graduation practicum final report

As a student at HanoiUniversity of Science and Technology''''s School of Foreign Languages, I have witnessed the vitalrole that excellent English education has in moulding our students'''' fut

HANOI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

School of Foreign Languages

GRADUATION PRACTICUM

FINAL REPORT

Student’s full name: Tạ Quang Đạt

Instructor: Ms Nguyen Thu Trang

Practicum Unit BeYOU English Home

Date of Completion 6/10/2023

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Chapter 1: An overview of BeYOU English Home and my responsibilities 5

1.1 About BeYOU English Home 5

1.2 My responsibilities at BeYOU 6

Chapter 2: Accomplishments and Challenges during the internship period 8

2.1 Accomplishments 8

2.2 Problems and Solutions 10

Chapter 3: Post-internship insights and prospective plans for the future 13

3.1 Post-internship insights 13

3.2 Self-reflection and plans for the future 16

Conclusion 18

Appendixes 19

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The demand for high-quality English teachers and teaching materials has never been greater in today's globalized world Proficiency in English has become a need for success in a variety of fields, including education, business, and international communication As a student at Hanoi University of Science and Technology's School of Foreign Languages, I have witnessed the vital role that excellent English education has in moulding our students' futures and the growth of our society

For the past six weeks, I've had the chance participate as an intern at BeYou English Home, an institution dedicated to imparting English language skills to a large number of young learners of all age groups, especially those preparing for standardized tests like IELTS My primary focus throughout my internship has been the creation of course materials designed to improve students' performance on the IELTS Reading Test This experience has provided me with vital insights into the complexities of curriculum design, pedagogical tactics, and the diverse demands of English language instruction

I am really grateful to my school, especially to my committed instructor, Ms Nguyen Thu Trang, for supporting this extraordinary learning opportunity In this final report, I try to summarize the knowledge I received, the obstacles I faced, and the influence of my efforts throughout this internship Through this paper, I hope to contribute something to the discussion about improving English language education and beyond

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Chapter 1: An overview of BeYOU English Home and my responsibilities 1.1 About BeYOU English Home

BeYOU English Center is an educational institution with a profound mission of teaching and inspiring learners of the English language Founded in 2013 by Mrs Ho Phuong Lan, alongside other dedicated university educators, BeYOU has continuously strived to be a catalyst for the holistic growth of students, empowering them to become global citizens Over the past decade, BeYOU has provided a nurturing environment where thousands of students have seen their aspirations take flights

Located across several facilities in Hanoi, BeYOU specializes in English education for kids and teens, university exam preparation, and particularly, a strong focus on IELTS preparation The center aspires to establish itself as a renowned leader in English training and consultancy, working tirelessly to equip students with the fluency required for global integration and fulfillment of international demands

Beside language proficiency, BeYOU is committed to integrate modern knowledge and essential social skills into each lesson It seeks to provide students with opportunities for self-discovery, personal growth, dream cultivation, and the instillation of core life values To achieve these goals, BeYOU employs student-centered teaching approaches, emphasizing experiential learning, active student participation, interactive instruction, and project-based learning

BeYOU's concept is built on encouraging happiness among team members, learners, and parents within a human-centered work and learning environment The college promotes purposeful learning, utilizing the power of information to make educated life decisions It enables students to live more fulfilling lives by establishing a harmonious balance of education, work, and physical and mental healthiness BeYOU promotes continual self-improvement and personal capability

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development, preparing students to adapt to new challenges and grab emerging opportunities in a fast changing environment

In recent months, BeYOU is trying to improve the quality of their IELTS-oriented courses, specifically the online IELTS Training and IELTS Coaching courses, which involve live lectures and digitalized exercises as well as the printed versions of the corresponding lessons In the next part, I will give a more detailed description of my tasks, which mainly focuses on the research and development of those materials

