Teacher Feature #8

Name:   Jacqueline Garçon

Nationality: American & French

How long have you been teaching? +40 years

What are you teaching? EFL/ESL

Right now, I am teaching EFL and French. I spent a number of years teaching ESL in the USA, including Harvard University and Harvard Summer School, plus Boston University. For the last 24 years, I have also taught a TEFL Certificate in conjunction with Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

What certifications do you have?

Two M.A. from the US, one in French (UC, Santa Barbara) and one in TESOL (Boston University), plus a TEFL Certificate and a Licence d’Anglais

How did you get into teaching English?

I always wanted to be a language teacher. Why? In high school I even belonged to FTA, Future Teachers of America

Where are you currently working? country, school, companies, etc.

For a socio-cultural association I created here in France with some of my students five years ago, “Languages & Lifelong Learning”

What kind of contract are you working under?

At the moment the contract is “determiné”

How long have you been working there?

Five years now….

Where else have you worked?

The list is very long from a private secondary school to business schools to the university in France, plus the Chamber of Commerce, etc.

Where do you prefer teaching English?

Definitely, for the socio-cultural association I have worked so hard to keep going and flourishing. The kind of organization I believe in…but not easy!

What do you love about teaching English?

The challenge intellectually and socially of creating an interactive and dynamic classroom where the learners are enjoying learning and moving forward positively, building on what they do know and can do. I also love the social contact with the learners from all sorts of backgrounds, socially, culturally, intellectually. I learn so much from teaching and being in contact with all these different people. I love sharing my experience, exchanging ideas and thoughts with teachers in training, watching them reflect and develop to be their “own” kind of teacher.

What are the advantages to teaching for you?

I keep learning all of the time from new developments in pedagogy to linguistics to learning from my students/ teachers. It is a continual challenge in so many ways.

What are the disadvantages to teaching for you?

Definitely, the salary, plus the lack of respected and recognized stability/security of employment. Teaching/ learning has become a vocation for me, not just a job.

Do you do another job?

No

I would like to thank Jackie, my former TEFL teacher, immensely for agreeing to be featured here on my blog.  She was and is still a great inspiration to me.  She is running a fantastic association which is keeping teachers up to date with their pedagogy and teaching people French and English, along side culture.  I urge those of you who are in Paris or near by that are interested in taking language lessons or in learning to be an even better teacher of languages to go over and check out her website for Languages & Lifelong Learning http://languageslifelonglearning.webnode.com/products/bloggs-joe/.  There you’ll find the courses being offered and all the information needed to enrol.

Teacher Feature # 7

Name: Kasia Franica 

Nationality: Polish

How long have you been teaching?

I’ve been a teacher for 6 years, but I started giving private lessons even before that, probably 9 years ago.

What are you teaching? EFL/ESL

I teach EFL at various levels in a primary school as well as a secondary school. Additionally, I work for two language schools and do regular classes plus Business English classes from time to time.

What certifications do you have?

I have a BA as well as an MA in English.

How did you get into teaching English?

I think I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to be since I was a kid, especially after my uncle started teaching me the language while he was doing his MA in English. In secondary school I had no second thoughts about the profile I was going to choose and continued my education at university. During my 3^rd year, I had to do an internship at school. When I was finished with it, the headmaster offered me a full-time job for the next two years during which I’d be filling in for a pregnant teacher. I took the job with no hesitation and that’s how it all began.

Where are you currently working? Country, school, companies, etc.

I work in Racibórz, Poland. I teach in a school that consists of a primary, a middle and a secondary school and sometimes I find myself teaching all possible levels between the ages of 7 and 18. On top of that I work for two language schools which sometimes send me out to companies to teach but I don’t work directly for those companies.

What kind of contract are you working under?

I’m working under a one-year contract that is renewed every September. There are a few levels of promotion within the school system in Poland and now I’m on the second level (‘a contracted teacher’). If I manage to pass the exam and reach the next one I will get a tenure for life but will still have one more level to reach.

How long have you been working there?

