Erasmus+ Journal (Issue 2) 2013/14
Katharina Körbler, Slovenia, Univerza v Mariboru, Mobilitay for Studies
Autorinnen/Autoren: Katharina Körbler
Peer-Review: Alexandra Zwetti
University and history of the city
The city Maribor is about 45 minutes south of Graz and is the second largest city in Slovenia. The main university is in the city center, right next to the dome of Maribor.
The main university has many different faculties and not all of them are located in Maribor. The faculty of education is located on the west side of the city.
The oldest and most fabulous part of the city is called Lent. Here you can find the oldest vine world wide.
The drava river runs through the city and seperates the old and the new part of the city. Because of the drava river Maribor had a lot of raftsman and they used the drava river to connect Slovenia with Croatia and Serbia.
The city center has a lot of small and very charming coffee shops and great restaurants. Maribor has its own charm and the historic city center invites everybody to slow down and enjoy a cup of coffee.
(oldest vine world wide; Körbler,Katharina)
Comparison of the teacher education system
To become a teacher in Slovenia you have to study teacher education at the faculty of education in Maribor. This education takes four years. The big difference is that the students have to do an internship for one month in their last semester. The classes and the topics that the students have are similar to the classes we have in Graz. They have to write lesson plans and prepare lessons that they teach to their classmates. I think the system in Austria is better, because we can do our internship starting with year one and can practice to teach with children right away.
During my exchange semester in Maribor I had to participate at seven different classes and I had to complete an internship for two weeks at a comprehensive school in Race. At the university of teacher education styria I have many more classes and the internship is one day a week during the semester.
The grading system at the university of Maribor was different from the system in Austria. In Slovenia at the university they have grades 1-10 and 10 is the best. Everything below 5 is a fail. In Austria the system is just from 1-5 and the grade 1 is the best. The grade 5 is the only grade where you fail.
University courses
ENGLISH FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS - In this class we learned different techniques for teaching english. We had to choose one topic and had to present the topic for one hour. I picked the topic "TPR" and started my presentation with the game hangman. After the class figured out what the topic was, we summarized the knowledge about TPR (TPR=total physical response). The class had not had a lot of experience so I explained the methode a little bit and I combined my explanation with different games that are common for TPR.
We talked about a lot of topics and many times the teacher asked me how things are in Austria and we compared the systems. At the end of the semester two spanish erasmus students changed to my class so we compared the slovenian, austrian and spanish school system. Eventhough we are all european the school system is quite different. All in all it was a great class and I learned a few things.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE LERNING AND TEACHING AT THE PRIMARY LEVEL - The teacher showed us how she would teach a foreign language and after her presentation we had to present a foreign language lesson. Sanja, an erasmus student from croatia and I presented the song "I'm a little teapot". It was great to work with her, we had a lot of ideas and our presentation was really good.
Our teacher also presented a CLIL class. The CLIL methode is simple to explain but difficult to teach. The teacher teaches a subject like enviromentanel science or mathematic. Sanja and I picked the topic "vulcano" and we showed how a vulcano explodes and we taught them some words that were related to the topic. At the end of our presentation we brought a vulcano made out of clay and we mixed baking soda and vinegard to get an explosion.
(clay vulcano, Körbler Katharina)
THE NARRATIVE APPROACH AND GAMES IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING AT PRIMARY LEVEL - This class was also called "DRAMA" and we learned a lot about how we could use acting in our foreign language classroom. The teacher showed us many different games and examples for teaching a foreign language. We had to present a foreign language lesson. I had to do my presentation in german, because the teacher wanted the students to experience a foreign lesson where they don't understand a lot. I presented the story "Die Rübe" which I changed a little bit into "Die Karotte", because I used a real carrot for my presentation.
At the end of the semester we had to work out in a small group a short play. My group played a "crazy story" which was really hilarious.
