Team

 

		Mike Murray, DoS - English Instructor Mike, who graduated from Dalhousie University in 2001,began his ESL teaching career in Korea, where he taught with his wife in 2004/2005. He has traveled extensively throughout Europe, Central America, Asia, and North America. His interests include swimming, surfing, playing guitar and harmonica, and meeting people from around the world. His life philosophies include: "You have friends because you are a friend,"and "A great teacher is a student; a great student is a teacher."
		David Fielding, Consultant David has an Honors degree from the University of Mancheste Institute of Science and Technology and an MBA from the University of Lancaster, one of the leading business schools in UK. David currently holds the position of Director of Studies at CLLC. He is dedicated, approachable and cares respectably for the progress and success of each student. David is a CELTA qualified teacher who has recently returned to teaching and academic administration after a successful career in business. His business career included 10 years in a management consultancy role with a UK central government organization and 20 years with a major international bank in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong he was also the external examiner for a B.Sc. course at Hong Kong Polytechnic. Prior to his business career David was a teacher in Hong Kong and Uganda for several years.
		Derrick Tobin, SAC - English Instructor Derrick completed a double-major Bachelor of Science degree from St. Mary’s University/Dalhousie University in Psychology and Biology. After 4 years of traveling and teaching snowboarding in Banff, Alberta, and Whistler, BC, Derrick obtained his TESOL certificate at the Atlantic Overseas Teaching Institute in Halifax. He ventured to Thailand where he taught in a semi-private children’s school with 3000 students, and developed a permanent curriculum for 6 schools in the country. It was during this time that he realized teaching English was his chosen profession. Upon returning to Canada, Derrick spent a summer teaching and farming with foreign workers through Frontier College in Toronto. Along with teaching at one of Vancouver’s most prominent ESL schools for 2 years, he took these experiences and returned to his birthplace and family in Halifax. Derrick spends his spare time playing guitar, fire dancing, writing, running and traveling.
		Paul Aucoin, English Teacher After graduating from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and classical literature, Paul moved to Japan in 2001 where he began his ESL career. In late 2003 he moved to Australia where he expanded on his teaching credentials by obtaining a CELTA certificate. From there Paul taught and traveled widely in Australia, Europe, and Asia, until late 2006 when he finally returned to his hometown of Halifax in order to spend more time with his family and join the CLLC team. Paul, who is a firm believer in a student-centred approach to ESL, feels that a good teacher is one that is constantly trying to improve themselves, and not just their students. When not in the classroom, Paul spends his time reading, writing and traveling with his wife.
		Sonja Malle, English Teacher Sonja completed a Bachelors of Arts degree from Mount Saint Vincent University, with an advanced major in History and a minor in English in 2003.  After completing her degree, she spent two and a half years teaching ESL in South Korea.   Sonja also taught ESL in Japan for half a year.  In 2007, Sonja obtained a diploma in TESL from Saint Mary's University.  During her time teaching overseas, she enjoyed traveling to several different countries in the area as well as making a trip to Europe.  In her free time, Sonja enjoys oil painting, running, and reading historical novels.
		Elizabeth Perry, English Teacher Elizabeth has been teaching adults for many years in the areas of business and wellness. She recently acquired a CELTA certificate in order to teach English. She joined CLLC in October 2007 and teaches both the Introductory and High Intermediate courses. Elizabeth has traveled extensively throughout North America, Europe, Russia, and Honduras. She has studied 4 languages including French, Spanish, German, and Russian. Elizabeth has a BA in Russian, a certificate in Adult Education and hopes to earn a Masters Degree.
		Liza Cioccio, English Teacher Liza is a graduate of Concordia University’s Modern Languages Department and speaks four languages. She has recently returned from six years in Taiwan where she worked as an EFL teacher in a progressive kindergarten and elementary school. She was also a school administrator for two of those years. She has a professional interest in designing curriculum that is relevant to her students, and believes the ESL classroom should be enjoyable, challenging, and dynamic. One of her favorite quotes has been: “Build up your weaknesses until they become your strong points.” Her passions outside of school include cooking, travel, sewing, and yoga.
		Brenda Christian, English Teacher Brenda graduated with a B.A. in Sociology from Dalhousie University in 2007. She takes on the challenges of the classroom with great enthusiasm. She genuinely cares for each of her students and is in tune with their individual needs. She values and enjoys getting to know new people and learning about different cultures. She is looking forward to continually developing her teaching skills.
		Stacey Byrne, Executive Administrative Assistant Stacey enjoys working in educational institutions; she joined CLLC in November 2007 and highly values CLLC’s energetic, positive, and enriching work environment. Stacey graduated with a BA in Sociology and Anthropology (2004) from Cape Breton University and a Master of Arts in Social Justice & Equity Studies (2006) from Brock University. She loves coffee, cooking, hiking, gardening, and the ocean.
		Emily Jenkins, English Teacher Emily graduated from Dalhousie University with a double major in International Development Studies and Sociology and Social Anthropology. She has traveled to China, Korea and Hong Kong volunteering and teaching. Her interests include music, sports and the outdoors. She hopes to continue developing her skills as a teacher to better serve her students.
		Stefan Ferron, Office Manager & English Instructor Stefan graduated from Saint Mary’s University in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts in History. He then attended Acadia University where he received a Bachelor of Kinesiology in Exercise Studies and a Bachelor of Education in Secondary Education. He is currently working towards his CELTA equivalent. Stefan has been a professional teacher for approximately six years. For three of those years, beginning in 2001, he taught English as a Second Language overseas on the small Island of Ganghwa-Do, in the Republic of Korea. He returned to Nova Scotia, in 2004, where he taught French in the Halifax Regional School Board for three years. He first came to CLLC in the summer of 2006 and returned again in the summer of 2007. Stefan enjoys meeting people from various cultures and is always genuinely interested in learning about their lives and cultures. He has a passion for exercise and looks forward to the arrival of he and his wife Sung-Mi’s first baby in May.
		Rieho Kawai, Student Coordinator & Japanese Marketing Consultant Rieho has been the Student Coordinator at CLLC since October 2007. Rieho brings 12 years experience in the Management of ESL Business in Japan, Australia and Canada to CLLC. She also has some teaching experience in both English and Japanese. She is originally from Japan. Rieho has been living in Halifax since the summer of 2000 and in Canada since 1997. She also lived in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. Denmark was the first country she traveled to in order to study abroad for a year and a half; while she was in Denmark she traveled to Norway, Sweden, Finland, Greece, England and France. Later, she had the chance to visit Taiwan, Korea, and some places in the USA and Australia.    Her hobbies include meeting people, traveling and photography. She still dreams about going everywhere in the world. She is very happy to meet everyone from many different places at CLLC. This makes her feel that she is on a journey even though she is staying in one place right now.