Schools today serve multiethnic populations in ever-increasing numbers. Educators who have experience living in a community different from their own will find themselves better prepared to work with students from diverse backgrounds.
Undertaking your student teaching overseas will allow you to experience life in a different cultural setting while gaining practical, hands-on experience working with students from your host country.
Teaching abroad allows you to experience how schools in other countries are run. You will have the chance to work with teachers local to the area, exchanging techniques and ideas for use in the classroom. What you learn from colleagues in your host country can later be used when you return home and begin a teaching position. Your perspectives and teaching philosophy will be uniquely influenced by your time spent abroad, enabling you to create a global classroom for your future students.
While many overseas student teaching field placements are in English-speaking schools and do not require previous knowledge of a foreign language, you are still able to enhance your language skills during your stay. Some schools offer introductory or advanced language courses in the evenings, as well as the opportunity to work with a language exchange conversation partner in your free time. You will also have the chance to practice your foreign language skills in your day-to-day activities where you are living.
Student teaching abroad can allow for more flexibility with your schedule due to variations in the school year in other countries. In southern hemisphere countries such as Australia, New Zealand or South Africa, for instance, it is possible to complete your student teaching between the months of June and August. Such flexibility may allow you to minimize the time spent away from home.