PSYCHOLOGY IN EDUCATION - For this subject I had to read one chapter from the book "educational psychology" by Anita Woolfolk. I summarized my thoughts in a paper and I had an oral exam about that topic at the end of my semester. We discussed the topic and we compared the integration system from Slovenia and Austria and we both agreed that the system in Slovenia should change a little bit and should be more like the system in Austria.
ART DIDACTICS I - In the beginning of the semester I observed the slovenian students when they presented their art lesson and their lesson plan. It was great, because they presented everything in slovene so I learn a few vocabulary about art.
At the end of the semester the students had to teach the art lessons that they presented in the beginning of the semester to a class. I observed the lesson that the students tought and I discussed all the good and not so good parts with our professor.
(students painting, Körbler Katharina)
ART HISTORY I - I had to write a paper about art history and in that paper I picked a few slovenian artists and their work that I liked the most. I would not pick that class again, because it was quite boring.
SELECTED CHAPTERS OF SPORT - The most exhausting class I have ever had. We learned the roll forward and backwards, a handstand, a wheel and how to support students when they learn these techniques. We also learned basics in basketball and volleyball. At the end of the semester we had to show everything to the teacher as an exam.
Swimming lessons were also parts of the class. We learned the correct techniques in breast stroke, backstroke and crawl. At the end of the semester we had to swim 150 meters with all three techniques under 4 minutes. I had to train a little bit, but it was great to learn all techniques.
INTERNSHIP - I was for almost two weeks in the OS Race.
Application process
To apply at the university you have to sign into an online-plattform. Here you can see all the classes for the field of studies. The class description is very good and you can see which language they offer and what the main goal of the class is.
The only thing that they did not offer as a class in the online plattform was an internship. I contacted the university about an internship and they confirmed that they would arrange an internship for my exchange semester. After the online application process was finished I recieved a letter of acceptence with further information.
Contact Information
Univerza v Mariboru
Pedagoska fakulteta
Koroska cesta 160
2000 Maribor, Slovenija
www.pef.um.si
Jelena Krivograd Erasmus coordinator for the faculty of education
Koroska cesta 160
2000 Maribor, Slovenija
http://www.pef.um.si/zaposleni/22/jelena+krivograd
+386 (0)2 22 93 853
Life
Life in Maribor is easy and relaxing. It is not as expensive as it would be in Graz. The city is really not that big so I chose to walk around town a lot and I think thats the best way to see the small things that are special. A few other erasmus students bought a cheap bike which would be an option too. The dorms are right next to the facutly of education. The university provided a lot of information about accomodation. The rooms are quite small, with a single bed, a small closet and a desk. The appartment is build for about six students and they all share one bathroom and a kitchen. The walking distance to the city center is about twenty minutes.
What I will really miss, are the small coffee shops in the city center. The coffee is not just really good. It is also really cheap.
Something really special is the green beer that you can order in a pub close to the dome. I liked the taste but I can't tell what the big difference is to normal beer.
Slovenia has a great student coupon system. In the beginning of the semester you get your slovenian simcard and then the ESN office puts some coupons for restaurants on your phone. I am not a technic person so I can't explain really how they do it, but it works.
For each day that you are in Maribor you have a four euro coupon which you can use in restaurants for dinner or lunch. You just order your menu and pay with your phone one part and the rest, which was about two euro, you pay in cash.
Meeting friends for lunch was not that expensive and always a pleasure.
What I really like about Slovenia is, that it is so close to my hometown and that I can go there whenever I want to.
Reflection
Review of my stay abroad in academic termsI improved my english quite a bit and learned a few words in slovene. I really tried to learn more in slovene, but the other erasmus students were not so interested in learning that language, so the slovenian language course was canceled. I was lucky, because one of my friends was interested in learning German so I taught her German and she taught me Slovene. Except for two classes all of them were held in English so I learned more vocabulary related to the pedagogic topic.
During my internship I met new people and I am still in contact with a teacher from that school. Once I am a teacher, I try to plan some projects with her and her school. I think that this international relationship can be really useful for the future.
