My Journey to becoming an English Teacher

My timeline to becoming an English teacher

This was an exciting year filled with change! Despite not knowing Spanish at the time, I spent a few weeks with my boyfriend and his family in Mexico, learning more about the country and language.

I also moved to a new city in my province where I started university. I hadn’t decided my major yet, so I took a variety of classes like literature, linguistics, and languages (Spanish, French, and German). In my free time, I volunteered as an English assistant, helping elementary students who were new to Canada with their English skills.

Diving into Languages: 2019

My interest in the language learning community continued to grow, and I started taking Spanish more seriously by taking online and in-person classes alongside my other university studies.

I also learned more about the world of teaching languages online, so I got my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate with the hope that I could work remotely one day like the people I saw online and read about.

Once my first year of university was over, Alan’s family invited me to spend the summer with them again, which I of course agreed to! I got tons of Spanish speaking practice, and I noticed a big improvement compared to the summer before, which was very motivating.

I also visited family in Quebec and saw my grandmother’s childhood home, which reminded me of my French roots and motivated me to continue speaking French.

My Love for Languages Solidified: 2020

I started the year by doing an exchange in Guadalajara where I lived with a host family and took courses all in Spanish about neat topics like Mexican cinema, literature, and history.

Immersing myself in the language and culture with supportive teachers was an amazing experience, and I saw a ton of progress not just with my Spanish but also with my ability to be independent. I guess living in a new country at 19 years old does that to a person! Another great part was that on the weekends, I would see Alan, who was studying in a nearby city.

When the pandemic cut my exchange short, I returned to Canada. Like many of us at that time, I had a lot of free time, so I started working on various projects like a podcast with Alan and a blog.

I also decided to apply for an online teaching position with a Chinese language school. After a successful demo lesson, I got the job and would wake up very early to teach English to young children aged 4 to 12. Although it was challenging at first, I quickly adapted by using props and engaging methods like Total Physical Response (TPR) to make learning fun and effective for my young students.

Teaching More People: 2021

This year marked a turning point as I got hired to work as a freelancer on both a group teaching site and a one-on-one platform for kids, teens and adults. As much as I loved my first teaching job, being as chipper as a Disney Princess at 4 a.m. was a lot to handle, so I was excited for these new opportunities.

Students from around the world starting booking classes with me, ranging from conversation to TOEFL/IELTS preparation. It was so wonderful finally being able to create my own schedule and work at hours that were more convenient for my time zone in Saskatchewan. I was finally able to sleep in until 7 a.m. again. Yay!

Since then, each class has always been so different—sometimes I teach business English to a group of professionals from Japan and the next I talk about sports with a high school student from Brazil. No two classes are the same. This experience has helped me design and personalize lessons for both group and one-on-one sessions, enhancing my adaptability to diverse learning needs.

Graduation and Growth: 2022

After earning my Bachelor of Arts in English, I continued teaching online and travelling to Mexico to reunite with Alan. He also came to Canada for the second time with his sister where we went camping!

Uncertain about my next steps as a fresh university grad, I returned to university in the fall to complete an Honours degree in English, which included an internship, a research project, and a presentation on Victorian literature. I also worked at the campus Career Services department where I edited resumes and CVs.

Making Teaching My Career: 2023

I decided to level-up my credentials by pursuing a CELTA certificate, which stands for Certificate in Teaching English to Adults and is certified by Cambridge. This widely recognized certification provided me with advanced training in teaching techniques, effective lesson planning, classroom management, and language analysis.

In the fall, I also started a Bachelor of Education program, which I am set to finish in December of 2025. I figured that if I already made it this far into the world of education, I may as well make it official by getting the degree. It will allow me to teach in a kindergarten to grade 12 school; however, I am most passionate about teaching EAL, leading me to start my own business…

Starting My Own Teaching Business: 2024

Well, here we are! After years of talking about starting my own teaching business, I’ve finally done it. I bought the domain, spent hours learning about WordPress for website development, and have prepared everything else I can think of to make my dream official. I am so excited to work with students directly, without a middleman website, and help them achieve their language learning goals.

I have always loved working closely with students, designing lessons based on their needs and interests instead of following a rigid structure. Although creating my own lessons takes more time, I find it the most fun and effective for the student, which is important because if there’s one thing I’ve learned about language learning, it’s that it’s important to make learning enjoyable and relevant to you.

Why Maple English Way?

I was inspired to start my own teaching website after being asked by many people throughout the years if I could help them learn English. Sometimes they would also want to learn more about Canada or improve their speaking skills to feel more comfortable when visiting English-speaking countries.