TABLE OF CONTENT

I. Acknowledgement ......................................................................................................... 2

II. Significance of the internship ........................................................................................ 3

III. Internship agency description........................................................................................ 4

1. About GrapeSEED ................................................................................................. 4

2. About Ms. Luna GrapeSEED ................................................................................ 5

IV. Duties and schedules ..................................................................................................... 6

1. Before class ............................................................................................................ 6

2. TSI lesson .............................................................................................................. 6

3. REP lesson ............................................................................................................. 7

4. After class .............................................................................................................. 7

V. Personal achievement and improvement ....................................................................... 8

1. Knowledge ............................................................................................................. 8

2. Skills ...................................................................................................................... 8

3. Experiences ............................................................................................................ 9

VI. Challenges and solutions ............................................................................................. 11

1. Communication .................................................................................................... 11

2. Disrespectfulness ................................................................................................. 11

3. Short time ............................................................................................................. 12

4. Lack of experience ............................................................................................... 12

VII. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 13

VIII. Recommendations ................................................................................................ 13

IX. Appendix ..................................................................................................................... 14

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I. Acknowledgement

Being students at School of Foreign Language – Hanoi University of Science and

Technology, I comprehended that my internship would never be completed without

helpful assistances of the following people who are always on our side during time the

research being implemented.

I’m grateful to Mr. Pham Manh Cuong – my supervisor for his indispensable

guidance as well as his dedicated efforts in carefully guiding and giving me valuable

advices when I first came for intern or when I had to face with troubles at all stages of the

internship; thereby, creating motivation for me to complete this research and inspiring me

to continue in teaching career. Likewise, we wish to thank Ms. Luna GrapeSEED English

Center had provided me a suitable position for me to improve myself.

We would like to thank my teachers with their guidance before and during my

internship. Mrs. Thuy Dung had provided various types of information and guidance for

me to register my internship in both SOFL and internship agency. I would like to express

our gratitude for Mrs. Lan Huong who have supported and supervised for last 5 weeks.

Your experiences and specialized knowledge are really useful information relating to

diverse aspects of my internship.

Finally, we remain forever grateful to our beloved parents. Their great sacrifice,

expectation and belief in bright future of children from skills as well as the knowledge

obtained at Hanoi University of Science and Technology are the encouragement and

motivation for us to have wonderful spirits, try our best and achieve certain successes in

life in general and in the process of the research in particular.

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II. Significance of the internship

Internship is an important content in the curriculum of English language. The

graduation internship process aims to help students: train professional labor skills,

consolidate and improve knowledge learned at school, apply knowledge into practice at

internships. Also, internship enhances accessibility for student’s future job. In the process

of studying at the school, students only grasp the theoretical part, the theory has no

practical experience, so when approaching reality, students need to actively think between

theory and reality. On that basis, improve the knowledge learned, apply the knowledge

learned to solve practical problems posed.

Through this internship, students have the opportunity to interact with officials,

employees, and leaders of the internship unit to learn from experiences in all aspects. On

that basis, we define for themselves a perspective on career, build up and nurture a love

for the profession associated with the scientific ideal and the spirit of dedication to serve

the socio-economic development of Party and government.

Internship is a condition for students to complete their study program at their

school. After this internship, students must do their graduation thesis or final exam to

complete their study program. Internships help students orient their careers after

graduation, help students maximize their intellectual ability, flexibly apply reasoning to

practice to get a new perspective on their career.

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III. Internship agency description

1. About GrapeSEED

GrapeSEED is a Japanese copyright program that has been studied at Meysen

Academy students for 40 years. The program uses scientific research on helping children

learn English as their mother tongue and many studies on the psychology of children aged

3-8. The program starts with children 4-8 years old, studying for 8 years, divided into 40

units. Each week, children will learn 4-5 sessions, each session lasting 90 minutes,

including 40 minutes of TSI interaction and 40 minutes of listening to focus REP. The

number of sessions per week will give your children a continuous English-speaking

environment, simulating your real environment in a native country. At the end of the

whole program, children will be able to use English as a native friend of the same age

with 4 perfect skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. GrapeSEED focuses on

developing the oral language skills of listening and speaking as the foundation for

communication. Students also have the opportunity to learn introductory reading and

writing skills that are aligned with developmentally appropriate stages.

The program is currently applied in 18 countries, including the US, for children in

immigrant families to keep up with native students in primary school. GrapeSEED

focuses on children's enjoyment after each unit is a new content, the lesson is easy to

understand but not too simple, children still have many things to do but not get bored. It is

continually being changed and redesigned by the researchers in the US and Japan with

new applications. In fact, on average 2-3 years, a new and more updated version is

researched.

