Chris Bell 上海美罗城中心
I’m from a small town in England called Lincoln, and studied Music in Manchester. After completing the CELTA qualification I moved to China in 2008; I have since after having met lots of Chinese friends who had told me how great it was here! They were right; I can’t stop eating so much Chinese food and my students keep telling me I’m getting fatter and fatter! I can also play some music in Shanghai, I’m a drummer so I need to rock out every now and again. I’m coming up to two years with Wall Street and am having a great time. Some of my highlights at Wall Street have been the special projects we often run, like the Public Speaking Contest, special weekly English Corner projects, and of course the parties! I’m looking forward to lots more fun (and learning) as I continue teaching here. We’ve got a great team over at Metro City and a great set of students too. Come down and see us! Thanks everybody!
Darren Small 天津新安购物广场中心
I’m from a very small town called Upton, Wyoming in the United States. I’ve been living in China for over 2 years and in Tianjin for just over 1 year. I enjoy teaching at TJ3 because it’s a smaller center and I have more of an opportunity to get to know the students better. Some of my interests include fast cars, nearly any kind of music, hanging out with my friends, movies, traveling to different parts of the world, and living and working in China.
Nicole Kleber 北京公主坟中心
My name’s Nicole but you can call me Niki if you like. I’ve been an FT at Wall Street since July 2007, and I’ve spent about a year and a half at the Gongzhufen Center. Previously I worked at the Oriental Plaza Center in Wangfujing.
I’m from the state of Michigan in the US where I grew up in a small town called Chelsea. Chelsea isn’t a very exciting place so I’m happy to be living in a big city. But, I’ve got two sisters and three brothers and I miss my family very much living so far away. Don’t get me wrong—I love Beijing! It’s such a great city. But I always look forward to returning home for my vacations.
After graduating high school, I went to Kalamazoo College, a small private college also in Michigan and got BA’s in Spanish and Philosophy. I’ve studied Spanish since I was in the middle school but now I’m much more focused on learning Chinese. You could say I’m just interested in learning languages. Also, due to my interest in Chinese philosophy, I got my second major and was very attracted to coming to Beijing after graduation. I had no idea I’d be here this long but I’m glad I enjoy my life in China so much.
Ciaraine Murphy 北京清华科技园中心
I was born in Kenya of British-Irish parents and have spent most of my life either in South Africa or Britain. In 2000, due to my personal economic crisis, I turned to Teaching English and have never looked back.
Wall Street attracted me by the quality of teacher supervision and observation, as well as the organisation of materials and the student data system. During my probation, I was able to meet the CEO Tim Daniels and was impressed by his down-to-earth interest and personal involvement at grass roots level. I knew I was in the right place.
I have been fortunate to work with some very good managers, Sharon Long, Johann Folscher, Michael Rolufs and Ben Thompson, who encouraged me to use my gifts and talents to enlarge responsibilities and try new and different approaches. I have enjoyed creating new material, getting feedback, strengthening my teaching skills and generally benefitting from their input.
Right now I am in the process of completing a Delta course and discovering how the Wall Street method is incredibly different from the methods of other schools. The relaxed, friendly atmosphere, interaction among different levels and focus on fluency and learner autonomy put Wall Street in a unique position in my experience.
Learning why the Wall Street system works as it does from the Acquisition Cycle to the recycling of language in CC and SC classes makes the encounters more meaningful and even exciting – generating ‘Eureka’ moments: so this is why we do it!
I would encourage teachers to attend training and to try to understand. It is tempting to say ‘yes, yes’ and then go and do your own thing (much like our students not listening to us!). In fact, I would encourage teachers to attempt Delta training as just the experience is enlightening. The students feel the benefit as they see a much more confident teacher who is able to give them the answer but lets them try to work it out for themselves, helps them towards the right answer and finally is able to confidently say ‘correct!’
My only goal, besides to keep improving as a teacher, is to see students leaving Wall Street with good speaking skills, passing the TOEFL or IELTS, and on their way to fulfilling their dreams.
Jess Burne 上海梅龙镇广场中心
Hi everyone! My name is Jess, and I come from the city of Durban, in South Africa. I’ve been in Shanghai for just over a year, and I love it! At university I studied politics, economics and philosophy, and became very interested in China, and although my goal of learning Chinese is not progressing very well, I’m loving discovering this country. I love learning Chinese (especially the characters) and singing KTV (I can even sing some Chinese songs!), and chatting to my students, so come find me in the Westgate Center.
400-601-6869
