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Narrative Report for AEP Internship 

Intern: Kathleen Hamel

Mentor: Loni Thorson

Term/Class: Spring 2016  / Grammar Level 2

During the Spring 2016 semester, I worked with Kathleen Hamel, an intern in Grammar Level 2. Given

that this was only the second semester of our new curriculum, and this was my first time teaching this course,

Kathleen was very flexible from the beginning of the course. We began the semester by presenting ourselves as

co-teachers. From the beginning, Kathleen lead at least one activity nearly every day. By the third week,

Kathleen was choosing and/or creating her activities without assistance from the mentor teacher. After the week

5 exam, Kathleen started transitioning into the main lead of the classroom with Loni being an active observer

and leading only a few activities. By week 9, Kathleen had completely taken over the class and was the main

instructor for the remainder of the semester. At the end, Loni and Kathleen co-taught the last week of classes

which included our final grammatical structure and review sessions.

Throughout the semester Kathleen demonstrated a willingness to face challenges and find workarounds

to help the class run smoothly. As an intern in our program, she participated in faculty meetings, skill/level

meetings, and she took it upon herself to create the week 10 assessment in cooperation with her assessment

course in graduate school. Kathleen demonstrated superior willingness and ability to work within a cohort

model and was an active participant in collaborative efforts.

As an instructor, Kathleen shows dedication to the idea that class should be both informative and fun.

She regularly incorporated technology for the purposes of review and practice. Games and active activities are

certainly her strong point in her teaching style. She is always looking for ways to help engage the students,

noting that many of the quiet students become more involved when a bit of competition is present. On the other

hand, formal instruction did not come as naturally to Kathleen. At the beginning of her internship, Kathleen

self-identified a few areas of weakness which she ask for help with- giving clear instructions and explanation of

the grammar points being two of those areas. Through guided observations, focused practice, and ample

 preparation before classes, she was able to improve in all of the areas that she wanted to work on. When

 presented with critical feedback, Kathleen took the information with ease and used it as a growing experience.

There were many times when I would point out some area for improvement, and Kathleen would include that in

her verbal reflection of the next lesson taught. This self-awareness and ability to critically reflect is an

invaluable skill for teachers who are continually seeking to improve themselves.

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As a grammar instructor, Kathleen showed incredible growth during the semester. This semester was

 particularly challenging for all instructors of Level 2 Grammar. The book that we were using did not include

enough support for many of the structures that were identified as necessary. Also, as previously mentioned, all

teachers were adjusting within the new AE curriculum. In addition, the book that we were using had many

 problems within the book itself including British English constructions, which don’t necessarily apply in

American English, and problematic exercises which don’t actually elicit the grammar that they are intended to

 practice. At the beginning of the semester, Kathleen seemed a bit timid in her willingness to select an exercise

or “throw-out” an exercise because it is not ideal for our purposes. However, by the middle of the semester,

Kathleen showed ability to look critically at exercises in grammar books and on our shared drive. Kathleen also

regularly adapted exercises to make them fit our class purposes better. This ability to be critical about content in

our classroom shows Kathleen’s dedication to excellence in instruction.

Finally, Kathleen faced a challenging group of students this semester. They were a very vocal group of

highly motivated critical thinkers. After the middle of the semester, when Kathleen became the primary

instructor, she communicated regularly with me, her mentor teacher, to find the best ways to manage these

challenges. She showed outstanding professionalism within the classroom, and in her decision to seek outside

assistance. While this situation was not ideal for an internship, Kathleen communicated an ability to view this as

opportunity to utilize the support that she had and use it as an opportunity for growth.

Overall, I would say that Kathleen performed very well in her internship. She faced some challenges this

semester, many of which were programmatic and outside of her control; however, she kept a good attitude and

remained an active participant in our program and teacher cohort. I think Kathleen has a very bright future as an

ESL instructor and professional in the TESOL field.