School of Languages and Area Studies (SLAS)

Past Student Testimonial

Abigail Prokop

The best part of my old job was organising the training and seeing people develop their skills and, having done a degree in French, I was keen to use my language skills. The more I thought about teaching, the more I realised it ticked both boxes.

When I fell ill and had to give up work, I had time to think properly about a change of direction. I called the TDA helpline and they said improving my German would increase my job prospects. One day I was browsing online and found the extension course. I could do it close to home, at Portsmouth, and there was a bursary – it seemed perfect.

I’d done German GCSE but it was so long ago I was effectively starting from scratch. So I did three weeks of intensive lessons before the main course started. I started it thinking, “If I have to do this to improve my prospects, I will”, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. By the time the rest of the students joined us, we’d made good progress.

The study visit was a real turning point. It’s great to go to the country and realise that the language you’re learning actually ‘works’! At the end of the fortnight, we were confident enough to be giving 15-minute presentations in German. I started to feel like I was ready to teach the language.

Now almost three years later I am a German Teacher at Miltoncross School in Portsmouth. I teach German from Year 7 to 11 and prepare my classes for both the NVQ and GCSE qualifications.  I share my experiences from Bremen with my classes who are all aware that I am still learning, but they seem to respect that and we often race against each other to find an unfamiliar word in the dictionary! Learning a language is never a finished task though and I have continued my studies after school, gaining my AS Level German this Summer.