For the past few weeks, I have been looking forward to joining the team of staff here at Spark Languages, and thanks to everyone’s warm welcome I have been settling in well!
As I am studying Applied Languages with Spanish and Japanese, naturally I have an interest in different countries, their cultures and how they speak. I chose to complete my internship in Spain (over Japan) as I am more familiar with its’ people, their kindness, compassion and work ethic. As well as this, I have some Spanish blood in my family so it is the language I would like to improve the most. I have never gotten a chance to fully connect with Spanish- I dove for the opportunity to start studying it at third level. I believe that if there is something in life you want to start doing, it is never too late to begin achieving it.
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What exactly does the Spark Secretary do?
My role for the upcoming six months will be that of the Spark Secretary- I will be doing a lot of work behind the scenes. This will include things like preparation ahead of group arrival, administration tasks and making sure that everything goes as smoothly as possible for my coworkers. Eventually I will also be teaching some English classes and improving my TEFL skills, which I am really looking forward to as I hope to be a teacher in the future!
What do I want to get out of this internship?
I have four main objectives I want to achieve over the course of this internship.
- I want to make friends and develop connections that I can carry into my adult life.
- I want to independently learn how to manage my time and important tasks in a responsible way.
- I want to develop skills that will become useful to me as a language teacher in the future.
- I want to become the ideal coworker who is positive, patient, friendly and most importantly good at their job!
But how will I achieve these goals?
Of course, success does not happen overnight, and one must figure out how to achieve objectives in order for them to become a reality. In this way, I have developed a few power statements I will stand by to accomplish this.
I will stay positive even when things become difficult. I have learned from experience that always having a positive attitude will result in an optimistic work environment for everyone. Also, it makes things easier for me as I can complete my tasks independently with a clear and productive mind!
I will always try my best at everything I do. I will never say that I can’t do something, and I will believe in myself. This is important for me to become a good coworker and also for personal development in general. In the past I have had a habit of saying “I can’t do it” and I no longer want to be that kind of person!
I will practice an effective work-life balance and not overwhelm myself unnecessarily with tasks in times when a rest is needed. I tend to do tasks all at once instead of taking my time, figuring out what is urgent and what I can organize to do another day. By actively deciding not to do this, I will develop better time management skills and become more responsible.
I will inspire others and have them say “because of you, I learned how to be _____ and do ____”. This aligns with me wanting to be a teacher in the future, I want to help others learn and grow in their own way. But also, I want to inspire my coworkers by my positive attitude and my friendliness!
I will speak Spanish at every given opportunity I can, especially with the groups of children that come to Spark. This is in order to improve myself and learn the language as well as my skills in order to become a teacher.
I look forward to reflecting on these statements towards the end of (and after) my placement. I focused on what was most important to me, so they are as personal as possible.