I have been working for four years now in that particular school.

Where else have you worked?

I worked in a middle school in Poznan, Poland. Then I moved to Racibórz and have worked for the same three schools since.

Where do you prefer teaching English?

It’s difficult to say. I think I prefer language schools because most often you get to teach adults who simply want to learn and don’t feel the pressure of state exams that they have to pass. I don’t feel the pressure of those exams either so in effect we can focus on more practical skills during our lessons.

What do you love about teaching English?

I love the fact that English might actually be the most useful thing that you can pass on to your students. They may or may not use the knowledge they acquire in other lessons, but they will surely have to use English one day. Whenever I get a more advanced group I really enjoy having discussions with them and recommending books and films to them which we can later talk about. It’s like creating an English-speaking bubble for yourself.

What are the advantages to teaching for you?

You get the opportunity to use the language all the time and if you have so many different levels as I do, you really have to make use of all your knowledge at all times. It’s a great exercise for your memory.You have the opportunity to meet a lot of new people and talk to them about various topics and very often I find myself learning a lot of things from such conversations as well.

What are the disadvantages to teaching for you?

In state schools you do get stuck with one course book for a few years and it sometimes can get extremely tedious to go through the same exercises for the fifth time.

In Poland being a teacher in general is not the best career option possible. It’s very much underpaid so you have to look for additional part-time jobs in language schools and it all just takes a lot of time. Also, students treat English as another subject they have to learn just to pass their state exams. It’s difficult for them to understand it’s more of a skill than a set of rules they can memorize.

Do you do another job?

I don’t simply because teaching takes up a lot of my time.

I’d like to give a big thanks to Kasia for sharing her English teaching experiences with us. You should all go over and check out her You Tube channel about books called Katie O’Books http://www.youtube.com/user/katieobook?feature=watch. There she does book reviews, book hauls, tags, and talks about all kinds of bookish stuff.

Teacher Feature #6

Name: Jasmin Henke          

Nationality: German

How long have you been teaching?        

I have been teaching since 2009.

What are you teaching? EFL/ESL?    

I teach EFL, Geography and Music at a Secondary School .

What certifications do you have?    

I have a Bachelor of Arts in English, Master of Education and the Second State Examination (2. Staatsexamen).

How did you get into teaching English?    

When I decided to study teaching I originally wanted to be a Maths teacher but the courses were all full and my second choice was English. In hindsight, the best choice I could have made. At the beginning of my studies I felt really dumb because I never had advanced English in school but after living in South Africa for a few months I really learned to love the language and picked up lots of language skills.

Where are you currently working? country, school, companies, etc.            

I am currently working in Göttingen, Germany, at a Realschule.

What kind of contract are you working under?              

I’m still working as a “Beamter” (working for the state) on a probationary basis which is over when you’ve worked as a full teacher for 3 years after finishing your 2. Staatsexamen. I have till the end of October and then I’ll hopefully get a contract as a “Beamter” with tenure for life.

How long have you been working there?          

I’ve been at this school for almost 3 years now. 

Where else have you worked?             

I worked as a teacher in the South African townships for 4 months in 2006 as a volunteer. Then I worked at a Hauptschule from 2009 to 2010.

What do you love about teaching English?     

 I love the language and I love giving my students the opportunity to learn it too and for it to help them in the future. In our global economy it is a must to find a good job. A lot of my students have grown up bilingual and it’s great to see them learn a third language. 

 

What are the advantages to teaching for you?                

I’d have to say that the best part of it is to see the kids learn something from your lessons. To see them take something home and use it later on. I love to think that I can somehow help them with their future and be a little part of their lives. It’s great to meet so many different people and it really never gets boring.

What are the disadvantages to teaching for you?          

The biggest disadvantage are all the new rules we get from the Department of Education. They are just not fitting for the situation we deal with at school. 

Do you do another job?                      

Since I’m working full-time, there’s no time to do another job. And since I’m working for the state of Lower Saxony I wouldn’t be allowed to anyway.

