Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.

(TESOL)

Internships and Teacher Training in ESL

Author(s): Wallace K. Ewing
Source: TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Jun., 1973), pp. 153-159
Published by: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL)
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Internshipsand TeacherTrainingin ESL

Wallace K. Ewing
The value to the student and to the professionof teaching internships is generally well known and accepted. However, there still are
relatively few internshipprograms;this paper suggests problemslikely
to be encounteredin setting up an internship program,and suggests
guidelines for solving the problems,especially in regard to pre-service
orientationas well as the internshipexperience itself. Two "case histories" are looked at in some depth, both stemming from the author's
experiences with an internship program in Puerto Rico. These two
histories indicate the diversity of responses that may derive from the
same or similar situations, and lend substance to the preceding guidelines.

I have three reasons for suggesting that internships in ESL are especially valuable: 1) Traditionally, an internship provides the novice with
the practical experience helpful in making a smooth transition between the
academic and professional worlds. A teaching internship can provide the
pospective teacher with valuable experience, structured and guided, before
he is placed in the classroom alone. 2) Today's stringent budget restrictions
make it exiremely difficult to offer teaching assistantships or other financial
help to more than a relatively few qualified applicants. An internship is,
in essence, a work-study program in which the work and study are closely
integrated. 3) ESL teachers I have supervised often complained that their
academic training did not really prepare them to teach, that their
training was not relevant to the "real world" of the classroom situation.
Whether justified or not, the student saw his complaints as legitimate,
and they need to be taken into account when setting up a degree curriculum.
Many potential teachers of ESL have little or no contact with learners of
ESL before they find themselves face-to-face with them in the classroom.
Internships offer an immersion into the teaching situation that practice
teaching does not, although that is a worthy alternative. The intern is
not a part-time teacher; he is full-time with full-time responsibilities. Nor
does the teaching of foreign students in a stateside environment usually
approachthe circumstances of teaching English overseas, where ages, motivation, goals, and curriculum may be much different. Thus, obviously, the
overseas internship is especially helpful for those who expect to teach
overseas.
There is the disadvantage that an internship increases the length of
time it will take for the student to get his degree, since the number of
required courses will be the same, with or without the internship. HowMr. Ewing, formerly a teacher of ESL at Michigan State University, Iowa State
University, the University of Tehran, and the University of Illinois, is Dean of the
College, Colby College, New Hampshire.
153

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154

TESOL QUARTERLY

ever, the internship should be an optional part of the TESL program, so

that students go into it voluntarily, depending on their financial need and
their need for experience; often the benefits derived from the experience
offset the increased time that is involved. Furthermore, it is probable that
the field experience will help the student in his quest for permanent
employment after receiving his degree. For instance, a year's internship
in the public schools of Puerto Rico makes it likely that the intern will be
qualified to teach English to Puerto Ricans in Chicago or other urban areas,
or to Spanish speakers in general. Finally, since course credit is given for
work done either through independent study or in a relevant course taught
by a staff member in the field, the intern is gaining at least some academic
credit during his internship. In brief, the intern garners experience, wages,
and course credit for his efforts.
Selection of interns can be based on such objective criteria as gradepoint average and previous course of study. Possibly more important is an
analysis of the applicant's oral and/or written statements concerning his
commitment to TESL and reasons for wanting to be part of the program.
Some of the characteristics to look for, that seem to bear upon successful
completion of the internship, are: 1) a willingness to remain apolitical during
the program; 2) the maintenance of a flexible learning posture (i.e., a willingness to learn as well as to teach); 3) a hiatus in missionary zeal; and
4) a desire to know the students, their culture, and their language. Not
all interns will be as concerned with local political issues as others, but
those that are can reach a degree of involvement that interferes with teaching (and learning) effectiveness. For example, in Puerto Rico some interns
under my supervision concluded that English language was a tool of "imperialism," and as teachers of the language they were assisting in the
exploitation of the islanders. Such an attitude will (and did) have a negative
effect on the intern's approach to his job, and is likely to inhibit the "learning
posture" mentioned above, which is the willingness to listen to the local
teachers and learn from them about the curriculum, testing, discipline,
and other class-related items. In fact, the two interns mentioned were
affected in just this way. Missionary zeal takes many forms, not the least
of which is the feeling that the local teaching situation is a shambles and
totally ineffective, and that the intern has the answers to all or almost all
of the problems, answers that he feels he must share with others. Finally,
the intern must show an interest in the students' history, economy, customs,
folklore, language, and so on. Perhaps the one key word related to all four
points is flexibility, the willingness and ability to adapt. These are attributes that can be stressed after selection, and will depend to a large extent
on the guidance of the program director; nevertheless an evaluation of the
applicant's tendency toward flexibility can be a help in selection.
Internships need not be restricted to overseas sites, either; Western
Illinois University, under the leadership of Dr. Leonie, is now prepared to
implement a program in which interns will cooperate with the Illinois

