Alex Guenther
I am an experienced teacher, travel writer, editor and translator currently working part-time at the International School Bangkok. Before my wife and I moved to Thailand in 2007, I worked at Mont’ Kiara International School (M’KIS) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for two years. My main areas of interest are English Literature and English as a Second Language. I have Virginia State Teaching Certification in ESL (PK-12) and in English (Provisional License), and completed my Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction in the summer of 2007.
Why have I switched from writing to teaching? When we moved to Malaysia in 2005, I had adult ESL and tutoring experience, but I initially planned on continuing my career as a professional editor and writer. However, after just one month of substitute teaching at M’KIS I realized that I love teaching. I realized that writing, while it will remain a lifelong passion of mine, is a career that only indirectly benefits others; as a teacher, I can directly make a difference in people’s lives.
I immediately began working towards my certification and M.Ed., putting all my effort into becoming a teacher via the U.S. State Department’s Fast Train program at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Since then I have garnered a tremendous amount of practical experience teaching a range of students with differing abilities and backgrounds.
My nine years of previous professional experience – as an in-house trainer and head copy editor for a travel guide publishing company in Germany, and as a project manager for a translation firm in the United States – showcased not only my skill with the English language but my planning, peer training and project coordination abilities. The international and multilingual nature of these positions also highlights my enduring fascination with the diversity of different countries, cultures and languages, an international focus I share with my wife, Kim.
These years of experience are now combined with an intense desire to share my enthusiasm and knowledge with students, in order to create an environment that fosters student learning. I am not only passionate about languages and linguistics, but I am also creative, good-humored, patient, excellent with children and very flexible, all of which helps make me a motivated and inspiring ESL and English teacher.
To find out a little more about my past experiences and my philosophy of education, please click on the résumé and philosophy links above.
