Днес слагаме начало на нова рубрика в нашия блог – „Опознай English Academy – Varna“, в която всеки път ще ви „запознаваме“ с член на нашия екип. За нас хората са най-важният фактор за успех, защото именно чрез опитните ни учители, добрия мениджмънт и грижата за курсистите ние се развиваме и вървим само нагоре. Иска ни се да опознаете поне малко лицата, които работят, за да ви помогнат по пътя към усъвършенстване и успех.
Неслучайно интервютата ще бъдат представени само на английски – знаете, нашите учители са от Великобритания и САЩ, с майчин език английски, а ние искаме да провокираме у вас именно жаждата за нови знания. Обогатете речника си, докато четете интересните истории на нашите учители. Какво по-добро начало на новата рубрика от интервю със самия основател на нашата академия – Марк Мактагарт. Кога се ражда идеята за академията, защо точно тук в България и още отговори на въпроси, които много наши ученици са ни задавали. Ето малко факти за директора на English Academy:
Mark McTaggart
- Hello, Mark! Let's get straight to the point! What made you want to become a teacher?
- I was working in the stock market in London and decided to take a year out to go travelling. After seeing the world and so many wonderful places, I found out an office job in London wasn’t for me. So I decided to retrain as an English teacher and taught children in Thailand instead. My friends and family thought I must be crazy, but I knew I had to follow my heart and make the change.
- What made you decide to come to Bulgaria?
- After teaching in Thailand for 2 years, I decided I wanted to be closer to home, yet still in a place that was different to England. The British council is one of the best places to work as an English teacher so I applied to 7 different British Council’s in Eastern Europe, with Bulgaria as my number one choice as it was the furthest south from all the countries, hence the warmest. I was so happy when the British Council Sofia offered me a position I was literally dancing on the table! I worked in Sofia for 8 months then moved to the Varna office, where I worked from 2004-2006.
- And the most important question.. What made you decide to set up English Academy?
- In 2006, the British Council made the decision to close their office in Varna. At this time, the choice was to move back to Sofia, apply for another teaching job, or set up my own school. I always have had an entrepreneurial streak in me and the opportunity was too good to pass up. I have a Bulgarian business partner who also worked at the British Council and we decided to set up the school then. It was a lot of hard work, but ultimately we are both happy with this decision.
- What do you think is the hardest part of your job?
- I would say finding and keeping good teachers. As we employ native speakers, it means that the number of potential teachers in Varna is limited. We do have some very experienced teachers who have established themselves in Varna and at the school, but we also have teachers who move on after working with us for a few years. Usually, to get new teachers I advertise on international job boards and have to interview candidates via Skype for the teaching position. Then we need to bring the teachers over to Bulgaria and help them settle into the school and life in Varna. I try really hard to bring the best teachers to the school and to keep the high standards which has made the school so popular. After all, it is the teachers which make the school a success and who the students study with from day to day.
- What do you think was the most difficult class you have ever taught?
- I worked in Taiwan for about 6 months in a Chinese school. They had a new class of 3-year-olds (2 of them were still 2!) and their first day of school at 9am they had English, with me being the teacher. I asked a Chinese assistant to go in and get the kids to sit quietly before I entered the room. All the parents were looking through the window watching. I walked into the room with a big smile and said “hello”. One of the kids started crying, then they all started crying and reaching for their parents. Luckily, we had some toys in the room so I brought them out to get the children settled and in the end it was one of the most rewarding classes I have ever taught.
Ако искате да прочетете и следващото интервю, което ще бъде с един от най-обичаните учители, можете да се абонирате за нашия блог и да получавате известие при нова публикация. Stay positive! Stay tuned. :)
