October 19, 2023, by Rebekah

Global Placement Grant – volunteering with Angloville

by NGinga Guerra, 3rd year Politics & International Relations student 

I spent a week of my summer with Angloville this year. They are an international company that offer work experience mainly to do with teaching English. I chose to go to Poland to a city called Poznan. My main task was to ensure the students were comfortable, in a peaceful environment to practice their English. The students I was assigned varied from the ages 11-18. I had a schedule everyday which consisted of 5-6 informal conversations with the students. The topics were often about past holidays, food, clothing and politics. The environment was quite laid back as we would have our conversations by the lake or in the hotel lounge.

I found the work experience quite humbling as I was able to realize how important the skill of speaking English is in the business world. Even though I had only spent a week in Poland I managed to learn a lot about the Polish culture through speaking to the students. The environment was highly sociable, and it gave me a chance to be pushed out of my comfort zone and ultimately help improve the students English level. I would say the biggest challenge was being in the same environment for a whole week as I was mainly at the hotel, so I didn’t get to explore much of Poland.

I would recommend doing extensive research on the company you wish to embark on a journey with and mailing them if you need clarification as it may put your mind at ease, but also lessen stress when you are commencing your work experience. My final bit of advice would be to not be afraid to take risks when wanting to work abroad as the experience may open doors for you in the long run.

You can find out more about Angloville and their travel abroad programmes by visiting their website. 

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