How long have you been teaching at Lexis Maroochydore and what did you do before you worked here?
I’ve been working for Lexis for nearly one month. Before that I was in Barcelona for over a year teaching English and learning Spanish.

Do you speak another language and what was your biggest challenge when you learnt it?
I speak intermediate level Spanish. The most difficult thing when learning it was trying to understand people in the street. Spanish people speak really fast!

What class are you teaching at the moment?
Intermediate- a lovely class

Please tell us about a student in your class who has made outstanding progress…
All of the students are making progress but Melanie in particular. Melanie has no trouble speaking but the grammar can be challenging. Recently, she has been putting in a lot of  effort to get her head around the present perfect tenses and she’s doing great!

What do you enjoy most about teaching at Lexis Maroochydore?
I like that it’s a small, friendly school. The atmosphere is good because the students are relaxed and having fun. The balcony is pretty nice too!

If you weren’t a teacher what do you think you would be doing now?
I would be a yoga teacher, ommm……..

What do you like the most about living on the Sunshine Coast?
The beaches, the friendly people and the relaxing lifestyle.

What is your favourite cafe, restaurant, shop or place in Maroochydore?
I love Gopal’s, which is just down the street. they do delicious vegetarian food and it’s cheap too.

How long have you been teaching at GV Maroochydore and what did you do before you worked here?
I’ve been working for Global Village since 2008 however this is my first time working at GV Maroochydore. I really enjoy travelling between work.

Do you speak another language and what was your biggest challenge when you learnt it?
Yes, I speak Italian. I guess the most difficult aspect is learning to speak the language naturally.

What class are you teaching at the moment?
Pre Intermediate

Please tell us about a student in your class who has made outstanding progress…
I really feel as though all of the students are making fantastic progress, they are always talking (in english of course).

What do you enjoy most about teaching at GV Maroochydore?
I love working with people from all around the world, When you walk through the door it’s like stepping into another world.

If you weren’t a teacher what do you think you would be doing now?
Great question, I think I would be travelling.

What do you like the most about living on the Sunshine Coast?
The beach, the beach, the beach!

What is your favourite cafe, restaurant, shop or place in Maroochydore?
Sister Cafe at Cotton Tree, they have great organic food and coffee.

We’ve been pretty spoilt here at GV Maroochydore because we have had so many lovely young teachers join us. First, it was Coren, Meghan, Janessa and now Grace.

How long have you been teaching at GV Maroochydore and what did you do before you worked here?

I started teaching here about a month ago and before that I taught in Sydney, Scotland, and Peru and squeezed in bits of travelling in between.

 Do you speak another language and what was your biggest challenge when learning it?

Yes, Spanish and a little German.  I learned Spanish in Peru so the most challenging thing for me was finding the courage to speak in public when I knew everyone was listening to me making mistakes. As soon as I stopped worrying about that, it became so much easier and I improved heaps.

 Which class are you teaching at the moment?

The lovely Pre-Int B.

 Please tell us about a student in your class who you feel has made outstanding progress…

I’m really happy with the progress of the class in general. Keep up the good work guys!

 What do you enjoy most about teaching at GV Maroochydore?

I like the fact it’s a small school so everyone can get to know everyone else easily.

 If you weren’t a teacher, what job do you think you would be doing now?

Professional Surfer!

 What do you like most about living on the Sunshine Coast?

The sunshine and the friendly people.

 What is your favourite cafe, restaurant, shop or place in Maroochydore?

There are so many great places to choose from but I’m happiest when I’m on the beach catching some waves at sunrise.

How long have you been teaching at GV Maroochydore and what did you do before you worked here?

I started teaching at GV about 1 month ago.  I moved to Australia 3 months ago with my husband.  He is going to the University of the Sunshine Coast to obtain his Graduate Diploma in (Secondary) Education.  We are both Canadian, but met while we were living in Seoul, South Korea.  I started teaching ESL in South Korea in 2006.  We moved to Taiwan in 2009 to teach ESL as well, before our time in Australia.

Do you speak another language and what was your biggest challenge when learning it?

I can speak some French.  I studied it in school for 6 years.  Other than my limited French, I can also speak a little bit of Korean and a tiny bit of Chinese.  I can read Korean which makes it a little easier to learn than Chinese.  I don’t think I could ever learn to read Chinese!  It is so complex!

Which class are you teaching at the moment?

I’m teaching Elementary right now.  I’m really enjoying it.  The students are great!

Please tell us about a student in your class who you feel has made outstanding progress…

Oh, how can I pick one!  Everyone has progressed and is doing fantastic!

What do you enjoy most about teaching at GV Maroochydore?

Definitely getting to know my students! 

 If you weren’t a teacher, what job do you think you would be doing now?

