduced Lukáš Drexler and moderated the subsequent discussion. Source: ABL

If you have any questions regarding practical training in the teacher-training program or after the first or second state examination, please contact Mr. Hänssig. We also offer information and help you if you want to apply as a local teacher (OLK) directly to a school abroad.

Read the announcement in the WEBMAGAZIN of the Goethe University

Presentation of the lecture

Continuation of the ABL lecture series

In the picture from left to right: Mr. Hänssig, Ms. Rolf, Mr. Pallushek, Head of GISC and Ms Küster, student of teaching at special schools. Source: ABL

Ms. Rolf and Mr. Pallushek founded the German International School Chennai (GISC) in Chennai, India. The lecture "As a teacher abroad - opportunities and prospects" by Melanie Rolf was an interesting highlight. The event was successfully organized by ABL International Teacher Education in collaboration with Alumni Teachers, as has been the case before in international education events. The lecture was aimed at teaching degree students, graduates of the first or second state examination, preparatory teachers and teachers.

GIS Chennai offers the following perspectives:

For interns:

• Intercultural and practical teaching experiences, preparing them for coping with professional teaching in the future
• Hiring as a teacher at the GISC

For teachers:

• Further development as part of Supreme International Education
• Participation in the teacher exchange program

Ms. Rolf kindly provided the presentation of the event to us, so you can find the essential points from the lecture collected. You will find more information and pictures in the presentation. If you have any questions regarding practical training in the teacher-training program or after the first or second state examination, please contact Mr. Hänssig. We also inform you if you are seeking to apply as a local teacher (OLK) directly to a school abroad.

Ms. Küster completed her internship at the GIS in Chennai. "If I look back at my school internship at the German International School in Chennai (GISC), India, I know that I would not have been able to collect so much information, growth and knowledge at a school in Germany, technically and personally."

Read the full report

On the photo: Ms. Küster, intern at the German International School Chennai (GISC), in dialogue. Source: GISC

Presentation of the lecture

The third event in the ABL talk series

Andreas Hänssig ABL – International Teacher Education, Lisa Görz, ABL – Alumni Education Students, Reinhard Löchelt – ZfA, Prof. Dr. Christopher Heim – Direktor ABL (from left to right). Source: ABL

Read the article on the Goethe-University website (in German)

The Academy for Educational Research and Teacher Education’s department International Teacher Education, has successfully launched a new series of lectures with schooldirectors of German schools abroad. On July 20, Ira Marsch, former student of Goethe University and elementary school director at Colegio Alemán Alexander von Humboldt in Mexico, held a speech on "Opportunities and Possibilities for German Teaching Students in Latin America." The aim of the ABL series is to increase the mobility of students of education during their studies.

The advantages are apparent; Teachers (and teacher trainees) who have acquired international school experience during their studies, and have been able to reflect on it in a theory-based way, will be better prepared to equip their own students for the opportunities and unpredictabilities of a globalized society. Educational student’s mobility experiences can enhance their own day-to-day teaching, and the experience of unfamiliarity can sensitize them to other cultures, so that classroom diversity can be applied appropriate.

Mr. Giessler during his lecture at the Casino building. Bild: ABL.

On June 28, Dr. Horst Giessler of the German International School Sydney gave a lecture on "Workplace Abroad - Opportunities and Possibilities for German Teachers and Teachiing Students (Internships) Abroad".

The lecture series was continued with a lecture by Ira Marsch. Next to the basic information on the German school system abroad and its popularity amongst teachers, Marsch also spoke about the opportunities of a school internship abroad for working as a teacher at home as well as abroad. To illustrate this, she introduced student of education Nuran Ceylan, who was attending the talk and spent a three-month internship in Mexico in spring 2018. Ms. Ceylan was introduced as an example for real experiences of educational students, which clarified which tasks are also expected abroad.

Nuran Ceylan, Ira Marsch and Andreas Hänssig (from left to right). Source: ABL

Read the article on the Goethe-University website (in German)