I Taught English in Vienna—Here’s How it Went

“Do you want to break out of the bubble and truly see Vienna?” Asked Heidi Roessler, Education Studies teacher, during orientation. My immediate thought: Of course! That’s how I ended up enrolled in EDU 395-01, The Supervised Teaching Field Experience. This is a course that allows IES Abroad students to intern at local schools for four hours a week and try their hand at teaching.

After interviewing with Heidi, I was placed with an English teacher at the Montessori Campus Wien, helping lead a class of 12 to 15-year-olds. Each Monday morning, I’d wake up early to catch a train to the 14th District to the outskirts of Vienna, where the campus is located. But little did I know that this wasn’t just any “normal school.” 

The Montessori Campus, as the name suggests, operates under the Montessori School System. Maria Montessori (1870-1952), the Italian founder of this system, aimed to “de-school” schooling and instead believed that schools should be “Centers for Study and Work.” 

Upon arriving at the school, the aspects that first stood out to me included a tree house/ropes course in the lawn, a garden for raising chickens and growing produce, a swing surrounded by a vast expanse of open area, several open windows creating a ventilation circuit, and an academic building resembling a big house. 

So while I was indeed there to help teach English, there was so much to it, too! I spent my time helping out in the kitchen while a group of adolescents (the “Kitchen Team”) prepared lunches for the school to enjoy.  Soon enough, I picked up recipes for local European dishes such as sweet Knödel—boiled dumplings made with flour and served with plums. Sehr lecker (so delicious)! 

For the second half of my day, I would assist in the English classroom. One notable feature of Montessori classrooms is that the ages of students vary. Montessori educators believe that it’s important to let older students guide younger ones and younger ones to continue to inspire older ones. Each student will have a list of tasks to complete within the academic year but have the freedom to alter their tasks based on their skill levels or comfortability. For instance, for a reading assignment, you might find younger students reading Horrid Henry while older ones read more advanced literature likeThe Boy in the Striped Pajamas. This kind of setup has allowed me to work with a wide range of students—from 12-year-olds to 15-year-olds.

Outside of the internship, my EDU 395 class met once a week at the IES Abroad Center. Heidi ensured our cohort of interns was doing well at their respective schools—learning and teaching simultaneously. As the end of the semester neared, I realized the extent to which I had created a bond with my students—many of whom treated me like a friend and felt comfortable confiding in me about personal qualms. On my very last day at the school, I was met with hugs and well wishes from my students who made me promise to keep visiting. I was overwhelmed with love and thankful that I dared to venture outside my comfort zone that first week of orientation when I signed up for EDU 395. (Not to mention I was able to pick up a good amount of German slang from my students!).