Placement report NHL Stenden Hogeschool

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Placement report

NHL Stenden Hogeschool

Jeske Slagman s2588935

MA Internship Multilingualism Faculty of Arts

University of Groningen

Supervisors:

RUG: dr. J. Da Silveira Duarte

NHL Stenden: dr. M.T. Günther-van der Meij

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27-06-2019

Table of contents

1. Introduction……….p. 3 2. Position and tasks………....p. 5 3. Evaluation and reflection……….…………...p. 7 4. Conclusion………..p. 8 Appendices………….……….p. 9

Appendix I – Example of school report………..………....p. 9 Appendix II – Questionnaire pupils….……….………....p. 10 Appendix III – Pictures internship……….………...………....p. 16 Appendix IV – Supervisor evaluation form....………..p. 17

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1. Introduction

As part of the Master Multilingualism, it was possible to do an internship in the second semester. During my bachelor European languages and cultures, there was no option for an internship, so I was very glad that it was offered in this master. For me, this was an outstanding opportunity to finally get an impression of the jobs that are connected to this master and the scientific field that goes with it.

In this report I will reflect on the past five months of the internship at the NHL Stenden Hogeschool in Leeuwarden. First, I will give a description of the organisation and the projects on which I worked. Then, in the following section I will explain more about my position as an intern, and what kind of tasks I had to do. An evaluation and reflection on the internship will be given in section 3, followed by a short conclusion in section 4. Finally, there are examples of tasks and pictures put in the appendices, as well as the supervisor evaluation form.

This internship was about multilingual primary education in Friesland. During the placement I worked with a variety of people; researchers, lecturers in the teacher training program, teachers in training and primary school teachers. Together we focused on two research projects that both aimed at improving multilingual education in the Province of Friesland; the 3M-project and the Talen4all-project.

3M-project

The project 3M stands for ‘Meer kansen met meertaligheid’, which means ‘more opportunities with multilingualism’. It is a project of 4 years in which teachers from 12 primary schools, researchers and teachers in training work with various organisations on the design, implementation and testing of a holistic model for multilingual education. This model provides a framework for the use of migrant languages, and for a coherent use of Dutch, Frisian and English in schools. The project is in hands of the NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences and is financed by the Dutch Science Foundation. The 3M-project works with different types of schools:

- Trilingual Frisian/Dutch/English primary schools

- Refugees/Newcomer primary schools

- Primary schools with a high percentage of migrant language speakers

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- Primary schools with a high percentage of Dutch speakers

The participating schools have come up with an issue concerning multilingualism that they want to deal with, and then different types of activities are being developed for these schools.

These activities belong to the categories ‘attitudes’, ‘knowledge’ and ‘skills’. More specific, the activities focus on different aspects:

 Awareness of own languages and the languages in the area

 Knowledge about languages in Fryslân, Europe and the world

 Knowledge about language differences (vocabulary and sentence structure)

 Language learning strategies

 Knowledge about cultural diversity

All successful developed tools and activities are collected in a digital 3M-Toolbox, which will be made available to schools inside and outside the project. Furthermore, there is worked on a video-box which contains videos with didactical suggestions for multilingual education.

Finally, there is worked on a digital and interactive learning platform for primary school pupils with multilingual material provided in six languages.

T4A-project

The project Talen4all (‘Languages for everyone’; further referred to as T4A) is a pilot project in which several researchers, teachers in training and primary school teachers work together on the development, implementation and evaluation of activities in order to promote multilingualism in education. It is a project of approximately 18 months that is, like the 3M- project, in hands of NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences but is financed by the Province of Fryslân. In total, 8 primary schools in Friesland participate in this project.

