20 days

...until I go to Marburg, Germany.

My name is Janice and I am from Toronto, Canada. I also happen to be a PhD student in the German department at a large North Atlantic university in the United States. As a part of this program, graduate students in our department are often encouraged to go abroad for one year. While abroad, we audit courses at the university in Marburg, collect data and read for our dissertation projects, and we teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at the language centre, even thought most of us have never actually taught English before. It's not that we haven't ever taught - we're all seasoned GFL (German as a Foreign Language) instructors. But this isn't German. And it sure isn't America.

It is interesting that in many countries, people with little teaching experience (English or otherwise) get EFL jobs simply because they are native speakers. Prized for their mother tongue, they are often hired over those who are not. Are they really better teachers? I know very little about English grammar. But I know German grammar. I can teach German. Teaching English, however, will be a new experience for me.

My native speaker proficiency in English does not give me the confidence that it seems to give so many EFL employers and hopeful students and parents around the world. Still, I'm really looking forward to finding out what it is like to teach English in a German context (and at all, really).

Departure date: September 20, 2009.