OCNews

What education do you have? What are your areas of interest?

I have a Master of Education in teaching English as a second language (TESL) from UBC. Some of my areas of interest in my field are as follows:

• international standardized English language tests such as IELTS and TOEFL
• task-based language teaching and learning
• language assessment
• learner independence
• using technology in language education

When did you know you had found your discipline?

My interest and passion to know more about other cultures and countries pushed me towards learning other languages at an early age. Before I knew it, I graduated from university with a degree in English language and started teaching it.
 
Why did you choose to work at Okanagan College?

OC is a well-known college and it definitely plays a significant role in educating the residents of the Okanagan as well as international students. So, I sent my application to OC as soon as I moved to Kelowna from Vancouver.
 
What do you like the most about the work you do?

Teaching in a cosmopolitan institute is a very rewarding experience simply because you are in touch with so many people from different cultures and languages. What a teacher can learn from their students in this situation can sometimes be even more than what they teach.
 
Favourite teaching experience?

My favourite teaching experience is teaching English to "zero beginners," or learners with low language proficiency. I like this experience because every movement and every word that the teacher makes and says in this situation could be a learning opportunity for the students.
 
Who gave you the best advice you ever received? 

The best advice I have ever received was from a colleague of mine who advised me to put myself in my students’ shoes whenever I teach them. This advice really helped me get a better picture of myself as a teacher.
 
Where are you the happiest?

I am almost always happy in my life, but when I am at work, with the positive energy I get from my job and my students, it’s hard not to be happy.
 
What matters most to you right now? 

To keep myself proactive and up to date in my job is very important to me right now.
 
If you ran the world?

If I ran the world, I would send all the politicians to a very long vacation, and I would dissolve all the borders so people can get together to make the world better!