Teacher skills
My studies give me competency in teaching German language and IT (information technology) in Finnish schools through classes 1-9 and finnish high school.
ā
As a teacher my goals include creating a safe space to learn and offering a variety of tools and skills for learning and using foreign languages and technology in their everyday life. In addition, I seek to teach learning skills and guide the students towards finding their own strengths.
ā
I always try to make my classes as interactive and interesting as possible, taking into account my students' or pupils' ages, skill levels and group dynamics. I use various forms of media during my classes, like music, videos and games both digital and non-digital, as well as articles, social media posts and comics, whatever fits the needs and interests of my current class.
ā
When in need, I make exercises myself. I then use familiar vocabulary and explain all new words either by writing them down next to the exercise, explaining them verbally or both. Often I also create two or more versions of the same exercise to better meet the needs of students with different skill levels within the same class.
On this page you'll find some examples on learning material made by me. The page is divided into three categories: creative exercises for writing (2), grammatic exercises (2) and vocabulary exercises (2). At the bottom can be found one example on a slideshow used during my teacher trainee period.
ā
The examples on this page are in German, Finnish or mixed.
Creative exercises for writing
Use the arrows to switch between exercises.
Depending on the age and skill levels of a group or class, I give the instructions either completely in German, both in German and in Finnish, or in a mix of German and Finnish. I often begin my lessons with "tuning in"-moments, like short discussions on familiar topics.
Grammatic exercises
Use the arrows to switch between exercises.
Sometimes learning material in school books is not enough or it doesn't fit the needs of a group, thus some extra exercises need to be made or searched elsewhere.
Vocabulary training exercises
Use the arrows to switch between exercises.
During my teacher trainee period, I used a lot of different exercises in books, but also made some myself either from scratch or by modifying premade exercises.
The first exercise below, Fruchtsalatspiel - Hedelmäsalaattipeli was a little game with physical movement included. We played the game with elementary school pupils. The original slide had pictures of animals instead of plain words, borrowed from the class' text book. The list was on the wall of the play room throughout the whole game, to let the children check the animal words any time they needed to.
Slideshow example
Use the arrows to switch between slides.
In my teaching, I use slideshows with static slides, slideshows with animation and interactive slideshows as needed to ensure, that those in need of written or visual form of material will get it in addition to the spoken teaching. My slideshows utilize colours, different fonts and text formating, pictures and questions wherever they could benefit the student.