Different types of schools participate:

- Primary schools with (partial) exemption for the Frisian course

- Primary schools in urban areas with a high percentage of Dutch-speaking pupils - Primary schools in urban areas with a high percentage of foreign-language pupils The T4A-project has two main goals. In the first place, it wants to raise positive attitudes among pupils and teachers towards the appreciation and use of Frisian and other languages. In the second place, it wants to create less language separation between the languages of instruction. Explicit language comparison is an example of this. The activities created for the project cover different topics, but are all related to the following categories:

 Raising awareness of own languages and the languages of the area

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 Knowledge about languages of Fryslân, Europe and the world

 Knowledge about language differences (vocabulary and sentence structure)

 Language learning strategies

 Knowledge about cultural diversity

During the project, researchers and student-assistants work on two end products; a mobile application and an online toolbox. The mobile application is called Monstertaal (‘Monster language’) and has been created in collaboration with game developer Grendel Games. With this application pupils can look for ‘language monsters’ that are hidden in traffic signs. They speak different languages and can be freed by providing a good answer on their question. In total, twenty different monsters can be found. The other product, an online toolbox, provides a collection of all activities that have been developed within the project. It contains clear instructions and explanations for the implementation of the activities. In this way, it can be used by others and be applied directly in education.

There were several reasons why I wanted to do this internship. In the first place, I was most interested in internships related to the field of education. This field attracts me, even though I do not exactly know why. Perhaps it is because there are a lot of teachers in my family. Also, in the past I did several job orientation tests to discover what kind of job would fit me, and most of the time the outcome was; teacher. However, I have the feeling that this job would probably be too limited for me, in a way that I would feel stuck in a small world. Hence, I have decided that I could always become a teacher in a later stage of my life, like a plan B. By all means, this internship has given me the opportunity to work in the field for a short time and gave me new insights about other jobs in the field of education. I wanted to do this internship in particular, because of my affection with primary school children, and I find it important that Frisian language education will be improved. Finally, the internship supervisors especially welcomed students who wanted to write their thesis within the scope of the projects. It was a good way for me to do some research about language attitudes, something I did before and what I really liked.

2. Position and tasks

Together with Camila, my classmate from the master, we were the two interns. As we started, our supervisors Mirjam and Joana told us about all the things that were going on concerning

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the projects. The internship appeared to be very versatile; there were different kind of tasks we had to do. They had given us an overview of the main tasks:

- Language background and attitude questionnaire: data-collection at the 8 T4A-schools - Support dissemination of the app Monstertaal

- Interviews/questionnaires with teachers

- School visits to all T4A-schools: document activities, including video-observations - Organise final conference of the project: make compilation video of activities/project,

present findings on language background and attitude questionnaire

Every Tuesday there was a meeting with Mirjam, Joana and others who were at the office about the state of affairs, things that had happened or had been done and things that still had to be done. Every once in a while, there were also workshops organised for teachers of the participating schools of the projects, on which we were present as well.

As we worked with schools, we were dependent on them, which appeared to be very frustrating sometimes. Contacting the schools to make appointments was quite a time- consuming thing. In most cases, it was hard to get in touch with the schools as they did not reply to our mails. However, as Camila and I were responsible for keeping track of the activities the T4A-schools did, we really needed to know what they were doing or planning to do with regards to the project. Therefore, I also called several schools, which (in the best-case scenarios) made things work a little faster.

Besides the previously mentioned tasks, there were also other small things we had to do. For example, I had to transcribe an audio-record from a group of teachers who attended one of the workshops, so the supervisors could analyse what they had been saying in a discussion. Also, Camila and I had to write reports about the schools of the T4A-project, about what kind of schools were participating and what kind of activities they had done for the project. As my first intention for the thesis was to also use an Implicit Association Test to obtain pupils’

language attitudes, I went several times with PhD-researcher Suzanne (who was also part of the team) to some 3M-schools to carry out this test with the pupils. While I decided not to use that data anymore for my thesis, I still went with her when I was able to, as I could do some interviews with the pupils which was data I could use for my thesis. Further, we translated

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multilingual activities to English (for the online toolbox) and we gave a presentation about multilingualism in education for a group of students of the teacher training course.

For the biggest part, Camila and I were visiting the schools, or trying to do so. Many times, we did the questionnaire with the pupils; at eight different T4A-schools and with different groups of each school. We also attended and filmed a lot of multilingual activities that the teachers did with their pupils, during school hours and even once in the evening when the pupils did a musical play for their parents. A few times we also did an activity of our own with the children, which made me feel like a teacher myself, without any training for this!