1.2 My responsibilities at BeYOU

During my internship at BeYOU English Home, I was assigned to a team of 6 members with a mission that played a critical role in enhancing the quality of the online IELTS Training courses offered by BeYOU The Reading Orientation and Reading Practice subcourses are the two main branches of the IELTS Training collection, and our team was tasked with creating vocabulary lists for a collection of over 100 IELTS reading passages that span a variety of topics, subjects, and themes The main goal was to provide a useful tool for students enrolled in these courses

My contribution to this project was straightforward but yet complex and called for a careful approach Together with my teammates, I looked through each and every passage to find and highlight words or phrases that would pose a problem to students' ability to understand the specific meaning Such new or potentially confusing terms were a crucial area of focus since they offered students the chance to increase their English vocabulary and feel comfortable doing the exercises as well as studying through the learning materials

The sheer number of passages and the level of attention required were substantial challenges in and of themselves Each paragraph had an average of 50 to 80 new words, adding up to thousands

of words that required careful understanding and documentation To create the thorough

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vocabulary lists, we had to succeed in a range of tasks We were expected to give the key information that students would find indispensable for each new word, including the phonemic transcriptions, part of speech as well as a definition in both English and Vietnamese

The significance of this undertaking cannot be overstated, as it directly contributed to the effectiveness of BeYOU's IELTS training courses By offering students a well-prepared vocabulary resource tailored to the reading passages they would encounter, BeYou aimed to help learners tackle the IELTS exam, specifically the Reading section, with proficiency and confidence

The project also demonstrated BeYOU's dedication to continuous improvement at all times I woud be confident to look at the project as a strategic decision that recognized the critical significance of vocabulary learning in completing the IELTS reading component This program was perfectly linked with BeYOU's primary goal of providing its students with a comprehensive and exceptional learning experience After all, this commitment to providing students with the tools they needed to succeed on the IELTS exam underscored BeYOU's dedication to delivering high-quality education and fostering student success

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Chapter 2: Accomplishments and Challenges during the internship period 2.1 Accomplishments

Six weeks may not seem like an extensive period, but it is by no means negligible I am grateful for the internship opportunity as it has helped me achieve certain things during my practical training

One significant accomplishment is my ability to effectively apply my knowledge, particularly the expertise I have cultivated and studied through the past semesters It is obvious that vocabulary plays a critical role in various aspects of the IELTS test, particularly the Reading section, and my education at the School of Foreign Languages has equipped me to handle specialized technical terms that may appear in the Reading test Throughout my academic course, I have been exposed

to a diverse range of fields such as "Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science", "Economics and Business", "Electrical Engineering and Electronics", "Environmental Science", and

"Information and Communication Technology." The exposure has enabled me to acquire a broader, more comprehensive understanding of these industries and their associated vocabulary range As a result of this learning process, I can now leverage the vocabulary I've acquired from textbooks, literature, and instructors to seamlessly translate academic English terms into Vietnamese, such as “thermodynamic equilibrium – cân bằng nhiệt động học” Additionally, as the IELTS test always contain an intensive amount of academic information, understanding the basic principles as well as English - Vietnamese terms of those fields never fails to make it easier for me to translate between the two languages Not only that, but the fact that I have studied Lexicology and Morphology has also helped me understand the meaning and be able to define words created in the form of compound or derived words that are not officially used in the dictionary For example, while the official Oxford and Cambridge English Dictionary has only

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recognised “psychologist” and “parapsychology”, just that is enough information for me to define

as well as give the pronunciation transcription of the word “parapsychologist”

Another notable success I've achieved is the effective application of my team leadership and teamwork skills Our team, the IELTS Reading Material R&D team, consists of six members, organized into three subgroup pairs, each assigned specific tasks that together are then compiled into a large collection of vocabulary lists for more than 100 different IELTS reading passages This clear and well-defined division of responsibilities has facilitated smoother and more efficient task completion, minimizing time wastage Furthermore, this division has enhanced everyone's understanding of their respective duties During the internship, I took on the role of guiding the group through several training sessions and meetings, ensuring that our efforts were effective and coordinated Although the first two weeks saw some delays and slow-downs because of our being new to the workplace and the web-based platform, we had barely missed any deadlines since then as everyone was getting familiar with the work

