Pflichtschulpraktika im Ausland

Jobs and Internships Abroad

General Information

There are two main options for students who would prefer to work abroad rather than study. The first is to find an internship or job offer independently; the second is to take advantage of some of the official programmes designed to assist students who want to gain experience working in another country. The various options are detailed below.

If you want to make contact with potential employers, there is a form letter available describing the official stay abroad requirements that you can use.

It is not compulsory to have your internship/job/period of work experience approved in advance; however, the department strongly recommends that you complete an internship learning agreement in order to check that all the criteria for the stay abroad have been met and to avoid unpleasant surprises when you get back! This is particularly important if you have an unusual job offer, intend to work for fewer than twelve weeks, or want to work as an au pair.

Note that the English Department can only offer general advice about work placements abroad and does NOT keep a database of job opportunities. For more intensive support, please contact the Career Service and in particular check out their site about Auslandspraktika.

Assistant Teacher Programme

Apart from independently organized internships in schools, companies and other institutions (see below), a good option is the Assistant Teacher programme, organized by the Pädagogischer Austauschdienst (PAD). This involves a year (September-July) spent abroad, working as an assistant teacher in an English-speaking country, usually Great Britain or Ireland. Travel and accommodation costs are paid, along with a nominal salary.

NOTE: As a result of changes to the programme, it is now possible to go to the UK or Ireland for six-seven months rather than a full school year. See the PAD website for further information.

Applications have to be submitted by the first of November each year for the United States, and the first of December each year for all other Anglophone countries – interviews usually take place in February. The documents required are complex; please start preparing them well in advance! Also note that the application process is extremely competitive – you cannot rely on gaining a place.

Applicants can apply for a place in Britain and Ireland from their third semester; for the US and Canada, at least six semesters and/or a completed bachelor degree is required. Australia and New Zealand require a completed M.Ed degree.

See www.kmk-pad.org/programme/dtsch-fsa.html for full details about the Assistant Teacher Programme. For further information you can also contact the Career Service in Oldenburg.

Please look out for relevant sessions of the English Language Help Centre for specific information about preparing and editing English-language application materials like the statement of motivation.

(ATTENTION! Students can, under certain circumstances, complete compulsory internships during their time as an assistant teacher - see below and do check with the DIZ in advance.)

Note: Students who would prefer to work at a university abroad rather than at a school can apply for the DAAD-Sprachassistenzen programme . See here for full details – there are usually a number of places in English-speaking countries available.  (You will need to apply well in advance – deadlines are normally mid-October to begin the following September. (For countries in the southern hemphisphere you need to apply at least eighteen months in advance due to the different university calendars.)

Independent School and Work Placements

A number of official institutions and other organisations offer internships for students of English. See below for links to positions at:

  • German International Schools 
  • Goethe Institut
  • Schools and Young Adult Institutions
  • Other Organisations

Note that all such internships must be applied for independently - the university does not control the application process.

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German International Schools

Deutsche Schule, London – www.dslondon.org.uk/uber-uns/stellenangebote/praktika

St Kilian’s German School, Dublin – www.kilians.com/our-school/praktikum-2/

German-American International School, Silicon Valley (California) – www.gais.org/about-us-internship/

German International School, Boston – www.gisbos.org/about-us/career-opportunities/

German International School, Cape Town (South Africa) – dsk.co.za/

Deutsche Höhere Privatschule Windhoek (Namibia) – http://www.dhps-windhoek.de/

Deutsche Schule, Nairobi (Kenya) – www.dsnairobi.de/index.php?article_id=114&clang=0 (school) and www.dsnairobi.de/index.php?article_id=173&clang=0 (kindergarten)

German International School, Sydney – www.germanschoolsydney.com/de/working-with-us-1-1/internships

German School, Melbourne – see here

Note: for the vast majority internships at German International Schools, you will usually need to apply at least a year in advance. Deadlines are usually the previous September at the latest. For example, as of June 2018, most schools are currently looking for interns from January 2019 or even later.

