Virtual Assistantship: Transformative Experience

• In Event: Learning While Teaching Russian: Supervision and Mentorship at the Undergraduate and Graduate Levels

Abstract

I will discuss the virtual assistantship of Russian students who are on the path to becoming professional teachers of Russian as a foreign language. Assistants help to organize smooth class flow, collaborate with their American peers, give feedback, and are actively involved in discussing culture and giving examples from modern pop culture. Assistants learn about the American teaching culture, as well as the L2 teaching system. They are guided through best practices of introducing new material and its reinforcing, selecting teaching materials and techniques in the American classroom.

Author

• Ekaterina Burvikova, U of New Hampshire