I had the chance to practice my leadership skills by being an language partner for international students in the Intensive English Language Institute (IELI) on campus. I worked with the program for two semesters, and learned a lot about leadership. When I first started out as a tutor, I was a little timid. I had to learn how to become a leader and how to inspire my students. I used my shyness to my benefit by being honest with my students: I told them that we would be learning together, because I had never done this before. I think that being honest with my partners allowed them to trust me and we formed close relationships. By being honest with them, it allowed them to be honest with me in return. They felt comfortable sharing with me the struggles that they had with learning English. I was able to empathize with them and expressed the troubles that I had learning French. I learned how to inspire and encourage by being genuine and real with my students.

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As I continued as a language partner, I grew more confident in my abilities as a leader. I learned how to adapt my leadership to different students and different situations. I learned how to evaluate my students feelings and how to become the leader they needed me to be that day. On days when my students where tired or feeling overwhelmed from their other studies, we played games and practiced conversational English, instead of taking practice tests or going through grammar exercises.

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In a reflection, I examine how I learned how to adapt my leadership style to different students:

Adapting My Leadership.pdf