"Being in this program has been a wonderful and enlightening experience for me for so many reasons. I have grown as a person and learned about other languages, ideas, cultures, and learned about myself.  As my TESOL training is coming to an end, I realize that I can use and develop my new teaching skills to help people enrich their lives, and that is very important to me. I came into this program wanting to learn more about teaching English abroad. After learning about how many different ESL environments there are I realized that I can use my TESOL training to help immigrants or migrant workers in the U.S.A. Ultimately my professional goals and personal goals are similar to work towards making the world a better place through helping others. The TESOL program has shown me a way to apply my goals to a specific field of work that is needed in my country and in others. TESOL has also taught me the importance of cultural diversity and how a teacher should respect it.

During the practicum I realized that every student in my class comes from a different culture and they each have different ways of interacting with their teacher and their education. I realized that as a teacher or practicum student, I must educate myself on where my students come from, their social customs, and teach from a culturally sensitive and respectful point of view. This was especially apparent when I visited the adult immigrant program at Whatcom Community College. There were so many different groups of students there from different countries and they all had different ways of learning and interacting with the teacher. For example the Russian students were very talkative amongst themselves, this didn’t necessarily mean that they were disrespectful of the teacher but this was the way they interacted with one another. So the teacher had to talk to them differently than the other students, sometimes louder. Within my practicum classroom at Whatcom Jr. high and in visiting Squalicum High I learned that young English learners need lots of stimulus to hold their attention. Both ESL teachers in those environments used art and games to teach English, which I thought was a fun way to learn and teach. This taught me that there are many different ways to teach English and that they can be varied and don’t have to rely solely on a textbook or form of grammar to constitute learning.

Taking part in the practicum portion of the TESOL program also helped me realize that teaching and learning about TESOL will be a continuing experience, no matter how much experience I have. I feel as if I have only been introduced to TESOL and have so much work to do in order to make myself a truly seasoned professional teacher of English.  One important aspect of professionalism I learned from the TESOL program is the importance of a professional appearance and a positive attitude.  My immediate future plans as a TESOL graduate is to take part in the Guy Healy summer camp program in Japan. I am very excited about this unique opportunity to be a camp counselor and teach people English in a fun recreational environment.

The TESOL program has taught me a great deal about communicating with people as a person and in a professional manner. I am very glad that I was accepted to this program and feel that it has enriched my life a great deal, giving me unique opportunities for learning and interacting with many different types of people. It has improved my ability to communicate with people and taught me about my own language, which improves my life immensely. Most importantly I learned that ESL/EFL teaching can help people improve their lives in many ways. I believe learning a new language can help build peoples confidence, give them new economic opportunities, and help people to understand and perhaps respect other cultures and their own. This is why the TESOL program has been a wonderful and enlightening experience for me."

                                                                        --Kymin Kretchmar

"As an English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor in the public school system, I was becoming increasingly frustrated as the numbers and needs of our ESL population grew. I struggled to find methods and teaching materials to assist in meeting the needs of students from diverse ages, cultures and ability levels spanning the primary grades through high school. Teachers, parents and students were asking me for help, and I didn't have the solutions.

I decided to enroll in the TESOL Program. I was impressed with the program because it gave me practical solutions from the first day of class. The topics were relevant to all my teaching needs.

We were given opportunities to observe ESL classes at all levels. We were active participants in some of these classes and taught under the guidance of ESL professionals.

I can look back now and see the incredible difference that the TESOL Program made in my teaching and my students. Now I am focused and confident that I know what is best for language learners. The frustration is gone, and now I truly enjoy the challenge and rewards of teaching ESL."

"I love languages and wanted to become a teacher. When I heard about Western's TESOL Program I knew it was for me. The program has provided me with the tools to positively and effectively focus my efforts in teaching English. The program has given me a wealth of ideas and I look forward to teaching in the U.S. and abroad."

"I was a teacher in Taiwan for five years and wanted more experiences abroad. A friend who was attending Western told me about the TESOL Program, and after learning more about the program I decided to enroll. I learned very useful information that supported teaching methods I had begun to develop but didn't know had been validated through research. As a student I was able to experience these methods because program instructors used them to teach the coursework."

"Entering the TESOL Program at Western has allowed me to combine three passions--environmental studies, cultural studies and education--in the pursuit of a career. I'm a M.Ed. candidate at WWU, and I'm writing my thesis on using environmental education techniques to teach ESL. I hope to start an environmental content course at a university overseas. The hands-on experience I gained in the TESOL Program at Western has provided a unique foundation to my educational evolution. The vast number of ESL teaching experiences that I participated in have greatly enhanced my teaching abilities."

I had heard about the TESOL program from a former classmate of mine. She told me what a great experience it was and how much she learned about teaching. This got me interested in the program so I decided to apply. I was provided with a wealth of new information on different teaching methods and applications of concepts. I felt that this was very helpful to me because I was a Special/Elementary Ed. Major. I was now given some new tools and techniques to bring into my own classroom. The program gave me more hands-on teaching experience and a chance to work with people in many different age groups and cultural backgrounds.  I was even given the opportunity to teach in Mexico for my practicum.