Die Lehrer und der Unterricht auf britischen Internaten sind so ganz anders als in Deutschland …
Diese Aussage hören wir immer wieder. Die Lehrer können in den kleinen Klassen nicht nur binnendifferenziert unterrichten und jeden Schüler mitnehmen, sondern vor allem ist ihre Grundhaltung beeindruckend. Hingabe, Begeisterung und Spaß an der Sache machen die Lehrer aus.
Britische Lehrer sind halt „Überzeugungstäter“, die ihre Schüler wertschätzen und Jugendliche einfach sehr gerne haben. Viele unserer Schüler treffen auf ihrem Internat Lehrer, die sie nie wieder vergessen und auch als echte Vorbilder bezeichnen. Mrs. Ruth Huish, Fachleiterin für Englisch auf der Oswestry School hat uns über ihr Selbstverständnis und über ihr didaktisches Vorgehen einige Zeilen geschrieben und ihre Schülerin Amelie (11. Klasse) hat ihre Sicht dargestellt:
I love teaching. I’ve worked in a number of other professions, but none have given as much personal satisfaction as teaching. I like to think that my students know this – that they know I’m passionate about my subject and that I love working with young minds. Whilst i see myself very much as a teacher who pushes for exam success, who drills the skills and who pushes students to attain levels of the mark scheme set aside for the most able, I am yet more keen to engage students with the emotional elements of a text and to recognise literature and language as a powerful and magical tool that awakens their understanding of what it is to be human, and what it was like to be human in different times and places. I’m not sure how my students see me, but I hope they see someone who loves their job and who enjoys getting the best out of them.
My lessons alternate between being teacher-led and student-led. Quite often, I model a skill, before inviting students to demonstrate this skill themselves. I encourage discussion and debate and welcome students playing devil’s advocate, or questioning my beliefs about a piece of writing. When not having to stick too tightly to an exam syllabus, I like to encourage creative approaches to reading and to get students thinking about characters and themes from a different angle. However, the key to exam success is knowing the ideas and techniques of a writer, so we do do our fair share of annotation in class!
I have been hugely impressed by the German students who have visited Oswestry School. Many already have an excellent command of English but they are also often willing to voice their ideas and opinions, despite speaking in a foreign tongue. I know that discussion is encouraged in Germany, and this is certainly evident from the German students I have taught as they are keen to get into the thick of debate. They often contribute interpretative and thoughtful ideas, enriching the knowledge of our local children, too. It is certainly a two-way process.
Mrs Ruth Huish, Head of English
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At the moment I would say that I prefer English literature, probably because I have never really done it in Germany. Of course we read books in class, but never analysed the text or looked for a deeper meaning in it. In my old school we used to read a book each year and then watch the movie; these kinds of literature lessons were very different to the ones at Oswestry School and, of course, not as much fun.
I really like the fact that teachers often include some kind of games in their lessons or a bit of acting (e.g. Macbeth). Of course it has to be the right balance of fun and serious lesson, but I think the teachers here manage that really well.
My spoken and written English have improved so much over the last two years, not just because of the English lessons, but also because of the community we have here in Oswestry School. The English lessons have given me a little bit of sophisticated vocabulary as well as confidence to use it. I am certain that it will improve even more next year.
I would say that my English has improved more in Oswestry School than it would have in my German school, because here you are forced to read, write and speak in English – nobody would understand you otherwise! The English lessons also encouraged me to speak with confidence and sophistication, I feel like I receive a lot more support from my teachers here then I would have had in Germany. Furthermore, I think that the different environment made it easier to improve – there is no distraction from learning and you have to use the English language. My written English has improved a lot as I have had a more practice than I would have had in Germany.
Amelie, Year 10