Last but not least, the ultimate achievement I attained was gaining firsthand experience in a professional, full-time work environment, providing me with valuable insights into the intricacies

of operating within an academic setting During my internship at an English center, I acquired a profound understanding of the workflow and functions of an academic team This exposure has afforded me a more comprehensive, multi-dimensional perspective on English testing, particularly the IELTS examination I now possess the viewpoint of a test-preparation student as well as that of an academic instructor, granting me a holistic understanding of all levels of the IELTS test This transformative experience has reshaped my perspective, and it stands as the most substantial value I have derived from these internships Overall, this six weeks’ time have brought about a shift in my perspective, and this transformation represents the most significant value I have derived from this experience

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However, beside the good news, I also encountered some challenges during the internship period First and foremost, the most significant advantage I have, unfortunately, is also the cause of the most problematic challenge during the internship My academic knowledge has given me a thorough comprehension of specialist English vocabulary, but knowing how to effectively apply this broad range of information has been proven to be difficult Conducting research in my subject of study necessitates not just a thorough understanding but also the proper memory of foundational knowledge Given the variety of things I must study, I occasionally struggle with the task of remembering a large amount of theories and a large lexicon

To maintain accuracy and avoid any negative impact on my tasks, I must revisit and reaffirm my comprehension of terminology and knowledge areas that remain confusing or ambiguous to me Perhaps the most difficult component of this challenge is effectively transmitting this knowledge

to students It is critical that I communicate complex academic concepts in the most accessible and understandable way possible Creating explanations that aid learners' grasp of complex language has always been a significant difficulty for me Balancing depth of knowledge with clarity and accessibility is something I'm still working on in my professional development

To solve this issue, I put in a lot of effort and used my coursework's rapid reading comprehension and note-taking skills to improve my recall abilities Furthermore, in addition to notes and textbook study, I made use of modern information technology resources I used AI-driven learning methodologies, which allowed me to seek clarification on any unclear topics by interacting with AI-powered platforms Google and Google Scholar are among my most frequently utilized search engines when seeking academic information Additionally, I had ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot, working alongside me as a valuable tool for refining the choice of words when giving definitions, although it may lack the precision required at times

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when I need to furnish highly accurate information Furthermore, I improved my ability to identify worthwhile and reputable sources among the large sea of online material, which strengthened my work progress This approach enabled me to efficiently fulfill my allocated work while also allowing me to assist myteammates

During my internship, I faced problems of not only professional but also mental and psychological aspects The IELTS test, which is noted for its academic rigor, demanded a high level of concentration and seriousness from me The requirement to devote four straight hours to work each day occasionally caused feelings of strain, since I was not used to such formal job intensity Furthermore, the ever-changing weather and environment had an unintended affect on

my health, resulting in a little decrease in my physical status

I was juggling various academic commitments at the start of my internship, making it challenging

to create a balance between studying and working Despite countless emotional and physical hurdles, I maintained my dedication to the internship To get through this period of disarray, I methodically reorganized my schedule and made an attempt to accomplish online assignments from home on days when I couldn't make it to the office, ensuring that I didn't hamper the team's development or the work of others I also made a point of discussing these issues with my supervisor and teammates, knowing that open communication allowed for more effective problem-solving and assistance

One of the final challenges I encountered during my internship revolved around disagreements among team members Despite our experiences working in groups together in a number of prior courses, it was unavoidable that we would occasionally disagree on certain views We each had our own schedule after office hours, which makes it more difficult to converse and exchange ideas out of workhours Some of us didn't frequently check their phones on a regular basis, causing them to occasionally miss key messages in our group chat Others were dealing with

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