English as a Second Language

Teaching English as a Second Language to Adults (TESL) Program

Testimonial as TESL Program Graduate:
Georgia Guy
March 30, 2005

After enjoying success in a number of careers including an early stint teaching English Literature at a Vancouver community college many years ago, I had reached the point where it was time to step back and reassess my priorities. I was ready to leave a very busy management position in public relations, marketing and fund development and find a way to combine my love of language, a decreased workload and the potential for a working "retirement" which could meld teaching and travelling in a socially responsible way.

The TESL program at George Brown seemed to be a great solution. Yet I was not ready to leave full-time employment without some clear sense of how employable an older TESL graduate might be. The TESL co-ordinator made it clear that while there were certainly possibilities of obtaining work, there were no guarantees of work, . On the first night of class, the methodology instructor told us that teaching ESL could be the best part-time job we would ever have.

That affirmation was the beginning of a series of classes that I absorbed like a sponge, enjoying each segment of instruction as well as the amazing friendships that blossomed among the students in my cohort. We became a very close-knit group almost immediately and provided support, encouragement and a great deal of fun to one another along the way to completing the academic requirements for certification. Equally rewarding was the practicum during which I was able to confirm that I had truly made a great decision and that teaching ESL was a career I could do and love, at home or "on the road."

I haven't yet reached the "teach and travel" part of my new TESL career. Immediately after graduating I was happy to accept a part-time assignment at George Brown which grew into a term-by-term sessional position. Despite my love of that work I decided to leave George Brown to take the full-time position I now hold at an agency where I had volunteered while studying at George Brown
which provides LINC and settlement services to refugee and newcomer women.

Would I recommend the TESL program as a place to launch a new or interim career? Absolutely! Without a doubt, the ESL teaching I am doing now is the most satisfying and heart-warming work I have ever done. And I credit the TESL faculty and management at George Brown for their academic excellence, their strong personal support and interest in every student and their eagerness to assist students in reaching individual TESL goals.

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