I would like to give an enormous thank you to Jasmin for sharing her rich teaching experience in Germany with us.  You should all check out Jasmin’s You Tube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBookJazz for she is an excellent booktuber.  She does book reviews, book hauls, tags and book discussions on Young Adult books and Fiction novels; not to mention she does them all in English. 😀

Teacher Feature #5

Name: Emilie-May Hubbard

Nationality: British and French

 How long have you been teaching? 

I’ve been transmitting the love I have for English language and British culture for 19 years now. I started teaching children when I was a young student. Our sessions were mainly based on having fun, discovering genuinely English traditions and cultural features. I then realised how English language was perceived and sadly automatically associated to a scholastic subject.

What are you teaching? 

EFL/ESL English in companies

What certifications do you have? 

Initially I didn’t want to be a language teacher or trainer but was venturing out on a more artistic venture as I wanted to be an Art Restorer (which I am also today). Therefore I decided to officialise my British nationality when passing my History of Arts degree with the Open University . In the meantime I continued to help children and young adults by giving English sessions and sharing my knowledge, as sharing is key to me and then taught as an independent worker.

How did you get into teaching English? Where are you currently working? country, school, companies, etc.

I gradually switched from teaching kids to helping adults and then had the chance to work for training companies and language schools for working people. As a result I was given the opportunity to become a Key Account Manager and Pedagogical Assistant in a training company in the Paris Region called ‘Business Class’. I do realize fortunate I am to have such a position and to be able to continue training too.

How long have you been working there? 

I have been working for Business Class for more than a year now and as the company is successful, we deal with more and more requests which are always made-to-measure.

Where else have you worked?

 In other training companies as an independent trainer.

Where do you prefer teaching English? 

I prefer sharing cultural and idiomatic aspects of the language in companies.

What do you love about teaching English? 

Helping trainees to gain self-confidence and making them realize that they can enjoy speaking English.

What are the advantages to teaching for you?  

Learning a language is a real eye-opener for trainees who discover other ways of addressing communication and encountering enriching people. The world is your oyster as we say!

What are the disadvantages to teaching for you? 

The training can be too short and frustrating for both learner and trainer. The trainee acquires knowledge and ease but has to stop once the allocated number of hours is over.

Do you like teaching English?  Why? 

Meeting great people from miscellaneous backgrounds. As a trainer you are constantly learning new things having to adapt the sessions to specific fields or diversified positions.

Do you do another job? 

Yes, I’m very lucky to have another job I also love. I am an Art Restorer, I more precisely restore paintings under the independent worker status.

Thanks so much Emilie-May for your insightful interview about teaching English in France.:D  Hope this helps someone.

Teacher Feature #4

Name: Wiebke Franke       

Nationality: German

How long have you been teaching?        

I have been teaching English since 2004.

What are you teaching? EFL/ESL?    

I teach ESL for adults.

What certifications do you have?    

I have a teaching degree for elementary schools (math and sports), and Magistra Artium in English literature.

How did you get into teaching English?    

While I was at university I was looking for something I could do with my English studies and somehow got into contact with people organizing presentations in English for ESL learners at adult education centers in Hanover. So I started giving slide shows in English and then took over a few evening classes.

Where are you currently working? country, school, companies, etc.            

I am currently working in Hanover, Germany, for an English Language School, Wall Street English. The school works with a combination of e-learning and teacher lessons.

What kind of contract are you working under?              

I have an unlimited 10h/week contract. But it comes with overtime, as we do not have regular classes but individual lessons that change every week.

How long have you been working there?          

Technically since 2006, however, I didn’t start as a teacher but as a personal tutor. I have been employed as a teacher there for 2 years now.

Where else have you worked?             

I’ve worked for adult education centers, and for a private vocational school. There I have been teaching English for students getting an education in hotel management and tourism.

 

Where do you prefer teaching English?            

Definitely at the language school. We don’t use exams and standard evaluation systems, like grades. Adult education centers are great, too, but people don’t often come regularly. I prefer working with adults who want to learn the language.

What do you love about teaching English?     

