TESOL Certificate
Offline teaching experience: 15
Online teaching experience: 0
I have taught English in public and private schools, language centers, and private tutoring. My students ranged from kindergarten all the way up to adults. I have taught in Korea, Thailand, Japan, China, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia. In fact, I was a grade one language arts teacher in an American Diploma program in Saudi Arabia where we followed the American CCSS. I was also the activities director and foreign personnel liaison for the 2002 Kids English Festival held in Seoul, Korea. I have general English conversation, English for specific purposes such as the tourism industry, and some writing. I have taught businessmen who needed English for the workplace, and housewives who just wanted to learn English in their free time. Frankly, I enjoy teaching younger learners. I am very active and theatrical with a fantastic sense of humor. I am creative, flexible, and patient. I am also very sincere. I want my students to learn, and learn a fun and interesting manner. I incorporate activities and media as much as possible when it is a good fit. References are available upon request.. On a personal note, I studied Visual Arts in school. I did some assisting and some freelance work on my own. I have had a few images published. I answered an ad to teach English in Korea back in 1997. I fell in love with it; though I might add that classroom management was a bit difficult in the early days. I got my TESOL certificate, and taught in several more countries. I love music. In particular, classic rock. I play a little guitar....very little. I am getting a bit better as time goes on. I speak a little Korean. I need to study Thai and Vietnamese. Trying to learn a language has helped me teach in regard to the 'putting myself in others' shoes'. I understand that it is not easy. Learning anything takes time and patience; dedication. The saying is that time and effort equals skill. The more effort and time spent on learning something will only make one quite skilled in what they are learning.I have had the pleasure of working with some wonderful TA's as they are called. Teaching Assistants who really do much more than any teacher I have come across, but do not get equal pay or recognition for their invaluable work. I cannot say how much I respect them. It is just the fact that students want to see a white face, or at least a foreign face, to assure them they are getting their money's worth. I might add that at the Kids Festival in 2002, we had a Korean American apply for a position, but she was turned down because she was indeed Korean and looked it, although she grew up in the USA. Such an abomination. She was a double major and had 4.0 GPAs. Just blew my mind. I must say that one should never assume anything, nor discount anyone, because they don't look the role of what thinks is the best teacher. You can learn from anyone. Everyone has something to offer. And even at any age. I learn a lot from my students. They know much more than I do about technology, and, of course, the society in which we interact. I can learn from a street sweeper just as much as I can from a man in business attire. The only difference is that I will believe the street sweeper and be much more open than I would when speaking to a suit-clad person. I never know what they are hiding or are trying to con me on. As I said, be open to all, and you can always learn something. It is not just the teacher, but the student. The same when one sees a band. The band needs feedback to play well. It's an interactive experience.
