Cross-cultural work integrated learning as a virtual intern
Nadja Todorovic
Last semester, I travelled (virtually) to New Caledonia and back on a weekly basis. My internship with DAREIC[1] was a deep dive into the intricacies of a completely different world that transported me into the rich history and culture of a small, beautiful country that took my French capabilities to the next level.
I was seeking out a French-speaking internship for weeks before coming across this opportunity advertised by the French faculty, and I instantly set my heart on it. I never considered myself the strongest French speaker in my class, so I felt that this job was very much out of my league. I anticipated that I was going to pick-up French jargon specific to the realm of education policy, but I wouldn’t have imagined ever gaining this genuine confidence in conversing at a professional capacity through this immersive cross-cultural experience.
My fellow interns and I worked closely with the New Caledonian Department of Education for a semester to create historical resources for students and teachers in years 10-12, ranging from themes such as the Great War, Women’s rights movements, and early explorations of Australia. We created a range of pedagogical activities to be used in various classroom settings, requiring immense problem- solving capabilities. At the onset, I was exposed to the drastically different syntax patterns used in French writing – specifically recounting historical events.[2] Despite partaking in many translation activities throughout my years of French, this did not compare to the pressure of the guidelines set by our supervisors to meet a certain standard of translation. I learned to apply various translation techniques, often cutting out entire sentences, searching for a specific jargon equivalent for hours, or explaining Australian culturally-specific contexts in greater detail.
Our supervisors showed us a new way of thinking about learning. Learning about Australian history would be quite foreign to most students in New Caledonia, and thus we aimed to create a wide range of activities to cater to the diverse learning styles. This included writing letters to various political organizations, creating arguments for a debate, and drawing propaganda posters. While creating pedagogical activities, I had to negotiate with the French- a task so daunting that not many novices dare even to attempt it. Oftentimes during discussions, our supervisors were surprised at the high level of responsibility and creative freedom given to Australian students in completing various projects, in both the VCE and the IB curricula. We often received the same feedback from our team abroad: more instructions and further clarification were needed to guide students and teachers. Learning to adjust our proposals to suit the audience was not the hardest task. Thinking outside the box to create a wide variety of games and activities that called for a high level of critical thinking and collaboration was what ultimately took dozens of brainstorming hours due to the unfamiliarity of the tasks at hand.
Upon reflection, the multiple capacities of language usage within this work-integrated learning experience catapulted my confidence and my ability to adapt my communication style in a foreign tongue. The problem solving, the theoretical aspects of translation, the negotiation and the reading of academic texts were all incredibly challenging but rewarded me with newfound language skills and techniques that I will take with me on future language learning endeavours. This experience was as educational as it was restorative and transportive. I was able to leave my lockdown blues aside, whether it be for a few hours or a few days, to enter an entirely different universe in New Caledonia that felt completely detached from my immediate surroundings. To anyone who is learning a new language, I would advise them to push themselves to seek out work experiences. Professional environments push the perfect amount of pressure on those wanting to expand their language skills and truly be able to claim fluency.
About the contributor
Nadja is a third year BA student, specializing in French and International Politics. She is passionate about translation as well as diplomacy, particularly immigration and education policy.
[1] DAREIC: Les Délégués Académiques aux relations Européennes et Internationales: Academic Delegation for European and International Relations
[2] For instance, in English one can write, “A prominent form of knowledge production in many Australian Aboriginal communities includes intergenerational storytelling, an oral transmission of events and tales”. In French, one may rearrange the structure of this phrase to create a better flow, “The oral transmission of tales and legends is a key element to the establishment of beliefs in Aboriginal Australian communities, which are transferred from generation to generation.”