2022 Winter Olympics! Super Fun ESL Lesson With Flip the Classroom!

Hello everyone!

My name is Ryan, but I am also known as Teacher Ryan by many of my students :)

My teaching career began when I moved to Thailand to teach ESL. At first, the plan was to try this out for six months, see if I enjoy it, and then go from there. Well, seven years later I am still teaching (and loving every minute of it)! I guess you could say I was bit by the teaching bug and never really recovered!

I started as a grade 3 homeroom teacher for the Mini English Program at a government school in a city called Phitsanulok, Thailand. Though most of my experience here was with teaching English (reading, writing, speaking, and listening), I also gained experience with teaching Science, Health, and Math (grades 1-6). 

After 3 years at this government school, I was offered a great opportunity to work at a private school for a company called Fun Language. Though I was still teaching English to students from kindergarten to grade 6, the classroom atmosphere here was very different! Here there were no chairs or desks, and very little homework or tests (but much more learning!). Instead, the focus was on bringing the "fun" to every class through many games, songs, and activities. There was also an emphasis on positive reinforcement (instead of negative punishment), as well as TPR (Total Physical Response). Through my two years of doing this job, I realized that students and teachers do not have to choose between having fun and learning. In fact, this was a truly inspirational time for me, as I was able to experience firsthand how students can make incredible progress when they are having fun! 

Since then, I have also done three years of online teaching. Here my focus has been on tutoring Chinese children in private 1-on-1 classes to help them develop their English abilities. I used my previous experience to help students learn while having a lot of fun in the classroom! This also helps young students feel more comfortable while communicating in a language that is not their native language. After 7500+ classes (and 2500+ reviews with a 5/5 rating) with 1300+ students in three years, I feel very confident that my methods have proven to be effective. At the same time, I am also very aware that every new class and every new student offers me the opportunity to grow and develop my skills as a teacher even further. I truly believe that my students are not the only ones learning from our classes (they teach me as much as I teach them, even if they don't realize it!). 

 As for my life outside of teaching, I am an avid hockey fan (especially my beloved Edmonton Oilers!), and I continue to follow the NHL very closely (even from the other side of the planet)! I also enjoy playing and following many sports, including football, baseball, basketball, golf, badminton, soccer, and many more! In my free time, you can also find me swimming, doing yoga, traveling, taking photos, trying new foods, and learning to play the piano. 

Anyways, now that you know more about me, how about you let me learn more about you? Hopefully, I will see you in one of my classes soon so that we can both learn and have a lot of fun together! :)