 I love the language and I think it is very important in today’s world. Teaching English gives me the opportunity to meet many people with varying backgrounds. I enjoy having conversations and discussions on various topics with them, this way I can learn something from my students, too.

 

What are the advantages to teaching for you?                

Like I said before, teaching English I meet many interesting people and I am not limited to one topic. To keep classes interesting I need to stay in touch with what is going on outside my little job bubble. Furthermore it never gets boring, although there is some routine, no class is like any other.

What are the disadvantages to teaching for you?          

 It is very difficult to find a job that is secure and supports you.

Do you like teaching English?  Why?                               

I like teaching English for the aforementioned reasons, it is always interesting and exciting. Plus I get the chance to work in a language I love.

Do you do another job?                      

Currently I also work in a cinema and am on a break from teaching aerobics classes.

I’d like to give a big thanks to Wiebke for sharing a bit of her English teaching in Germany.  You can also check out Wiebke’s very interesting You Tube channel called 1book1review http://www.youtube.com/user/1book1review where she reviews books and talks about other bookish topics. 

Teacher Feature #3

Name: Cynthia T. Luna

Nationality: Swiss, American, Trinidadian 

How long have you been teaching? 

I started teaching formally in September 2012. Once started, I realized that I have been teaching in one way or another all my life.

What are you teaching?

I teach mainly Business English to young international undergraduates from all over the world. In February, I also started teaching Communication Skills to the same students in their second semester.

What certifications do you have?

I have an M.Sc. in Communications (Public Relations) and a Bachelor’s degree in French language and literature. I also have a professional interest in the written word, as well as an interest in the personal growth that takes place when you realize that you are no longer translating from your mother tongue into a new language, you are actually thinking in it! (I’m also in the process of learning German–the language of my new home.)

How did you get into teaching English?

Rather by chance. I needed to find a way to return to Switzerland for personal reasons and stumbled upon an ad for a part-time English teacher. One thing led to another.

Where are you currently working? What kind of contract are you working under? How long have you been working there?

SBS-Swiss Business School in Kloten-Zurich hired me to teach English to first-year undergraduates as a Freelance Instructor. It’s part of their academic credo to have instructors with real-world experience impart their experience and knowledge to young people. The idea is that instructors keep their day job, while teaching one or two two-hour classes per week. Contracts are up for renewal right before the beginning of each semester. I’ve been with SBS since September 2012 and just started teaching Spring semester courses in February 2013.

Where else have you worked?

I have traveled quite a bit around the United States. When I lived in Washington, D.C., I worked for a few advocacy organizations where I provided publicity and PR support for initiatives that were important to me. After a few years, I also moved to the island of Maui (Hawaii) where I headed up communications for a community media television station that launched several interesting initiatives involving building community support and adopting social media tactics. Just prior to moving to Switzerland, I was part owner and general manager of a start-up restaurant–what an experience!

Where do you prefer teaching English?

Wherever and whenever lively conversation takes place.

What do you love about teaching English?

English has become the lingua franca for so many, I have noticed. Add to the fact that American media — so widely exported — has over decades managed to cultivate a wide and varied audience. I am amazed to hear that a Swiss girl who lived in the Philippines loves Twilight, and of course, don’t forget the South American fellow who grew up in Europe who absolutely loves Star Wars. And who doesn’t know that Mr. Bond likes his martini shaken, not stirred?

What are the advantages to teaching for you?

Still being connected to what’s going on in the world around you. It’s also a great exercise towards learning and remembering what ultimately motivates people to do things. I am constantly looking for ways to keep lesson materials fresh and engaging to encourage conversation in the classroom. I wasn’t a fan of the top-down, one-way communications lesson model when I was a student, and I’m even less of a fan now, as an instructor. The students seem to respond and learn better from a two-way model.

What are the disadvantages to teaching for you?

Teaching is so important, yet the pay doesn’t really entice some of the world’s most talented and knowledgeable people to carve out some time from their lives to share their wisdom with our youth. The pay makes one wonder why as a society we seem to value the profession so little.