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 2. About Ms. Luna GrapeSEED

Founded on May 4, 2016, Ms. Luna GrapeSEED English center initially consisted

of only a few small classes with the motto of creating a safe and progressive environment

for her and her students to really focus on teaching and learning. Currently, it has

developed 5 branches and continues to expand in scale. Ms. Luna GrapeSEED creates an

environment in which 100% teachers, students and staff communicate with each other by

English. Personally, I find it very interesting and it is necessary for students to gain native

response to English. Moreover, I have been trained to follow principles of operation as:

focusing on her teaching and the learning of students, focusing on creating the best

conditions for teachers to be dedicated to teaching and take the classroom quality and

children's spirit as principles. To become a GrapeSEED center with the best environment

and standards in Vietnam. Ms. Luna’s goal of the apparatus. Firstly, Ms. Luna wants to

create a progressive, civilized and friendly environment among participating teachers;

take care of each their life so that she can be most dedicated to long-term teaching.

Secondly, she wants to create an exciting, trusting and progressive environment between

teachers and students and between classmates. Lastly, together, Ms. Luna GrapeSEED

builds standards in dealing with students and parents, thereby giving students messages

and lessons on civilized behavior in the culture of English-speaking countries.

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IV. Duties and schedules

In Ms. Luna GrapeSEED, each class lasts about 80-90 minutes including 40

minutes of interaction (TSI) with the homeroom teacher and 40 minutes of REP listening.

In general, I take responsibility for the safety of the child from the time of accepting the

student from the parent to the child's send back to the parent at the end of school and

encourage the child to do what is essential to study effectively and what should be done

regularly in the classroom, helping the child believe and keep trying.

1. Before class

I must arrive 20-30 minutes before class start to prepare, set up, check on

classroom equipment and pick up students. The class has two main parts: board and

corner. I need to negotiate and discuss with the main teacher about the convenient seats

and corners to ensure that all students can see the teacher and the materials comfortably.

Occasionally, change the classroom set up in phases for excitement and constantly switch

between sitting in the front and back rows and sitting in a U shape around the teacher.

When students come, I also talk to them earlier for them to be familiar with English

interaction.

2. TSI lesson

During the TSI lesson with the homeroom teacher, it lasts for 40-50 minutes.

During class, students must move from a corner to another several times. Every time we

move from play a game to activity to writer to another corner... I will quickly remind the

students to settle in a suitable position (small students sit in the first line; big students sit

in the back). Train your child to stay in the right place when moving into the corner.

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 Besides, I should choose a standing position to observe students so as not to avoid

the students' vision. When the students are not cooperating with the rest of the class, I

have to prompt you individually and use a simple command. For those who are far away

from where I stand, I can use body language, eye-contact... if they do not cooperate, I

have to come to remind in person. I usually whisper so that the student can listen but not

avoid affecting others.

3. REP lesson

Listening to the REP lesson, I will stand by herself in class, let the students

listen/watch/organize games, activities to help children have a fun and interesting lesson.

Mainly, I will open an audio or video file for them to listen and guide them to track lines

in their storybook. Sometimes, I hold game or action activities that related to the unit they

are learning. I have to keep class stable, make sure all students are listening attentively

and safe in their classrooms. At the end of the class, I often give my students small gifts to

encourage them.

4. After class

When my students go home, I tell them to line up neatly and leave the class one by

one. I also complete the daily attendance report. Those who are absent from the 2nd

session of the branch’s management report/ contact parents by themselves to find out the

reason and note in the file. In case of discontinuation, notify the facility manager at the

earliest. Weekly I have to report to the branch’s manager about the class’s situation and

proactively compose the REP plan next week. Additionally, I talk and discuss with

parents about the child's learning situation in class.

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V. Personal achievement and improvement

After 5 weeks of working at Ms. Luna GrapeSEED, I found myself having a lot of

positive changes. This period of time is short but it brings me a lot of valuable

experiences.

1. Knowledge

During the working process, I have applied a lot of knowledge learned into

practical work. Firstly, they were the English skills I learned in the foundation curriculum.

After going to work, I realized that I could apply a lot of knowledge I learned in the real

world, I also understood more about what I was taught that I used to not understand.

Second, I have studied Phonetics and Phonology so that now I can confidently pronounce

correctly every single sound so that I can help my students gain the most native

pronunciation. In particular, thanks to the process of volunteering, I can easily accept the

work and apply the leadership skill to perform my job very well.

2. Skills

For the first time in my life, I wrote a CV by myself. This was much more difficult

than I thought. I had to reread the documents, recall the knowledge I learned from Basic

Communication Skills to complete my CV. Before joining the internship, I had to do an

interview to convince the recruiter. I had to review the knowledge from EEEEE to give a

small presentation to prove that I am qualified for the job. I have also received both

positive and negative comments from recruiters. I felt a bit sad but thanks to that I

realized my weaknesses to improve my presentation skills.

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 During my internship, I received enthusiastic guidance from the center's staff.

Since this was my first time officially going to work, I was a little shy and scared at first.

However, the supervisor helped me a lot. I learned how to manage the classroom, how to

operate a daily lesson. I was taught how to communicate with children in the most

appropriate way because, in the process of a new language acquisition, children have to

deal with numerous difficulties in communicating in that language. Besides, I have been

trained to be patient when working because when working with children of different ages,

teachers need to be persistent. These things I have never learned, so the practice helps me

know a lot more.