I’m a teacher!  I learned that a long time ago!  I couldn’t do anything  else.  But I hope to teach Kindergarten or Grade 1 for the long-term in the future.  My Master’s degree is in Elementary Education.

What do you like most about living on the Sunshine Coast?

There is tons to do!  The beaches are amazing, but so is the hinterland! But, I can say, holding a koala at the Australia Zoo was a dream come true!

What is your favourite cafe, restaurant, shop or place in Maroochydore?

Probably the local Fitness Centre.  Other than love being at home with my husband, I spend a lot of time taking yoga, pilates, tai chi, pump, and zumba classes.

 As teacher Nicki Brook prepares to take off on a new adventure teaching in  South America, we asked her some questions about being a teacher at GV and living on the Sunny Coast.

How long have you been teaching at GV Maroochydore and what did you do before you worked here?
I started at the beginning of this year so I’ve been here about 6 weeks. Before this I was teaching English in Hanoi, Vietnam for about a year and a half, and in Thailand and China before that. Altogether I’ve been teaching for about 3 years.

Do you speak another language and what was your biggest challenge when learning it?
I studied French, funnily enough, when I was in Vietnam and I always try to pick up bits and pieces of the language wherever I go. I found Asian languages a lot harder to learn than Latin languages as there are a lot of completely different structures and sounds. At the moment I’m trying to learn Spanish as I’m off to South America in a couple of weeks! It’s great to learn another language if you’re teaching because it helps you to understand how your students feel.

Which class are you teaching at the moment?
I’m teaching Pre-Intermediate A and I’ve been with them for about 6 weeks. Some of them have left in that time and some newbies have arrived. They’re a lovely bunch of people and we have a lot of fun together. I’ll be very very sad on the day that I have to say goodbye to them but hopefully we’ll keep in touch.

Please tell us about a student in your class who you feel has made outstanding progress…
I think all of the students in my class continue to make great progress with every day and they are all very hard-working and intelligent. I couldn’t choose one without praising them all!

What do you enjoy most about teaching at GV Maroochydore?
The atmosphere here is great. The students are friendly and energetic, the teachers are very professional and down-to-earth, the school is right across the road from the beach, there are always activities and games, bbqs and parties going on and everyone’s happy! I know the staff and teachers work really hard to make sure all the students have a good time which is really nice.

If you weren’t a teacher, what job do you think you would be doing now?
Hmm well before teaching I was a graphic designer, but I don’t think I could spend my days sitting at a desk anymore. I love travel and meeting people so probably some kind of tourism work where I can be outdoors and enjoying life, meeting people from other cultures. Although I really love teaching and I’d like  to do it for as long as possible.

What do you like most about living on the Sunshine Coast?
I love the outdoors, and there are so many things to do here that don’t cost you anything. Hiking, surfing, hanging at the beach, wasting time sitting in a cafe, camping, wild-life spotting, bbqing at the beach, drinking wine and giggling with my friends, watching sunsets…

What is your favourite cafe, restaurant, shop or place in Maroochydore?
I love Raw Energy in Cotton Tree. It’s close by, the staff are really friendly and the food is so healthy and yummy! I’m going to try and work on the manager to see if he can give us a GV discount…

Last week we met our new CAE teacher Adrienne and this week it’s the turn of Nathalie, who is teaching on the FCE course here at GV Caloundra.

Nathalie, currently teaching FCE at GV Caloundra

How long have you been working at GV and what did you do before you worked here?

I’ve been here for over a year now. Before moving to the Sunshine Coast I worked in English language schools in Brisbane and also as a primary school teacher and French teacher in the state system.

Do you speak another language and what was your biggest challenge when learning it?

I’ve learned a few languages over the years, including French, German and Russian. I suppose listening and grammar were always challenging for me! My mum’s French, so I never really had problems there.

Which class are you teaching at the moment?

I am teaching FCE and we’re already coming to the end of week three – time really is flying!

Please tell us about a student in your class who you feel has made outstanding progress…

It’s still a little early to say, but all the students are demonstrating themselves to be highly motivated and hard-working.

What do you enjoy most about teaching at GV?

I love the sense of community here – everybody knows everybody else by name. It’s great to meet people from around the world. The staff here also have a great working relationship.

If you weren’t a teacher, what job do you think you would be doing now?

I’d be developing curriculum and teaching resources for ESL and / or LOTE French (and I still hope to pursue this dream one day!)

What do you like most about living on the Sunshine Coast?

The laid-back family atmosphere and of course the weather and beaches.

What is your favourite cafe, restaurant, shop or place in the local area?

My favourite restaurant is a small place on Dicky Beach called ‘Guatamas’

(Read a review of Guatama’s at http://www.menufeast.com.au/info/19999/gautama/dicky-beach/ and if you’re looking for part-time work it’s a great place to drop off your cv – a number of students already work there, in fact!)