She says…”I believe that the online teaching is definitely a breakthrough in education. Working for TalktoCanada I have had the pleasure to teach different nationalities and different ages.  In the last couple of months, I’ve started to teach children online. Although for some teachers, it can be challenging to maintain a child’s attention and concentration in a class environment, the online experience does not shy away from that same effort.  I would say it requires more effort to keep the child concentrated in a virtual classroom where he or she has an easy access to internet. However as a TalktoCanada teacher I am trained and prepared with materials to keep my students interested in the lessons. I try to organize the lessons to meet each of my student’s needs. I believe that it is important to get as personal in understanding and helping the student whose needs might vary from learning the language, building vocabulary, or reinforcing their reading and comprehension.  In a virtual classroom I  have from 3 students to just one so it is easy for me to help them acquire the knowledge and skills that they need.  When I teach children online I try to keep the lessons as entertaining and simple without forgetting the necessary and essential points of the lesson.  More importantly it is easier to also keep in touch with the parents and communicate their child’s strengths, weaknesses and improvements.   I welcome any concerns that the parents might have about their child and try to work with them to help the student become better and more prepared. Not many teachers can say that teaching children is effortless, but I can happily confirm that teaching children online is no longer an effort but a pleasure.”

To sign up your child today for lessons please click on this link: http://www.talktocanada.com/individual-training/user-fees/

Laura McCusker

Hey there, I’m Laura and although I’ve been lucky to live in Northern Ontario and British Columbia, the UK and also Taiwan, I currently live in my hometown of Hamilton, On. I guess you could say my house is multi-national as my dog was rescued in Taiwan and my boyfriend is Irish. I love learning about other cultures and working at TTC offers this unique advantage. My favourite travelling experience has to be Indonesia, which is not only beautiful but has fabulous people and truly smells like paradise with all the spices. I hope that one day I can make the trip again. I think people would describe me as hard-working, compassionate and creative as I’m always doing photography, cooking and even sewing. I love the summer and like to be outdoors as much as possible either with friends or just relaxing. (Even though I love reading….I am taking a break as I’ve spent the last few years reading nothing but textbooks!)

Being happy is really important and so is being yourself…honesty plays a big role in my life.

Dawna Hung

Working with TalktoCanada.com since 2010

Hello! My name is Heather Barnes. I am currently finishing up my degree in International Development at the University of Guelph. I am fascinated by different cultures and languages. My favourite things include bike riding, hiking, Latin American culture, documentaries, theology, painting, reading, beautiful music, and watching “The Office”. The last book I read was a wonderful novel called “A Severe Mercy” by Sheldon Vanauken. If I had to describe myself in three words, they would be: friendly, idealistic, and complicated.

I had my first experience with ESL when I volunteered as a conversation partner for new immigrants to Canada. I loved this position, because it allowed me to learn the stories of people who have come to my country from all over theworld. This experience instilled a dream in me, to make ESL teaching the goal for my future career. Little did I know that the future would come so quickly! Working with TalktoCanada has been a dream come true, and I am enjoying every minute of it! I am making friends, sharing laughs, and learning just as much from my students as they are from me.

It is hard to choose a single motto that I live by, but I would say that “Live well, laugh often, love much” comes close. I am married to a wonderful organic farmer, and we live in a sweet little house in Guelph, although one day we dream of living on an island in the South Pacific.

Currently TalktoCanada.com has just over 20 teachers on staff — they work with both individual clients and also our corporate clients  delivering specific and  tailored lessons that range from general conversation to ESP lessons (English for Special Purposes).

All of our teachers are native English speakers — and all are Canadians.  Ask them anything about Canada and they should know the answer — except once someone asked me about the underground mall and tunnel  in Toronto — and I really had no idea what they were talking about — until I Googled it and yes in fact there is the P.A.T.H in Toronto — who would have thought it was so famous??!!

Check out some of our Teacher’s of the Week to get a better idea about who they are and what they like to do:

http://www.talktocanada.com/2010/05/talktocanada-com-teacher-of-the-week-laurie-bilokraly/

http://www.talktocanada.com/2010/05/talktocanada-com-teacher-of-the-week-kyle-gooch/

http://www.talktocanada.com/2010/04/talktocanada-com-teacher-of-the-week-jenn-foldi/

http://www.talktocanada.com/2010/04/talktocanada-com-teacher-of-the-week-tiffany-fudge/

http://www.talktocanada.com/2010/04/talktocanada-com-teacher-of-the-week-nicole-ross/

http://www.talktocanada.com/2010/04/talktocanada-com-teacher-of-the-week-aaron-petrie/

http://www.talktocanada.com/2010/03/talktocanada-com-teacher-of-the-week-amanda-cameron/

