My name is Kathy and I welcome you to my TESL portfolio!
I am a full-time student, completing my Master of Arts, at the University of Victoria, in Victoria, British Columbia. I completed my Bachelor of Arts, TESL program, and Global Competency Certificate at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia. My close-knit, much-loved, busy family providing some not-so-gentle nudges to pursue the goals I had for myself when I was younger is the reason I returned to university, studied in Tokyo for 2 semesters, took the TESL program, and pursued post-graduate studies. Their encouragement freed me to look again at who I wanted to become and figure out how I would would effect that change.
My two great passions are travelling and learning, but my joy in them is that I do not need to leave my home to travel and I do not need to be the one learning. For me, travelling is about gaining a connection to different places and different people that broaden my perspective and world-view. I can travel watching a documentary or international tv and movies, and I can travel in the pages of a good novel, but the most fun is when I get to hop on a plane and go out into world.
For me, learning is an ongoing process which can mean me actively absorbing new ideas, thinking new thoughts, and understanding new perspectives, but most often means the enjoyment in seeing someone else expand their own universe with a new concept or ability. Being a TESL teacher brings together these passions, because I learn about people and cultures from my students in ways you can not get from a guide book, and because facilitating my students’ journeys with a new language gives me the gift of seeing their “aha!” moments while also expanding my experience of my own language as a global language.
What I bring to the mix is an adventurous spirit, strong organization and time management skills, empathy, communication skills, and a willingness to learn.