Short bio

I am an English language and literature teacher and Master of Arts lecturer in English Philology. For thirteen years now I have been an active part of formal and informal education as a teacher or teaching assistant of English language, English literature and applied linguistics. I have also participated in numerous workshops, seminars, webinars and conferences related to my field of studies and work.

My EPALE

As we all know, EPALE is a community which enhances, facilitates, supports and promotes life-long learning. Even before joining the EPALE community in 2018, I had been living everything it advocates. Being appointed EPALE ambassador in December 2019 felt so right and natural that, in fact, I have never viewed it as a job, duty, obligation or position but as the best possible confirmation of everything that I believe in, and as a driving force which confirms my belief in the power of education.

My Story

In 2018 just before the Covid pandemic, I was giving conversational English classes to a graphic designer. He worked for foreign companies and he worked mainly online. At that time, the idea of working online was new to me and I had no interest whatsoever in asking him about it or in finding out how it worked.

One time, he complained that driving to school and back home again took too long and that he wasted too much time. He suggested working online. He explained all the details of how it would work and proposed various platforms that we could use. He even encouraged me to start working exclusively online since that way I could have students from all over the world. In this way, he said, I could expand my knowledge, experiences and earn much more. Even though I understood the advantages, I wasn't prepared to do it. I just saw it as a distant, future possibility.

2019 brought with it all the changes that I hadn't been willing to embrace. Everything was different. What was once a distant future possibility just a few months earlier all of a sudden became the only viable option. Teaching online became my usual daily routine. It really struck me how quickly we got used to it. An initial effort and complete surrender to a new teaching/learning rhythm was all that was needed. But it would have never happened if we hadn't been forced into it.

Now I realise that changes are not only welcome, but necessary.

There are no boundaries except the ones we create ourselves. I no longer work with the graphic designer but I remember him every day. He serves as a reminder of the old me, the teacher I was before the change. If you ask me now if I think that old teacher was any good, I would say yes. If you ask me if I would go back to my old ways, I would say no. This new way is equally as good. There is no going back. Instead I continue to move forward, embracing change while remaining true to my old foundations.

Did you get inspired by this story? Let us know below in the comments and get the chance to win an EPALE unique gift!

5 users per month (May 2021 - January 2022) from those commenting on a 2021 Community Story will be picked at random and will receive a gift. Comments must be relevant and related to the topic to be eligible.