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INTERNSHIPS

155

Migrant Council in establishing English classes near the fields and factories
where the migrants work and live. Other domestic possibilities include
teaching in large urban areas, where both English as a second language
and English as a second dialect could be taught by interns, especially in
the community colleges; the University of Illinois this year has initiated
such a program at Triton College in Chicago and is exploring the possibility of opening other programs in the Chicago area.
There are three components necessary to any TESL internship program: 1) the teaching experience; 2) professional guidance in the form
of supervised teaching and seminars or workshops; and 3) community
involvement, since no internship program is likely to survive in a vacuum.
Efforts must be taken during planning and implementation to ensure that
each of these components is part of an integrated whole, is well thoughtout and administered. Based on my own experience with prospective ESL
teachers when I was field director of one overseas internship program, I
would like to offer some guidelines and suggestions in regard to pre-service
orientation and the internship experience itself.
I. Pre-service orientation.
Prior to arrival on the site, or shortly after, the interns need help preparing for their actual teaching and living conditions, both of which are
likely to be much different from anything they have previously experienced. On-site orientation is in addition to whatever academic preparation the interns have been able to receive before they begin teaching. The
following points highlight areas of special concern.
1. Hold at least part of the orientation program on the teaching site
so that the environment reflects the actual conditions the interns
will work in. Words alone or even words supplemented by pictures
will not have the impact of first-hand contact.
2. Call on former interns or other personnel who have had experience
in the same or similar situations to share their observations with the
new interns. Returned interns, especially, are likely to give valuable
suggestions and advice about "survival."
3. Relate the orientation program to the immediate and specific problems the interns will be faced with. For instance, interns will want
to know about local transportation-how much it costs, when it is
available, and how much knowledge of the local language is necessary to make full use of it. Questions will also relate to the teaching situation, such as the need to "sign in" at school, attendance at
teachers' meetings, the problem of discipline, pupil evaluation, and
so forth.
4. Carefully outline the roles of the interns as they relate to the overall teaching situation and to the specific teaching situation in which
the intern will find himself. In brief, indicate where he fits in the

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156

educational hierarchy and to whom he is responsible in his particular teaching site.

5. Bring local teachers and the interns together both academically and
socially. The local teachers may feel threatened by the interns
because they do not understand the precise reasons for their presence. The interns, on the other hand, may not of their own accord
freely interact with the local teachers, perhaps because of a language barrier or some other factor. Brought together early in the
program, problems of polarization may be avoided.
6. Help make the interns aware of the psychology of their own adjustment to the new culture; that is, advise them of the pattern of adjustment that they are likely to go through. While awareness of
the process will not eliminate the problem, the interns will be aware
that their experience and occasional feelings of anomie are not unique,
and they may even be able to observe their own bell-shaped pattern
of initial elation and excitement, subsequent frustration, and gradual adjustment.
II. The internship
The best orientation cannot fully prepare the interns for all the usual
and unusual situations that they are liable to face. Some interns, of course,
will need encouragement and kind words all during their internships,
but especially during the early weeks on the site. The following comments are suggestions based, again, on my own experience in Puerto Rico.
1. The director-in-the-field should be sympathetic, if not empathic,
to the plight of the interns; and he should be sensitive to their expressed and implied needs. The director must be experienced in
TESL, of course, but he must also be one who is able to at least listen
to cries of despair and elation, and respond to those cries.
2. The director should establish an extensive pattern of classroom
visitations. Sporadic observations seem to be less effective than a
brief but intensive series of observations; for instance, the director
might visit one intern for two solid days every four weeks rather
than one day every two weeks. The point is that it is desirable to
avoid the possibility of catching the intern during such a brief period of time that his performance may be unrepresentative.
3. The director should teach at least one class similar to those the interns are teaching. It is quite easy to give teaching suggestions
based on "how it ought to be" and quite another based on actual
classroom involvement. Interns are more likely to respond to suggestions based on experience rather than on theory only.
4. The interns should have the opportunity to express themselves both
orally and in writing. There are two reasons for this: 1) it helps
the interns organize their own thoughts on what they're doing and

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to compare their experiences with their peers'; 2) it gives the director the necessary "feedback" to assess the intern's state of mind
and his needs, especially in terms of his adjustment to the teaching
and living situations. The internship program should be as flexible
as the interns themselves.
5. The workshop-seminar should be related to the needs of the interns. The director must guide the discussion and he can assign
various topics for study and research; however, the interns will
probably need time to bring into play their own classroom experiences and the problems they are facing. The interns seem able to
see solutions to the problems of others more rapidly than they can
see solutions to their own; at least they are readier to verbalize them.
6. The interns should be encouraged to adopt a "learning posture"
with their local professional counterparts rather than a "teaching
posture." It may be necessary to remind the intern teachers that the
local teachers will be there long after they have left, and they were
probably there long before the intern teachers arrived; it's possible
that the local personnel see their teaching jobs in a somewhat different light than the interns do. More important, the intern may just
be wrong in his appraisal of the problem and in the solution he
would offer.
As partial illustration of my comments, I would like to look at two
"case histories" that reflect the actual experiences of two interns who were
under my supervision in Puerto Rico during the 1970-71 academic year.
I have selected these particular individuals because they represent two
extremes, yet each one embodies characteristics of the other interns.
A. JUNE