3. Evaluation and reflection

I consider this internship as very successful, as it has brought me several learning outcomes.

First, I was able to apply the things I have learned during the master. In specific, during the course ‘The Multilingual School’ given by Joana in the first semester, I learned a lot about the theories and new insights that have changed the way multilingualism is being looked at in the educational setting from the side of the linguists. It has become a valuable learning resource, rather than something that hinders children’s academic achievement. When I first heard about this, I felt that this insight would mean that the current educational system had to be changed as fast as possible. However, it appeared that this is a difficult challenge due to the many parties involved; researchers, teachers, children, parents, politicians and so on. During the internship I really saw the difficulty of this and experienced the different viewpoints (researchers versus teachers). It felt good to be part of a team that puts a lot of effort into helping schools to make a change and care for their multilingual pupils. I feel glad to have worked on this, even if it was for a short period of time. As we did a lot with children, I hope I have learned the pupils to be proud of the languages they speak. Above all, I really admire what Mirjam, Joana and many others are doing.

Secondly, there was a relaxed and welcoming ambience at the office. Mirjam and Joana were very kind and interested, which made the days at the office very ‘gezellig’. From their part, I think I was also a pleasant person to work with. I was eager to learn things and always did what I was asked to do. As my supervisors were very gentle, I could ask questions whenever I needed help, no matter how many questions I had. There was always someone able to help.

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Also, outside the office hours it was easy to communicate with members of the project team.

The supervisors often even replied within a couple of minutes.

Further, I was able to comprehend the issues that the project team talked about, due to my background knowledge which we had talked about during the master Multilingualism. This was also the case when experts in the field were presenting on certain topics during a conference. I was even able to present about it in front of other students, together with Camila, which made me feel like an expert myself.

The internship also strengthened my skills to collaborate with others. Most tasks I worked on together with Camila, which went very well. We made clear agreements on how we divided the tasks and we always made sure that we worked on things for the same amount of time. We never had any disagreements and we were happy to do this internship together.

Finally, the internship also helped me improving my language skills. With Camila I could practice English a lot. As I do not use this language a lot in my daily life, it was a nice way to keep working on this, especially as we also did not have any courses (in English) at the university anymore. I was also able to practice my Frisian skills, what I found valuable as well.

4. Conclusion and reflection

Over the past five months I have worked as intern on the projects 3M and T4A of the NHL Stenden Hogeschool, where I was part of a team that worked on a common goal: to promote and improve multilingual education. It was an inspiring period for me, in which I could put the things I have learned during the master Multilingualism in practice and see what kind of jobs are related to this research field. The internship was enriching, not only because I learned more about multilingualism and its benefits, but also because it gave insight into the actual state of affairs concerning multilingualism in education. It showed me where researchers in the field are working on and how they put it into real practices. I am thankful that I have been able to do this internship and I am happy with the things it brought me. Besides, I could not image better supervisors than Mirjam and Joana.

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Appendices

Appendix I – Example of school report (in Dutch)

OBS van Maasdijkschool

De Van Maasdijkschool is een openbare basisschool die te vinden is in Heerenveen. Het is een school die ernaar streeft kinderen te laten ontwikkelen tot ‘zelfbewuste wereldburgers’, zo staat vermeld op de website van de school.

Op de school is een team van 22 leerkrachten en medewerkers werkzaam die er allen voor zorgen om van de school een prettige en veilige omgeving te maken, waar kinderen zich optimaal kunnen ontwikkelen.

De school wil kinderen voorbereiden op het wereldburgerschap door onder andere het stimuleren van meertaligheid. Als deelnemende school van het Talen4all project hecht de school veel waarde aan het aanleren van een positieve houding tegenover meertaligheid.