 

Goethe Institut

Goethe Institut, London – www.goethe.de/ins/gb/lon/uun/prk/deindex.htm

Goethe Institut, Dublin – www.goethe.de/ins/ie/de/dub/uun/prk.html

Goethe Institut, Glasgow – www.goethe.de/ins/gb/gla/uun/prk/deindex.htm

Goethe Institut, Sydney – www.goethe.de/ins/au/lp/uun/prs/enindex.htm

Goethe Institut, Melbourne – www.goethe.de/ins/au/lp/uun/prm/enindex.htm

Goethe Institut, Wellington – www.goethe.de/ins/nz/de/wel/uun/prk.html

Goethe Institut, Cape Town – www.goethe.de/ins/za/kap/uun/prk/deindex.htm

Goethe Institut, Johannesburg – www.goethe.de/ins/za/de/joh/uun/prk/fst.html

Goethe Institut, Windhoek – www.goethe.de/ins/na/win/uun/prk/deindex.htm

Goethe Institut, Accra (Ghana) – http://www.goethe.de/ins/gh/acc/uun/prk/deindex.htm

Goethe Institut, Toronto – www.goethe.de/ins/ca/tor/uun/prk/deindex.htm

Goethe Institut, Ottawa – www.goethe.de/ins/ca/ott/uun/prk/deindex.htm

Goethe Institut, New York – www.goethe.de/ins/us/ney/uun/prk/deindex.htm

Goethe Institut, Washington DC – www.goethe.de/ins/us/was/uun/prk/deindex.htm

Goethe Institut, Boston – www.goethe.de/ins/us/bos/uun/prk/deindex.htm

Goethe Institut, Chicago – www.goethe.de/ins/us/chi/uun/prk/deindex.htm

Goethe Institut, Los Angeles – www.goethe.de/ins/us/los/uun/prk/deindex.htm

Goethe Institut, San Francisco – www.goethe.de/ins/us/saf/uun/prk/deindex.htm

Goethe Institut, New Delhi – www.goethe.de/ins/in/en/sta/new.html

Goethe Institut, Kolkata (Calcutta) – www.goethe.de/ins/in/de/kol/uun/prk.html

Goethe Institut, Mumbai – www.goethe.de/ins/in/de/mum/uun/prk.html

Praktikantenprogramm Ausland, Auswärtiges Amt – www.auswaertiges-amt.de/DE/AusbildungKarriere/AAmt/Praktika/PraktikumAusland_node.html

 

A note about funding: internships at German International Schools and the Goethe Institut cannot be funded via Erasmus+ – you need to apply via the DAAD scholarship programme. This also applies to internships with major  institutions such as the European Union or the Auswärtiges Amt. The Mobilitätszuschuss may also be an option in these cases.

 

Schools and Young Adult Institutions

Language Teacher Assistant Australia – www.nacel.org/cdlp/study-and-volunteer/australia/english-jaut1.php

School internships in New Zealand – www.open-side.co.nz/

Teaching internships in New Zealand – www.internships.co.nz/available-internships/education-teaching-internships-nz

Teaching internships in New Zealand – www.worldinternships.org/international-education-internships-in-new-zealand/

Camphill – working with children and adults with learning disabilities.

Be aware that Camphill has a distinctive philosophy (anthroposophy) -you need to be comfortable with this before undertaking an internship there!

Other Opportunities

Internships in developing countries (esp. Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia, the Philippines, South Africa and Tanzania) – www.easygo-easycome.org/

Internships in Australia – internships.com.au/

Deutsch-Amerikanisches Praktikantenprogramm – www.giz.de/de/weltweit/16220.html

US Camp Counselors – j1visa.state.gov/programs/camp-counselor

US Internships – j1visa.state.gov/programs/intern/

US Summer Work-Travel Program – j1visa.state.gov/programs/summer-work-travel/

Please note: Internships in the U.S. always requires a visa, independent of their length or the fact that a salary is not paid. Visas for internships (J-Visa) can only be applied for by university students after the first year of studies or applicants with a non-academic degree (Ausbildung).

