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Just a few weeks ago, I was at CourseTalk’s Silicon Valley headquarters communicating with users and spreading the word about the largest source for online-course reviews. Next week, I’ll be in Bogotá learning how to teach English along with 300 of Colombia’s other newest teachers. It’s quite a lifestyle change — and it was all inspired by my work at CourseTalk.
I joined CourseTalk as Communications and Marketing Lead in 2014, so if you’ve read any of our newsletters or seen any of our social media posts since then, that was me! I so enjoyed working with passionate learners and steeping myself in the latest education advancements, that I soon began volunteering at a free school for English learners in my spare time. Now, with the wonderful support of all my CourseTalk colleagues, I’m heading to South America to teach English full time for the fall semester! I’m ready for a rewarding and challenging experience that will hopefully leave me with a better understanding of the complexities of learning and teaching. I’ll be blogging regularly here about my experience, so please follow along! I’d love to see your comments and questions below.
Before I get back to packing, let me share a bit about what’s in store for me in Colombia: First, I’ll spend a week in the nation’s capital getting a crash course in English instruction. Then I’ll head to my school, about a one-hour flight away in Pereira, for another week of training. With about 500,000 people, Pereira is a hot and humid little city nestled in the mountains of Colombia’s coffee region. I expect to be teaching at an underprivileged public high school, and my students should have had little exposure to English. However, I’ve been warned that plans could change at any minute; Colombians are known for their flexibility and fluidity, so this should be quite a learning experience for a gal who loves to plan ahead! Luckily, I’ll be teaching alongside an experienced English instructor from Colombia, creating joint lesson plans and sharing classroom responsibilities, so I won’t be thrown entirely into the deep end.
With just a few days before my departure, I’m busy saying goodbyes and buying supplies — like American candy to motivate my students and extra-strong bug spray to ward off mosquitoes. Wish me luck on my 10 hour plane journey! Next time I post, it’ll be from Colombia!
Continue reading...
I joined CourseTalk as Communications and Marketing Lead in 2014, so if you’ve read any of our newsletters or seen any of our social media posts since then, that was me! I so enjoyed working with passionate learners and steeping myself in the latest education advancements, that I soon began volunteering at a free school for English learners in my spare time. Now, with the wonderful support of all my CourseTalk colleagues, I’m heading to South America to teach English full time for the fall semester! I’m ready for a rewarding and challenging experience that will hopefully leave me with a better understanding of the complexities of learning and teaching. I’ll be blogging regularly here about my experience, so please follow along! I’d love to see your comments and questions below.
Before I get back to packing, let me share a bit about what’s in store for me in Colombia: First, I’ll spend a week in the nation’s capital getting a crash course in English instruction. Then I’ll head to my school, about a one-hour flight away in Pereira, for another week of training. With about 500,000 people, Pereira is a hot and humid little city nestled in the mountains of Colombia’s coffee region. I expect to be teaching at an underprivileged public high school, and my students should have had little exposure to English. However, I’ve been warned that plans could change at any minute; Colombians are known for their flexibility and fluidity, so this should be quite a learning experience for a gal who loves to plan ahead! Luckily, I’ll be teaching alongside an experienced English instructor from Colombia, creating joint lesson plans and sharing classroom responsibilities, so I won’t be thrown entirely into the deep end.
With just a few days before my departure, I’m busy saying goodbyes and buying supplies — like American candy to motivate my students and extra-strong bug spray to ward off mosquitoes. Wish me luck on my 10 hour plane journey! Next time I post, it’ll be from Colombia!
Continue reading...
