Gap Year Ideas (or What the heck is Angloville?)
Hello, Reader!
As you’re reading this, I’m five days into my first adventure! On my Instagram, I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m leaving London for a couple of months. Last Friday, my two suitcases and I headed out to the Stansted airport and made our way to Poznan, Poland!
Why am I in Poznan and why is it my first destination of the year? Many of you know that I’d like to become a teacher in the future, or at least that I’m passionate about education. This is why I’m taking part in a program called Angloville as a volunteer mentor! It’s described as “a unique experience that enables linguistic and cultural exchange between the native English speakers and language students”. I’m currently taking part in the program for kids and next week I’m taking part in one with teenagers.
When I decided to take a gap year, teaching English abroad was high up on my list of ideas. I researched a lot of different programs offering TEFL experiences, but some of them were very long and some were very expensive. Angloville just seemed the most suitable for me: each program is only a week long and the only thing I had to pay for was my flights. Programs like this are perfect opportunities to travel and experience other cultures in a much cheaper way! Yes, I know, I grew up in Poland so it doesn’t really count as “experiencing other cultures” but there are placements in other countries! In fact, I wanted a placement in Prague but, unfortunately, the dates just didn’t match up for me - so I’m in Poznan instead!
I found this program through just regular research online. There are websites which are specifically targeted towards students planning their gap years. I believe that the one I used was GoAbroad.com which was quite helpful because it personalizes the placements it shows you. You’re asked to complete a sort of survey about what you want out of your gap year which is reviewed by an actual person who picks out programs best suited to what you’re looking for! I’m pretty certain that is how I found Angloville! The only thing left was to complete an application which isn’t as extensive as some of my other applications this year - but some of the questions seemed odd at first glance! The extended answers included “What’s your educational background?” and “What are some of your interests and passions?” but also “How would you describe your accent?” (I asked every person who regularly hears me speak to help me with that one.) Soon after submitting my application, I received a phone call from one of the staff team to ask me some additional questions and, I assume, to listen to me speak English. After all this, I got to choose the programs I wanted to take part in and ended up choosing two - one for kids and one for teenagers, - both in Poznan! They take place consecutively, but at different venues which I’m very excited about.
If you’re currently planning your gap year - I strongly recommend placements like this! If you’re not taking a gap year? Look into programs like this that take place over the summer! So, so worth it.
I hope your January is going well!
Love, Agnes xo
As you’re reading this, I’m five days into my first adventure! On my Instagram, I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m leaving London for a couple of months. Last Friday, my two suitcases and I headed out to the Stansted airport and made our way to Poznan, Poland!
Why am I in Poznan and why is it my first destination of the year? Many of you know that I’d like to become a teacher in the future, or at least that I’m passionate about education. This is why I’m taking part in a program called Angloville as a volunteer mentor! It’s described as “a unique experience that enables linguistic and cultural exchange between the native English speakers and language students”. I’m currently taking part in the program for kids and next week I’m taking part in one with teenagers.
When I decided to take a gap year, teaching English abroad was high up on my list of ideas. I researched a lot of different programs offering TEFL experiences, but some of them were very long and some were very expensive. Angloville just seemed the most suitable for me: each program is only a week long and the only thing I had to pay for was my flights. Programs like this are perfect opportunities to travel and experience other cultures in a much cheaper way! Yes, I know, I grew up in Poland so it doesn’t really count as “experiencing other cultures” but there are placements in other countries! In fact, I wanted a placement in Prague but, unfortunately, the dates just didn’t match up for me - so I’m in Poznan instead!
I found this program through just regular research online. There are websites which are specifically targeted towards students planning their gap years. I believe that the one I used was GoAbroad.com which was quite helpful because it personalizes the placements it shows you. You’re asked to complete a sort of survey about what you want out of your gap year which is reviewed by an actual person who picks out programs best suited to what you’re looking for! I’m pretty certain that is how I found Angloville! The only thing left was to complete an application which isn’t as extensive as some of my other applications this year - but some of the questions seemed odd at first glance! The extended answers included “What’s your educational background?” and “What are some of your interests and passions?” but also “How would you describe your accent?” (I asked every person who regularly hears me speak to help me with that one.) Soon after submitting my application, I received a phone call from one of the staff team to ask me some additional questions and, I assume, to listen to me speak English. After all this, I got to choose the programs I wanted to take part in and ended up choosing two - one for kids and one for teenagers, - both in Poznan! They take place consecutively, but at different venues which I’m very excited about.
If you’re currently planning your gap year - I strongly recommend placements like this! If you’re not taking a gap year? Look into programs like this that take place over the summer! So, so worth it.
I hope your January is going well!
Love, Agnes xo
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