Cultural Vistaswww.culturalvistas.org/ – has several commercial internship and J1 visa programmes. It is the company used by the Goethe Institut in New York.

The Deutsches Haus at NYU has an internship programme – as.nyu.edu/deutscheshaus/about/jobs-and-internships.html

Internship at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies – www.aicgs.org/about-aicgs/work-with-us/

Internship at the German Historical Institute, London – www.ghil.ac.uk/internships/praktika.html

Internships with AISEC: projekte.aiesec.de/

Volunteer with the National Trust in the UK: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer/

Looking for internships at schools abroad?

The following portal may be of interest to students looking for internships at schools abroad:

www.erasmusinschool.com/

 Note that many of the opportunities involve teaching English (or German) in non-English speaking countries such as Spain – these can currently be credited for the compulsory stay abroad, so don’t count them out! 

 There are also some jobs available in countries with English as the official language, such as Ghana or India – read through the different advertisements (www.erasmusinschool.com/findschools#) carefully!

Please direct any further enquiries to the website (www.erasmusinschool.com/faqen).

Completing Compulsory School Internships (ASP, FP/FEP) Abroad

It is possible to complete one of the compulsory school internships for the BA/MEd programme abroad, and for this time to also count as partial completion of the requirements for a compulsory stay abroad for students in English. (Students intending to fulfil all the requirements at once would have to spend longer in a school than is normally necessary for the ASP or FP/FEP, as none of these comprise the twelve weeks required.)

This possibility is covered in the general curricular guidelines:

Eines der Schulpraktika (Allgemeines Schulpraktikum im Bachelorstudium oder Fachpraktikum sowie Forschungs- und Entwicklungspraktikum nach Absprache mit dem oder der Modulbeauftragten im Masterstudium) kann im Ausland absolviert werden. Die Prüfungsleistung soll den fachspezifischen Anforderungen für das Fachpraktikum und das Forschungs- und Entwicklungspraktikum entsprechen. Der Besuch der Vor- und Nachbereitungsveranstaltungen muss in der Universität Oldenburg erfolgen. Der Kontakt zwischen Schule und Hochschule muss während des Praktikums gewährleistet sein. Zuständig für die Anrechnung sind die jeweiligen Modulbeauftragten der Praxismodule.

Quelle: uol.de/uni/amtliche_mitteilungen/dateien/AM2014-03_08-6Aenderung_MPO_MEd_Gym.pdf (Seite 12).

However, in order to gain credit for the internship, you must attend the relevant preparatory seminar IN ADVANCE!

The DIZ is responsible for the ASP - please contact them directly. Cf. Informationen (FAQ) zum ASP im Ausland [Ansprechpartnerin: Dagmar Hasenkamp]

If you are interested in completing the FP/FEP abroad, you will need to contact Sylke Bakker or Christian Kramer in the English department as well as the relevant DIZ staff.

As noted in the sidebar, this is *not* an option for the extended Praxisblock which forms a key part of GHR300 and must be completed at a school in Germany.


A translation of the DIZ criteria for these internships which can be sent to schools abroad is available here.

Charity and Volunteer Opportunities

A good general list of charity and volunteering links can be found at The Big Project.

If you would like to complete an internship with a charity/non-profit organisation, then you may also find the following more specific links useful.

* Internships with AISEC: projekte.aiesec.de/

* Volunteer with the National Trust in the UK: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/volunteer

* Volunteer with the National Trust in Scotland: www.nts.org.uk/Volunteering/

* Camphill – working with children and adults with learning disabilities.

* Volunteer Ireland – www.volunteer.ie/volunteers/

(A number of Oldenburg students have previously found internships through AISEC and with Camphill and the National Trust.)

Work placement funding

See the information under paying for your stay abroad for more information.

(Changed: 19 Jan 2024)  | 
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