Rachael Kavanagh from Kildare has been working with us at Oscars Dublin for over three years. Rachael is very popular among students due to her levels of creative input and her personable manner.
The 25-year-old studied Applied Linguistics in Japanese and German at Dublin City University and is passionate about languages. We sat down after class and had a quick chat to find out more about her.
How did you start teaching English?
I started teaching conversation classes in Japan but they were a total mess really so I qualified properly and then came back to teach in Oscars Dublin.
Do you like teaching?
Yes I do. It’s cool when each person is learning from the beginning and having their own learning experience and that’s something to be valued. I like teaching Elementary levels because they learn everything so quickly. When they start in the first week, they can hardly say hello and by the time they are finished they know how to get directions, ask for things, hand in a CV and they can act with a high degree of independence. Then when you move up the ladder to the Intermediates, they are working on adding more nuance. They can carefully describe their feelings and get them across. So it’s great watching people learn. I like learning languages myself.
Why do you like learning languages?
When you learn languages you learn about culture. Every new word you learn contains culture and that is great to me. When you have a new way of expressing something through a new grammar point or a new word that maybe doesn’t exist in your language, you learn a new way of seeing the world.
Is Dublin a good place to live?
I live on East Wall which is pretty much the city centre. So for me it’s a thirty minute walk to the school. It’s a nice relaxing walk along the river and because the buildings are quite low you can see the sky and sunsets and it never feels too cramped and crowded even though it’s a busy city.
There are lots of nationalities here too and there’s lots of nightlife in different areas of the city and you meet different types of people. There are lots of different nationalities here in Dublin but you have to go to the right places to find them.
What do you like about teaching at Oscars?
The location is great, right in the centre of the city. There are loads of different bus stops right outside the school, the Green Line Luas is two minutes away, the Red Line is about three. It’s really very central, so you can quickly get to your work or home. There are quite a few events going on in the school. We had a quiz today in the school and there is quite a cool community here that want to share ideas and skills.
Is Ireland a good place to learn English?
The visa situation is easier here than say the UK. At the moment there are plenty of jobs, even if the rents are a little high. Irish people are pretty cool and they love to talk. If nothing else you will improve your listening skills.