June began the school year with the predictable feeling of excitement.
Early in the academic year she told me of her contentment with her teaching assignment and with the school. By early September, however, she was
discouraged, in a state of despair, and utterly depressed. She withdrew
from the other interns, considered returning to the States, and generally
rejected everything: the program, the teaching assignment, the Puerto
Rican people, the Puerto Rican educational system, and its administrators,
her students, and her peers. Fortunately, June did not remain at this extreme low-level of negative feelings for the entire year, but neither did she
progress to the level of acceptance shown by the others, including those
who had been similarly depressed. Rather, June seemed to level off at
some point just short of full rejection. Yet she did do many things with
her Puerto Rican students that showed her interest in them. For instance,
she developed special activities for Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day that were festive and personal. She immersed herself in the
local culture extensively by traveling around the island, mixing with the

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158

Puerto Rican teachers, and making a concerted effort to lear Spanish.

Despite her efforts, she was never able to gain control of her class, nor to
feel that the teaching of English in Puerto Rico could be more than a highly
undesirable experience. Her paper for the workshop presented an interesting catalog of games, songs, and activities, but it did not relate her ideas
to any language purpose. Her attendance at the workshops, which were
held every week, was good, but her involvement was forced and unenlightening.
At the end of the academic year, June wrote that she expected her students to learn "very little" from their English classes, and she thought a
teacher would do well to lear how to "survive" in the classroom. English,
she concluded, should not be taught "in its present form" in Puerto Rico,
and that the best thing was to do as little as possible. In her paper she
added:
Since the teaching situation is generally impossible for anyone who considers himself a creative person, the best way for an exchange teacher of
that calibre to keep his sanity is to look for other satisfying compensations
within the culture. One can learn more by really getting to know Puerto
Ricans than by playing trivia in the classroom. This, to me, is a far more
important lesson to learn than that superficialitywe here call "teaching."
One doesn't teach in P.R.-he merely survives the classroom.
June's experience, obviously, was a bad one. She did not continue her
work in ESL after the internship, but returned to her home state and took
on a non-teaching job. I seriously doubt that anything could have been
done to change June's feelings. June's experience as an intern prepared
her to confront the real problems of language teaching and helped her
decide it was not a suitable career for her. Without the intern experience,
June might have spent a year or two before reaching such a decision, and
then only after great expense financially and emotionally.
B. JACK

Unlike June, Jack was able to adjust swiftly, permanently, and with
seeming ease. He enjoyed teaching English, he did it well, and he developed his knowledge of English language, he became self-confident
in his teaching, and he committed himself to teaching ESL. His flexibility
and his capacity for organization were attributes of inestimable help during the period of adjustment, but his natural teaching ability was perhaps
the most important factor in his contentment. He gained immediate control of his students and he never lost it; they learned English and seemed
to enjoy doing it. Two excerpts from my journal will help show the progress Jack made.
September 28. I managed to visit Jack's class today for the first time.
I was very pleased with what I saw and I was quite impressed with his
presentation. In the fourth grade class he reviewed a written quiz he had
given last week, but he reinforcedit with a considerablequantity of oral

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repetition and he also laced it with his own vigor and powerful voice ....
The pupils displayed plenty of enthusiasm and it appeared that they were
with Jack throughout the class period. He eliminated the possibility of
boredom with his own tireless pace and by a song sung by the entire class,
involving the physical activity of touching the head, shoulders, etc....
The sixth grade was more docile, but Jack's approach was no less interesting. He was presenting comparisons for the first time . . . and he
did so with the help of . . . boxes of different sizes ....
He then moved
on to objects in the classroom ....
At the end of the class the sixth
graders were still enthusiastic and wholly involved in the proceedings.
Despite his success in these two classes, Jack searched for praise and
criticism of his presentation. In fact, he was so persistent in his questioning that I asked him if he didn't feel confident about his teaching and
he replied that he did not ....
When I left him, I don't think I had
really convinced him that he had done a good job teaching. I doubt that
he can be convinced; rather he must sense it for himself, realizing his
success from within.
March 3. I visited Jack's sixth grade class today and thought it excellent. The class reviewed for an exam, read from the language book,
and acted out a dialogue they had learned. I told Jack afterwards, "Of
course they're good students, and that always makes a teacher's job easier."
He replied, "Sure, but I'd like to think I'm the one that made them good
students." I thought his comment revealed the depth of his self-confidence
and the positive feeling he now has toward English as a second language....
Certainly these "case histories" are simplified; many crucial variables
have been omitted. Still, I hope they have served the purpose of showing
how diverse the responses to similar situations can be. Fortunately, there
were more interns who reacted as Jack did, but nevertheless students
such as June must be attended to and helped as much as possible. Largely,
however, it's a question of "accentuating the positive."

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