De leerkrachten Hinke Wouda en Lisa de Jong hebben de workshops van het Talen4all project bijgewoond en hun interesse en enthousiasme voor het onderwerp getoond. Zij zijn zelf aan de slag gegaan met hun leerlingen door het doen van verschillende activiteiten. Zo heeft Lisa met haar klas elfjes gemaakt die bestaan uit woorden uit verschillende talen. Hinke heeft een optreden gedaan waarbij meertaligheid centraal stond. Er werd tot 10 geteld en liedjes gezongen, steeds in een andere taal, en voor alle ouders. Verder hangen er in de school overal posters die gericht zijn op meertaligheid, gemaakt door de leerlingen. Het is mooi om

te zien hoe de school zich voor dit onderwerp in zet!

Meertalig toneelstuk van groep 4 Meertaligheid op school

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Appendix II – Questionnaire (in Dutch)

Vragenlijstje meertaligheid

Hoeveel talen spreek jij eigenlijk? En vind je het leuk om nieuwe talen te leren? Door middel van deze vragenlijst willen wij erachter komen wat jij vindt van meertaligheid op school.

Eerst gaan we oefenen hoe we de vragen invullen.

Je krijgt een zin met daarbij een gekleurde antwoordbalk. Ben je het eens met de zin? Of oneens? Zet een cirkel om het goede antwoord. Bijvoorbeeld zo:

Ik hou van broccoli

Als je helemaal niet van broccoli houdt, zet je het rondje zo:

Oneens Beetje oneens Geen mening Beetje eens Eens

Als je een beetje van broccoli houdt, zet je het rondje zo:

Als je broccoli niet lekker vindt, maar ook niet vies, zet je het rondje in het midden:

Bij sommige zinnen hoef je alleen maar te kiezen tussen JA of NEE. Bijvoorbeeld:

Ik wil nog meer sporten leren met gym.

□ JA

□ NEE

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Heb je JA ingevuld? Welke sporten zou je nog meer willen leren? Vul ze maar in:

a) ... c) ...

b) ... d) ...

Je mag zelf de antwoorden bedenken die je wil opschrijven. Je hoeft niet alle lijntjes vol te schrijven!

Alvast bedankt en laat ons weten of je vragen hebt. Wij helpen je graag!

Op het volgende blad komen de echte vragen.

1. Wat is je naam? ...

2. Hoe oud ben je? ...

3. In welke groep zit je? ...

4. Hoe heet je school? ...

5. Ik ben een: meisje / jongen / wil ik niet zeggen

6. Welke talen heb je geleerd voordat je naar school ging?

a) ... c) ...

b) ... d) ...

7. Welke talen heb je daarna nog meer geleerd?

a) ... c) ...

b) ... d) ...

8. Ik ben van plan om nog meer talen te leren.

□ JA

□ NEE

Heb je JA ingevuld? Welke talen zou je willen leren?

a) ... c) ...

b) ... d) ...

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9. Ik vind het leuk om een nieuwe taal te leren.

10. Ik vind het makkelijk om een nieuwe taal te leren.

11. Welke talen zijn (denk je) makkelijk om nog te leren? Vul maar in.

a) ... c) ...

b) ... d) ...

12. En welke talen zijn (denk je) moeilijk om te leren? Vul maar in.

a) ... c) ...

b) ... d) ...

13. Welke talen spreek je met je ouders?

a) ... c) ...

b) ... d) ...

14. Welke talen spreek je met je broers en zusjes?

a) ... c) ...

b) ... d) ...

15. Welke talen spreek je met je grootouders (opa&oma)?

a) ... c) ...

b) ... d) ...

16. Welke talen spreek je met je vrienden?

a) ... c) ...

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b) ... d) ...

17. Welke talen spreek je op school allemaal?

a) ... c) ...

b) ... d) ...

18. Mensen die Nederlands praten, zijn aardig.

19. Mensen die Fries praten, zijn slim.

20. Mensen die Pools praten, zijn slim.

21. Mensen die Engels praten, zijn aardig.

22. Nederlands is een belangrijke taal.

23. Mensen die Nederlands praten, zijn slim.

24. Mensen die Arabisch praten, zijn aardig.

25. Mensen die Fries praten, zijn aardig.

26. Arabisch is een belangrijke taal.

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27. Mensen die Pools praten, zijn aardig.