Review of the stay abroad in cultural terms
Slovenia, was part of Austria in the history and is really a close neighbour to Austria. The culture is similar to the culture in Austria. They also have a lot of historical buildings in the city center and combine these with new buildings.
Slovene are really friendly, helpful and the younger generation is open minded. Sometimes slovene tend to complain a little bit more then I would.
I think that slovene are enjoying the nature more. They have a great landscape and they use their leisure time to hike, take bike tours or to go for a walk. Family is also really important and I am glad that I had the chance to meet people that are relaxed and down to earth.
Review of the stay abroad in social terms
I met a lot of students from all over europe and I can recommend the stay abroad to everyone who is interested in getting to know new people and new cultures. One of my friends will come to Austria and do her erasmus in Klagenfurt so I will have the opportunity to meet her again and again and again. Slovenia was a great choice, because I can always go back and meet my slovenian and croatian friends. I am really glad that I made the decision to study abroad and I can recommend it to everyone.
Intership Osnovna šola Rače
Osnovna šola Rače
Grajski trg 1
2327 Rače
Slovenia
http://www.osrace.si/
I had contact with Mrs. Romana Zupančič. She is a German teacher at this school.
Friday 4.4.2014: I started my internship and before I came to the school, the teacher asked me to prepare a presentation about Graz. I already had the chance to teach my first lesson and I spoke about the city Graz or how they call it in Slovenia, Gradec. The teacher and the students really liked my presentation and I tried to speak slowly and clearly, because the students had their 3rd year in German.
I also prepared a crossword for them to check how much they understood. After my presentation, each pupil had to ask me one question in German about Graz and myself.
The students have a very good pronunciation and are eager to learn more about Austria. A few of them are shy and try to avoid speaking German. One student is autistic but completely included into the class and into the lessons.
Monday 7.4.2014: I taught one English lesson and one German lesson. In the English lesson, I talked about my year in America and told them a few stories about my traveling and about my American hostfamily. The students were eager to hear more and more and asked many different questions. It was easy for me to talk about my experience. I observed a science lesson and the teacher used the CLIL method.
Teacher use the CLIL method in this school to teach some environmental science in German or English. The teacher used many body movements and it was fascinating to see how the pupils follow the orders in a foreign language.
Tuesday 8.4.2014: We met at a close nature reserve in the morning and the pupils got instructions for the orienteering race. The German teacher and I waited at one checkpoint for the different groups of students and I asked them two questions. After they answered the questions, I gave them directions to the next checkpoint.
Friday, 11.4.2014: The first lesson of the day starts at 8:20 am, but this school gives the students the opportunity to start at 7:30 am with the so-called lesson zero.
In the lesson zero, I observed another student that had to do an internship teaching German and talking with the kids about “body parts”. After the observation, I taught two English lessons in the 8th and 9th grade. It was very hard to motivate the students from the 8th grade to start a discussion. The 9th grade was very communicative and was motivated to work with me and to find out more about the USA.
Monday, 14.4.2014: I talked about Graz again, at the end of the day I had a meeting with the special needs teacher in school, and she explained me how things work in Slovenia. The system is similar to the special needs system in Austria. The only thing is that when there are students with special needs in the classroom they don’t have a second teacher. The special needs teacher will get a few hours to work with those children in a separated room. In this area, they also have a few students that are romans and for the teachers it’s difficult to work with them because they don’t attend school on a regular base.
The school in Race is big and they have students from class 1 to class 9 in the building. The school system is divided in 3 periods. 1st – 3rd class is the first period; 4th – 6th second period and 7th till 9th is the last period.
The building has two gyms, a kitchen and a library and for 4th till 9th grade, they have different classrooms like geography and biology. Almost every classroom provides an overheadprojector.
They learn two foreign languages and the students can decide which one they would like to start with. In this school, they can pick between English and German. This system changed a few years ago before that change, the students had to learn German as their first foreign language and started with English later on.
The students eat everyday in the school kitchen and they have sports three times a week.