Name: Elise Seery
Class Year: 2025
Major: Political Science
Minors: Spanish and Fine Arts
Hometown: Coralville, Iowa
Internship Organization: YUNUS
Internship Title: English teacher
Location: Santiago, Chile
What's happening at your internship? We would love to hear what kind of work you are doing!
My internship is coordinated through IES and their Summer Internship Program in Santiago, Chile. I had this opportunity through the Career and Civic Engagement Center and their collaboration with IES. Currently, I am working in Peñalolén for an organization called YUNUS. YUNUS strives to create economic growth and provide opportunities for all adult residents of Peñalolen. One of the ways they provide opportunities for residents is by providing free education and job training classes. I work for the education or academic branch of YUNUS, where I teach Conversational English to adults who know varying levels of English. I teach three classes a week for three hours each. I have about 15 students, but attendance for each class generally ranges from 3-6 students. All my students are adults who live in Peñalolen but range from age 23 to 67. They all come from varying backgrounds and have very different careers. It is amazing to learn about each of them, their goals, and why they want to learn English.
Why did you apply for this internship?
I applied to the IES Abroad Santiago Summer Internship Program through the Career and Civic Engagement Center to improve my Spanish skills. Additionally, I wanted a fully immersive abroad experience. I wanted to live and work in a different country. Here in Santiago, I live with a host family and work for a local organization, so I definitely got the experience of complete cultural and language immersion. Moreover, I chose YUNUS as my summer internship placement to advance my teaching skills. My previous teaching experience is with children, and while I love to work with kids, I wanted to be able to work with a variety of age groups.
Can you talk about the skills you are learning and why they are important to you?
The skills that I am learning that are the most important to me are my ability to teach, my Spanish-speaking abilities, and my intercultural awareness. As I previously mentioned, I have primarily only worked with children and never people older than me. However, to be a good teacher, I need to be able to cater my teaching skills to adults and cater my lessons to varying demographics. Additionally, I have been learning Spanish since I was 13 and always wanted to study abroad. Being abroad and living in Spanish has definitely improved my Spanish skills! I am beyond happy with the progress I have made in my Spanish in these last two months. Finally, I have gained intercultural awareness and have further learned how to consistently adapt to different cultural norms and expectations. I think this is an invaluable skill and is super important in every single work environment to be aware of different cultures and adapt to those around you.
What is most rewarding about your internship?
The most rewarding aspect of my relationship is to see the improvement of my student's English and their enthusiasm for coming to class. I know from experience that it is hard to stay motivated in learning a new language. The majority of the time you can´t express yourself exactly how you want and that can be frustrating. It is especially hard to stay motivated to go speak a different language for three hours continuously. However, my students have proven over and over again their excitement to come to class and talk about pretty complex topics, like explaining the differences between Chile and the United States, how to answer job interview questions, healthcare, immigration, and just life in general.
Career & Civic Engagement Center Political Science Spanish