Besides, in working time, I also have to use 100% English to communicate and

interact with everyone. This is done with the aim to maintain a completely English

environment to help children achieve the most natural communication skills.

Communicating in English strengthens the speaking skill I learned in SOFL in the

modules: Speaking Skills I and Speaking Skills II. During my internship, I also interacted

with native speakers, not only helping me improve my communication skills but also

showing me the diversity of English in different countries even though they speak the

same language. That is what I have learned in the module English in the world.

3. Experiences

At Ms. Luna GrapeSEED, I work as a teaching assistant or a REP teacher. Before

starting to work, I received full training and specific instructions for the jobs that I would

take. I was introduced about Ms. Luna GrapeSEED very carefully, the more understood

how the center works and its motto, the more I see the dedication of the staff here and the

effectiveness of this teaching method for students. I have been able to work and

experience in a very professional and supportive environment.

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 Besides, working with children has brought me a lot of fun and enjoyable

experiences. I was able to play and study with the kids, which made me feel like a little

girl again. They are the most innocent and pure children, they have a very happy and

creative outlook of normal life around them. They serve as an endless source of

motivation for me to go to work every day. There are a few kids who are very shy and

introverted, I usually pay more attention to them in order to help them acquire knowledge

faster. And I realized that with the children like that I must be really patient and sensitive

about their situation. Also, there are a few kids who are extremely smart and have many

extremely cool and unique ideas, those kids always surprise me.

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VI. Challenges and solutions
1. Communication

Communication has always been an unsolved problem I have in my life. I am an

introvert, so talking, interacting or sharing emotions is very difficult for me. Meanwhile,

in a modern working environment, and especially working with small children, requires

me to be an active, energetic person. At first I was unable to share my opinion with my

supervisor or partner and always sat quietly in every meeting. I couldn't even speak to the

student's parents because of my fear. On the contrary, for children, the approach seemed

easier to me perhaps because I am not afraid of being judged by them. I have sought the

help of my classmates. They give me ideas and advices to help me to be opened up.

Instead of discussing in the meeting, I decided to contribute my opinions to the center by

exchanging news with the supervisor privately. He saw my weakness and he decided to

help me open my words and guided me to help me feel more confident in myself.

Although I have been more confident in communicating with people, this is something I

don't rule yet and I need to push more effort to become more integrated with everyone.

2. Disrespectfulness

During the internship, I was scolded a few times. That’s right. But I was not

scolded by the supervisor or the staff of the center but by the owner of the property we

rented. She scolded me because I let the kids run around the classroom and play together

in class as she claimed that they would ruin the facility. Once she even shouted at me

because I tried to open the window without asking her permission as she said I could

damage her window. She even made me clean things and many works which are not my

responsible for. I had gone to work in scared for 2 weeks, I didn't know how to react to

her actions, and what she did really scare me.

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 However, when she was about to yell at me for letting the kids playing in the

classroom, I immediately protested and expressed my displeasure. She then reported to

my supervisor about my "disrespectful" behavior. Then he spoke with me and learned the

truth of the matter. He advised me to tell him about this from nowhere for him to deal

with, that if I keep it to myself I will be disadvantaged and perceived by others as weak

and easy to be bullied.

3. Short time

In addition, one of the difficulties that I encountered during internship was lack of

time. I both studied in the school and interned at the same time so I felt time was too

rushed and working in that situation made me a little tired and sometimes exhausted at the

end of each day. It also prevented me from attending some of the meetings because of the

same class schedule. Moreover, I felt that the only 5-week internship was too rush for us

to learn. I found this time to be a bit short. I think it should be longer so that students can

experience and train themselves more at work environment. I hope I can practice for a

longer period in the actual working environment, in spite of being a trainee helps me be

very favored and guided everything wholeheartedly.

4. Lack of experience

After 5 weeks of internship, I realized that a lot of my weaknesses need to be

overcome, especially the lack of work experience. If I have worked in education-related

jobs before, my internship would have been more successful. Lack of work experience

caused me to struggle in the first time working, I had to put my best effort to arrange the

duties and manage to work properly. I think there will be many students meet the same

troubles like me so I think this is a big obstacle for most of you students. A chance to

work in part-time job or be a collaborator will be helpful for them. However, they face

usually struggles enough while finding a good company or just try not to be fooled.

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VII. Conclusion

An internship is the last step that pre-university students must take, and it is a

must. Or in other words, students have to experience the field they are studying, so that

when they graduate, they can integrate well with the business or pedagogical environment

that they pursue. After practicing and working at MS. LUNA GRAPESEED, I found

myself positively improving and experiencing many interesting things. This is not only a

time for me to orient my future career but also an opportunity for me to review and apply

the knowledge and skills that I have learned at SOFL and HUST. This practice will

always be a very memorable experience for me. I feel satisfied with the results I achieved

and look forward to continuing to work at the internship agency. I also feel grateful to

those who have helped me during the last time.

VIII. Recommendations

- A module that teach students skills to dealing with work in reality

- More workshops about different specific careers

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IX. Appendix

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