My Journey to Vocational Teaching

Over the years I have been able to teach in many contexts. My first unofficial teaching experience was in high school when I had a free lesson in Grade 11 and I asked if I could spend time in the ESL class helping the teacher. I realised that I was able to help the other kids just by having everyday conversations so that they could practice speaking English with a native English speaker. I made many friends from all over the world in that class. Because of living in England for 4 years, I knew what it felt like to be different and to struggle (even though I spoke the same language).

My first official teaching experience was when I moved to Tsubetsu, Hokkaido, Japan (population ~6000) to teach English in Elementary School, Middle School, and High School on the JET Programme. I was there for 2 years. In my first year, I was teaching in 4 different elementary schools and the biggest one had 15 students and the smallest had 4 (yes, the entire school!). I also taught evening adult classes when I had the time. 

Moving to Finland from Japan, my first job was teaching Business English at companies such as Nokia and Sanoma. These were small groups or 1-1 teaching depending on what the company needed. 
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Most recently, I have been teaching people who are looking for personal development and professional development. Adults who are looking to shift their mindset about how they take on challenges or tackle problems. This means that I am teaching what I know through topics such as the entrepreneurial mindset and service design. 

Previous Formal Education