My CI-story (part one).

I never wanted to be a teacher.

In 1997, when I decided to major in French at the University of Glasgow, everyone assumed it was because I wanted to be a teacher. The more the assumption was made, the more determined I was to never let it happen.

(In any case, I was actually studying French because I wanted to be a missionary. But that’s another story for another day.)

Seoul

I came to the United States in 2016, found a job teaching French at a private school in New England. My approach to teaching French was the same as my approach to teaching English. I dutifully followed the textbook, gave grammar and vocabulary quizzes to students, who in turn, sat dutifully at their desks doing the work I assigned. But as the months went by, I began to wonder how much they were actually learning. Sure, they were able to conjugate verbs and regurgitate vocabulary, but were they actually able to speak the language? Something wasn’t quite right…

University of Glasgow

In 2006, I found myself teaching English in Seoul. I was not passionate about teaching English, but it allowed me to travel. I spent about three years in South Korea and fell in love with the country, its people, its language and its food. During this time, I was teaching in the same way that I had been taught: rote memorization of vocabulary lists and grammar points.

Dutiful students.