Edward Matthews

Interests: Hello, my name is Edward Matthews. I’m from the West Coast of The United States, and live in Portland, Oregon. I’m an ESL teacher, and have a bachelor’s degree in communication and TEFL certification. I have over four years of teaching experience. I’ve been working as an online ESL teacher for the past three years. I worked as a middle school teacher for one year, and volunteered as an ESL conversational partner while earning my college degree.

While earning my degree from 2012 to 2016, I studied how humans use language to communicate. I studied subjects such as communication theory, linguistics, cognitive science, advanced composition, English history, literature, and culture. I also studied Business. I volunteered as an ESL conversational partner at my university’s TESOL department.

During my first year as a middle school teacher in 2017, I worked on classroom management, creating supplemental curriculum, developing lesson plans, delivering the the curriculum in an engaging way, and decorating my classroom. I participated in training workshops and helped with extracurricular activities. I also participated in parent-teacher conferencing, and developed strong bonds with my students and colleagues. I taught physical education (PE) and had classes with thirty students, for five classes per day. I had some ESL students, however, I wanted to teach ESL full time.

In 2018, I started working as an online ESL teacher. While working as an online ESL teacher, I earned my TEFL certification. I started incorporating the knowledge I gained from my university degree into my lessons. I mastered many tools to teach ESL, such as total physical response (TPR), and utilized classic teaching methods such as the Socratic method. I learned how to expand on, and adjust the curriculum based on the students needs. I learned how to assess a student’s English level, and deliver the curriculum accordingly.

Currently, I’m researching, attending teaching workshops, sharing tips, and discussing ESL teaching pedagogy with my colleagues. I’m working on developing my own ESL teaching pedagogy and method. In my free time, I enjoy going hiking and watching movies.

Education: BA Communication Degree, Portland State University
Writing and Journalism
Language and Communication Theory / Science

Spoken Languages: английский (Native)

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