"What sort of teaching materials should I bring from the US?"
Some things I brought that ended up being really helpful were games! Especially this one and this one. I would definitely recommend bringing any sort of game. I really wanted to bring Apples to Apples, but I decided it would just be too heavy to bring all those cards. If I were staying here to teach English, though, that's definitely a game I would make an effort to bring back.
I also have a good stock of English magazines and newspapers, but too be honest, I didn't use them nearly as much as I had expected. They can definitely be useful if you make an effort to integrate them into your lesson, but they're not entirely necessary. Especially since you can get all kinds of English articles online.
Somethings I wish I had brought with and didn't are children books. German "high schools" begin at the 5th grade, so it would have been really cool to have a sort of story time with my 5th grade class. But alas, somehow I survived without.
Silly Bands were also all the rage before I left for Germany 2 years ago, so I stocked up on those to give away to my students as prizes for things. I didn't touch them at all last year. This year I brought them maybe 2 or 3 times, and it was cool for the students, but I don't give them away as much as I should (and now I'm stuck with like 50 silly bands and only 4 days of school left!). If you feel like bringing something like that, I would definitely recommend something small and light that won't take up any of your luggage - it's just not that worth it.
"What is the expected dress for teachers in Germany?"
I asked this question before I came to Germany as well and was told that it was pretty casual - jeans and such. Of course, in the US the standard is professional dress (which definitely does not include jeans), so I packed some slacks and blouses just to be safe. Of course, I've worn NONE of my teacher professional dress. Seriously. Don't waste space in your luggage packing nice pants and shoes and such, because they're just going to sit in your wardrobe and collect dust.
alright guys, that's all the unsolicited advice I have for now! But if you guys still have any questions/comments/concerns please feel free to let me know! As I like to remind you, I'm not a professional and other ETAs might completely different advice, but this is what I can share from my experiences after two years of being an ETA in Germany.
other Fulbright FAQ posts can be found here
other questions can be left as a comment on this post or emailed to me here
2 comments:
haha yeah, I've found German work attire to be fairly casual as well! The blazers I brought aren't getting much use either.
I find your posts about being a Fulbright ETA very very helpful. I am considering applying to the program and have been researching what it would be like if I get accepted. Thanks for making these FAQ Friday posts. You are awesome! Viele liebe Gruesse aus Pennsylvania!
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