28. Fries is een belangrijke taal.

29. Mensen die Arabisch praten, zijn slim.

30. Engels is een belangrijke taal.

31. Mensen die Engels praten, zijn slim.

32. Pools is een belangrijke taal.

33. Welke talen vind je verder belangrijk? Vul maar in.

a) ... c) ...

b) ... d) ...

34. Welke talen vind je onbelangrijk? Vul maar in.

a) ... c) ...

b) ... d) ...

35. Alle talen die ik ken, mag ik in de klas gebruiken.

□ JA

□ NEE

Heb je NEE ingevuld? Welke talen mag je niet gebruiken tijdens de les? Vul maar in.

a) ... c) ...

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b) ... d) ...

Heb je talen ingevuld die je niet gebruikt tijdens de les? Zou je deze talen willen gebruiken?

□ JA

□ NEE

We zijn bijna klaar!!!

36. Ik gebruik alle talen die ik ken op het schoolplein.

□ JA

□ NEE

Heb je NEE ingevuld? Welke talen ken je die je niet gebruikt op het schoolplein?

a) ... c) ...

b) ... d) ...

37. Ik wil meer leren over de talen van mijn klasgenoten, die ik zelf niet spreek.

□ JA

□ NEE

Heb je JA ingevuld? Welke talen die je klasgenoten kunnen spreken wil jij ook leren?

a) ... c) ...

b) ... d) ...

EINDE VRAGENLIJST

Dankjewel voor het invullen!

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Appendix III – Pictures internship

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Appendix IV – Supervisor evaluation form

Placement Office, PO Box 716, 9700 AS Groningen, the Netherlands

Tel.: +31 (0)50-363 5844; www.rug.nl/let/placementoffice; stages.let@rug.nl

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Evaluation form for placement providers

Placement provider: NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences Department: Academy of Primary Teacher Training

City: Leeuwarden

Country: The Netherlands

Name student: Jeske Slagman

Placement period: 01-02-2019 – 30-06-2019

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Description of tasks

1. Which tasks have been performed by the student? (This concerns main tasks as described in the contract and possible other activities)

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 Accompany the project team in visiting participating schools during implementation of teaching activities;

 Document, film and photograph implemented activities and conduct attitude questionnaire during school visits;

 Support in organizing the project’s workshops and study-evenings with teachers and stakeholders.

2. To what extent has your organisation benefitted from the activities of the student and to what extent will you use the results?

O not at all O to some extent O sufficiently X to a large extent

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Evaluation of the tasks

3. What is your opinion about the quality of the content of the reports, notes, publications, research, translations, etc. written by the student?

O insufficient O sufficient

X good

O excellent

4. What is your opinion about the student’s writing skills?

X good

O excellent

5. What is your opinion about the student’s oral skills?

X good

O excellent

6. What is your opinion about the student’s accuracy and thoroughness?

X good

O excellent

7. What is your opinion about the pace at which the tasks were performed?

O insufficient

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O sufficient

X good

O excellent

8. What is your opinion about the student’s organisational skills?

X good

O excellent

9. In general, what is your opinion about the quality of the student’s performance?

X good

O excellent

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Evaluation of the student's functioning

10. What is your opinion about the student’s ability to perform his/her tasks independently?

O good

X excellent

11. To what extent was the student interested in his/her tasks?

X good

O excellent

12. To what extent was the student interested in other activities within your organisation?

O insufficient X sufficient

O good

O excellent

13. How did the interaction between supervisor and student develop?

O badly

O not very well

O well

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X extremely well

14. How did the cooperation with co-workers develop?

O badly

O not very well

O well

X extremely well

15. What is your opinion about the student’s level of knowledge?

X good

O excellent

16. To what extent did the student's attitude fit in with the work climate of your organisation?

O insufficient X sufficient

O good

O excellent

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Additional questions

17. Have there been problems supervising the student?

O Yes, concerning ………..………

X No

18. In future, would you again offer a placement to a student of the Faculty of Arts?

X Yes, because the students we’ve had so far were hard working, independent and eager to learn.

O No, because………..

19. Would you now or in the future appreciate a meeting with the supervising university lecturer or the placement coordinator of the Faculty?

O Yes

X No

20. Do you have further question or comments?

………..

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………..