Meet a Teacher Award winner: Ksenia Immel

We had a chance to catch up with Ksenia Immel, one of the 2018 Pearson English Teacher Award winners, to find out how life has changed for her since she was recognized as a top English language teacher.

—–

1. How has winning the Teacher Award changed your life?

Winning the Teacher Award has definitely empowered me as a practicing teacher, a constructive thinker, and a policy advisor. Now I am passionate about giving back, helping my colleagues, and generating innovative ideas. I am applying the skills and knowledge at my school and encourage other teachers to take part in the competition. My achievement made an inspiring impact on my students. I showed them that there are a lot of opportunities and some of them dared to apply at top-tier universities and succeeded.

2. Have you felt more connected to the ELT community as a result of winning the Teacher Award?

Participating in the IATEFL conference allowed me to build contacts with professionals from different backgrounds. Forming professional and personal bonds with these people is invaluable. I miss other Teacher Award Winners every single day as we became family to each other.

3. How has your teaching changed since winning the award?

I convinced my colleagues to become a PTE General Test Centre. I was more than happy to receive the status of an approved PTE interlocutor and assessor. This December our students are having the first exam session! My teaching now focuses on developing higher order thinking skills as it is crucial for the success at the PTE exams.

4. What advice would you have for people who are hesitant to enter the Teacher Award competition?

Don’t judge your ideas and abilities. Enter the competition and let other people evaluate you. Enter the competition with a passion for sharing and learning rather than a hunger for approval.

—–

We hope Ksenia’s words will encourage you to enter this year’s Teacher Award competition. Entries are open until the competition closes on January 4, 2019. Read about how to enter or see Ksenia’s entry on the website.

Next year you could be the one writing about how your life has changed for the better since winning the Pearson English Global Teacher Award!

The post Meet a Teacher Award winner: Ksenia Immel appeared first on Resources for English Language Learners and Teachers | Pearson English.

from Resources for English Language Learners and Teachers | Pearson English https://ift.tt/2Pw8koR
via Learn Online English Speaking