Do you like teaching English? Why?

I love teaching English, and I’m so thankful to have such an intimate and varied relationship with the language. There is a precise word for so many things. I love how English has historically drawn from Latin, Saxon and Greek influences, and continues to draw from other cultures today. I love being able to tell a native French speaker, for example, that we share words with them.

Do you do another job?

Yes. I also freelance as a communications/PR consultant and write articles and blog posts for small publications and small and medium-sized businesses. I’m always on the hunt for new challenges.

I want to give a very big thank you to Cynthia for sharing her rich experience as an English Language teacher.  You should check out Cynthia’s blog over at http://www.livingincyn.com.  There you’ll find interesting posts that Cynthia writes about food, culture, writing, and of course living life to the fullest in Switzerland.

Teacher Feature #2

Name: Stephanie Thomas

Nationality: French-American

How long have you been teaching?

I’ve been teaching in France since 1996, though not always to the same public.

What are you teaching? EFL/ESL

I’m teaching EFL to middle school students. Having done both, I have to say I’ve always been a bit dubious about the EFL/ESL distinction.  English as a foreign language is meant to be for people living outside of English speaking countries, and English as a second language for those living in a country in which primarily English is spoken (think teaching little French kids in Normandy VS teaching Mexican laborers in California–just an example). I think the ESL/EFL distinction is artificial and our focus as teachers has a lot more to do with the WHO and the WHY. Who are we teahing and why do they need to learn English? Do they know why (think those little French kids again) ?

What certifications do you have? 

Besides a Master’s degree, I have a *TEFL certificate and a *CAPES.

How did you get into teaching English?

Unlike a lot of people, teaching English was my first choice. Of course, back in college, I thought I’d be teaching literature and writing to native speakers! Never mind. Girl meets boy and they move to France. Girl gets job teaching English. And likes it.

Where are you working? country, school, companies, etc.

I’m working in a French middle school, in the private system.

What kind of contract are you working under?

I have a permanent contract. It’s so permanent that we call ourselves “lifers,” except in this case, I can decide to leave the “prison” through the front door while I still have some dignity left.

How long have you been working there?

I started in September 2012!

Where else have you worked?

I worked for a couple of training companies offering mostly business English courses, from 1996 to 2008. Afterwards, I set up on my own for a few years–it was financially rewarding, but I missed having colleagues and someone else to call up late payers.

Where do you prefer teaching English?

My favorite courses were small groups in companies, probably for the social aspect as much as anything. I also liked intensive one-on-one courses–just a week with a good set of really precise objectives. That was fun.

What do you love about teaching English?

In my current position, the students can be really endearing, and their breakthrough moments are really special. When a kid gets up in front of the class to talk about his last vacation, and he’s red as a beet and stutters through it–it’s very satisfying to see him smiling at the end, proud. It takes a lot of hard work to get even some of the students to that point!

What are the advantages to teaching for you?

Teaching in companies allowed me to more or less set my schedule, particularly with individual students. I never had to worry much about missing a day, as we could always reschedule. This flexibility was really important to me as my family grew (and grew…). In the school system, I like having a set salary and lots of time off with my kids.

What are the disadvantages to teaching for you?

Again, corporate language training was much different from school teaching. I loved teaching adults, but I think being privy to certain personal information about my adult students (they tended to share freely) made the job challenging in ways I wasn’t equipped to handle. I don’t mean to be enigmatic, but it was largely these “intimacy” issues that drove me out of corporate training. In my school, I also have access to information about my students, but I think it helps me understand them better and teach more effectively. Sometimes it’s just plain depressing, though.

Do you like teaching English?  Why?

I like it most days. I can think of things I’d rather be doing, but they don’t pay for plane tickets. I like to think I’m making a difference to some of these students, igniting an interest or uncovering a talent.

Do you do another job?

I’m a devoted wife and mother of 4 awesome kids; these are the things, I hope, I’ll be remembered for. That… and my irregular verbs rap. It rocks.

*TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language.  TEFL is one of the certificates required to teach English abroad.

*CAPES stands for Certificat d’Aptitude au Professorat de l’Enseignement du Second Degré.  This French diploma is needed to become a civil servant teacher in middle and high school.

Big thank you to Stephanie for sharing a bit of her teaching experience with us.

Teacher Feature #1

Name: Trenee Seward

Nationality: American

How long have you been teaching?

I began my teaching career in 2004 after acceptance into the Teach for America program. The interview progress was rigorous and probably one of the most difficult interviews I’d ever experienced at that time. I began my career as a Special Education Resource Reading/English teacher for students in grades 9-12. Most of my students were functioning well below grade level and considered “at-risk.”

What are you teaching? 

After several years in special education, I decided that I wanted a break—a drastic change even. Since I’m in my thirties, unmarried, and child free, I thought I should see more of the world. That said, I applied for a position with Disney English and flew all the way to Beijing, China for a year’s contract as a Foreign Trainer (read: English teacher for primary students). Working for Disney English has its drawbacks, but overall the kids are well-behaved.  We incorporate songs and games into every lesson, and I am still able to easily track student progress. Since I don’t consider myself a morning person, the hours are also great. I work Thursday through Monday and my hours vary. Only once a week am I ever at work before 9am.
What certifications do you have?  EFL, ESL, and/or other?

I have TEFL-C, Special Education (Early Childhood -12), and Generalist (Early Childhood-4) certifications. I held a probationary ESL certification, but never completed the test.

How did you get into teaching English?

I’ve always been passionate about reading and writing. When I entered the teaching profession, my goal was to inspire students who claimed to hate just that—reading and writing, especially those students that most other teachers or schools had already given up on.

Where are you working? country, school, companies, etc. What kind of contract are you working under?

I’m currently teaching for Disney English in Beijing, China. I’m on a 15-month contract. I wear a uniform and name tag to work each day and am provided with specific content that I must follow. I am still given the flexibility to add games/activities and I determine how long each activity must take. We follow a certain set of routines and attend center meetings twice a week. I teach classes at a variety of levels and class sizes also vary.

How long have you been working there?

I just completed my 6-month evaluation. They are pleased with the work I’ve done thus far. I get better everyday. 🙂

Where else have you worked?

Teaching wise, I’ve worked for Houston ISD and 2 charter school districts. I’ve also worked with special needs students at the university level.

Where do you prefer teaching English?  

In a classroom. 🙂

What do you love about teaching English?

I love exposing students to stories that capture their interest, especially struggling learners/readers.

What are the advantages to teaching for you? 

I love the summers off. After I work hard for an entire school year, it’s nice to have a summer to enjoy travel, reading, and doing whatever things interest me most. I know I’m supposed to say something inspiring here, but as teachers we constantly use our brains and teacher burn-out is always a concern. Breaks are a nice way to re-charge and re-invent yourself for the upcoming school year.

What are the disadvantages to teaching for you? 

Unsupportive parents, student misconduct, and you never really stop working are major disadvantages. Your day might end at 4pm, but you go home and continue to plan, grade papers, and contact parents. You’re also more than a teacher—you’re a counselor, parent, social worker—and oftentimes teachers don’t receive the respect they deserve for all these hats, especially pay wise.

Do you like teaching English? Why?

I do enjoy teaching English. It gives me a chance to use my degrees in English, but most importantly, with each lesson, I learn just as much as my students.

Do you do another job?

Not now, but in the States I was also a résumé coach and fiction writer.

Trenee SEWARD is also a successful blogger on WordPress at http://naysue.wordpress.com where she writes book reviews primarily about and by black people.  Visit ‘black girl lost…in a book’ for interesting bookish information and all on upcoming notable releases that you may have not heard about.

I thank gratefully Trenee for accepting to take part in this collaborative effort to present interesting teachers doing different things in different places.  I hope this helps people understand better the life of a teacher, as well as encourage those that are contemplating joining the profession.  Look out for the next Teacher Feature at the end of February.