A Very Satisfying Job!
Aswell as being Area Manager for ECI I have been a Trip Leader on many occasions. It is always such a satisfying job being a Trip Leader as you see the great transformation that takes place in the students both linguistically and in their own maturity and awareness of the world around them.
The Challenge of Speaking a Foreign Language for the Students
On arrival to the program country the students are always so nervous and worried about going to stay with their host family and having to speak in English. It’s really very understandable as it’s such a strange thing to hear ones own voice speaking in a foreign language all of a sudden. The students feel very embarrased and very shy to speak for the first few days. These few days are normally spent getting used to listening to English being spoken. Then bit by bit an amazing transformation takes place as the students begin to pluck up the courage to start putting sentences together in English. By the end of the first week the students feel like they can enter into a basic conversation with their host family as they’re feeling more comfortable hearing their own voice in English. It is really a very amazing process as by the end of the trip the student has progressed in leaps and bounds in his English and really feels more fluent. From my experience I feel like the host family experience really is the best way for the student to improve his English as he is truly immersed in an English speaking environment and has no other choice but to communicate with his family and speak the foreign language!
Students Become More Mature & Aware of the World Around Them!
At the beginning of the students stay as a Trip Leader you really do notice how the students have to accustom themselves to not having their parents to look after their belongings and direct them. For the first few days they depend a lot on the Trip Leader and Chaperones but as time moves on I have noticed a distinct change in the maturity of the students. Little by little they start becoming more responsible for themselves and their decisions and by the end of the trip they have transformed into more independent teens.
Being in a foreign country is most definetely an amazing opportunity for the students to realise that there is more to the world than their own community and culture back home, that a whole other world exists out there! During the trip you can see the students eyes wide open as they are surprised to see the cultural differences in this new foreign land. However slowly but surely as the students embark on their excursions and adventures with their host families they become more accepting and understanding of this new culture. They are fascinated by the differences with their own culture and embrace these differences rather than judging them. By the end of the programme it is very heart warming to see that students really do become more open-minded and accepting of cultural differences of the world around them!
Most Definetely A Rewarding Experience!
Being a Trip Leader has most definetely been a very rewarding experience for me as I had first hand experience of witnessing the students truly immerse themselves in a new language and culture!
About Sonya