http://www.talktocanada.com/2010/01/tenielle-patterson-teacher-of-the-week/

http://www.talktocanada.com/2010/01/kiki-christie-teacher-of-the-week/

http://www.talktocanada.com/2010/01/lusi-brace-teacher-of-the-week/

http://www.talktocanada.com/2009/12/samantha-odber-teacher-of-the-week/

http://www.talktocanada.com/2009/12/camille-greer-teacher-of-the-week/

Laurie Bilokraly

My name is Laurie Bilokraly and I live in Kingsville, Ontario. Kingsville is the Southern most town in Canada and is situated on Lake Erie. I have my degree in Communication Studies from Wilfrid Laurier University. I have been married for 1 year and my husband and I are avid mountain bikes.The last book I read was Crowe Lake by Mary Lawson. I would describe myself as fun, outgoing and spontaneous.

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, an hour, a day or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever” — Lance Armstrong

Before we start training companies and students in English, they have a very common and similar question.  The question goes something like this, “How do you teach English?” The answer typically goes the same way.  TalktoCanada.com will help you improve your English by teaching you exactly what you want to learn.  Since starting TalktoCanada.com, we have trained all of our teaching staff to center around the idea of asking the student exactly what they want.  Most students know what they want.   The most common things are; business English, test preparation (TOEFL/IELTS), conversational English skills or vocabulary building.  Sometimes a student doesn’t have anything particular that they want to focus on — this is also a great opportunity to touch on everything and determine which areas need the most work.  Usually when students don’t know what they want they usually need help with their confidence.  Confidence is a big concern for a lot of 2nd language speakers and by working with a tutor you have the opportunity to talk, practice and make mistakes in a non-threatening environment.

Depending on the type of student  you are, beginner, novice, intermediate or advanced, we will work with you to improve all the areas that you feel you need help with.

If your looking for more detailed information about our teaching methods I suggest you read the following blog posts below:

Part I: The Basics of Dogme – Putting a name to the methodologies that TalktoCanada.com uses to teach ESL online
Part II – Key Principles of the Dogme Language Learning Approach – Putting a name to the methodologies that TalktoCanada.com uses to teach ESL online
Part III – “To Structure or not to Structure… that is the question….” – Putting a name to the methodologies that TalktoCanada.com uses to teach ESL online
Part IV: Cookie Cutter Language Learning – Putting a Name to the methodologies that TalktoCanada.com Uses
Part VI – Modifying the Dogme approach to accommodate your students’ needs – Putting a name to the methodologies that TalktoCanada.com uses to teach ESL online
Part V – Using the Dogme Approach in group lessons – Putting a name to the methodologies that TalktoCanada.com uses to teach ESL online

In my typing it has become almost habit to include the “:)” as part of everything.  I have to make sure that my mood is being displayed and in the right way.  I hate getting into the whole he said/she said things, especially online.  Talk about headache!

I also think that although smiley faces may not be 100% professional I think that they lighten up the mood a bit and make things fun.  Of course it depends on the situation — sometimes first communications with super important business people the smiley faces are non existent.  But after a meeting or two out they come :) (just now.. that was a random reflex) I’m happy and I want you to know! :) (again!!!)

Now on chat programs there are a ton of fun emoticons available — I just figured out a few cool hidden skype ones, and some facebook ones.  Yes, they add a little LOL to the chat messages but for me just basic :) works just fine.

What do you think? Are emoticons only for teeny boppers? Or can someone use them in a semi professional way as well? I’d like to hear your thoughts — leave me a comment!! :)

If you had asked me 3 years ago what a blackberry was — out of all honesty — I wouldn’t know- A friend of mine emailed saying she and her boyfriend got blackberries and I wrote back saying “oh! that’s great! You found a nice patch in Ontario? I thought there were only wild in British Columbia – Did you make pancakes?” ha! Now I know better and am wowed by all of the features, and oh how can I forget the BlackBerry messenger??!! Emails that come in a flash — and ability to stay connected literally ALL THE TIME.  Yes BB is great!  It has that sleek business feel to it – that the iPhone doesn’t – It is made for business and I would venture to say that everyone who is in business should get one.

Of course it takes some getting used to – on my way home after picking it up and signing my life/freedom away – I started the long trek home 2hs on the bus – what fun – but this time round it was! I was able to chat and send pictures to my boss (ok not so cool but kind of if you have a boss like mine) it was like I was a little kid in a candy store.

BB is great – it is kind of funny – now I look at myself — and I compare myself to 3 years ago.  Sure I had a laptop but I didn’t know much about technology — but NOW – I am such a techy – actually it is scary!  Scary — but cool.. and expensive!

Now enough about me talking about how in love I am with my Blackberry…tell me how you feel about your Blackberry in the comments below.