Ruth Ann Dapkus

ED Tech 534 ~ Summer2014

Hello,

I'd like to take this opportunity to give you a bit of an insight into who I am.

Ruth Ann Dapkus, one of a kind, I was born in Grants Pass, Oregon USA. I'm always enthusiastic about new projects and have always tried to make the most out of life and enjoy it. Strong values and work ethic have always been important to me. I have always been guided to achieve my goals. After having completed my Bachelor of Science in Political Science from the University of Oregon I went on to pursue my goals. After moving to Prague, Czech Republic I received my TEFL Certificate (Teaching English as a

Foreign Language) where I have taught English as a second language (ESL) to students from K-12 as well as business English including writing, reading, grammar and pronunciation as well as TOEFL preparation. I lived in Prague, Czech Republic (The Capitol) for 7 years. My focus was predominately on young learners. My experiences in life have taught

me many lessons.

I am currently enrolled in the MAT Program at SOU. I would like to further my knowledge of teaching and continue to work with young learners at the Elementary level in the US and abroad.

Praha, Czech Republic Above (left) you will see one of my Kindergarten classes in Budejovicka, Praha 10. I taught English as a Second Language to an amazing group of young learners. (2011-2012) I used the principles of bi-lingual education to create fun activities that allowed them to really absorb the language. I used phrases and verbs through cyclic repetition and engaged all the senses especially sight, hearing, smell, and touch. The multi-sense motivational factors were a successful approach to teaching a foreign language.

You can teach a student a lesson for a

day; but if you can teach him to learn by

creating curiosity, he will continue the

learning process as long as he lives.

~Clay P. Bedford

About Me by Ruth Ann Dapkus

RUTH ANN DAPKUS | 2

English Teacher trainee, August -

2007

TEFL Worldwide Prague, Prague,

Czech Republic

1 English: writing, reading, grammar

and pronunciation.

2 Organized cooperative learning

activities

3 Incorporated new texts into

standard curriculum

4 Tutored students seeking

additional guidance with course work

5 Assessed student performance

throughout the term

6 Conducted individual student one-

to-one learning sessions

7 Early Childhood Development

training and teaching methods

8 Teaching English as a foreign

language to young learners

A TEFL/TESOL certificate taught me

the basic techniques needed to allow

me to go into any classroom and

deliver an effective ESL lesson.

(Above) We are finished with class and about to put our TEFL training to work in the classroom. Thanks to our amazing TEFL training teacher Terry Prosser.

“By Learning you will teach – by teaching you will learn” –Latin Proverb

www.teflworldwideprague.com

TEFL Prague CZ TEFL Worldwide Prague – Czech Republic

Pueblo Ingles (The English Village) by Ruth Ann Dapkus

I traveled to Cazorla, Spain in order to further my education and teaching skills as well as knowledge of Spanish culture for a language exchange program in Southern Spain.

It can be stressful, frustrating and unproductive for a person to do business in their non-native language if they lack the sufficient proficiency to effectively convey their position, opinions or ideas. The most effective way to improve confidence and ability to speak a foreign tongue is through concentrated exposure to the language. While the class room can teach language theory, it is putting the theory into practice that really makes a difference. "The program was designed to be, and has evolved into being, the quickest and most effective way for students to improve their English listening, understanding and conversational proficiency." - Pueblo Ingles

"English speakers are brought from around the world to live and converse with Spanish people" –BBC --www.morethanenglish.com