Chinmin Institute of Technology is closing down its AFL Department, and I am looking for another job. As a result of my experiences here, I would be interested in teaching at a high school. I wonder if you are interested in having me teach English full time at your school. I think I would be an asset to your English department.
For the eight years I have been in Taiwan at Chinmin, I have been working with lower-level, unmotivated students. Although it has been a challenge teaching these students, it has been rewarding, and even if I can't say I achieved a lot of the things I set out to do with them, I believe I have developed a teaching style with large classes that is innovative and effective.
One of the rewards for me has been the realization that I did an excellent job creating favorable attitudes to English and significantly increasing achievement. I seem to have gained my students' respect, perhaps because my teaching style, although communicative, is supportive of all my students, both good and bad.
But the problems of these students were unsolvable by me. This has prompted me to think that perhaps if I intervened at an earlier stage, in high school for example, I could do a better job solving the problems, which I believe they share with all students who learn English in the formal education system in Taiwan.
These problems are:
- 1. a lack of confidence that results from failure and other unenjoyable experiences in school that have damaged their self-esteem.
- 2. stress and other forms of discomfort which interfere with the learning process and which are the result of limited contact with English speakers.
- 3. a defensiveness about learning and an unwillingness to take risks with the language, the result of their experiments with the language being disappointing rather than rewarding.
With this next step in my career, I look forward to becoming even a better teacher by the continued development of my methods with large classes and under difficult conditions. I am confident the future is bright. I hope that your school also has such views and is a forward-looking place to work. If it is, I would enjoy working with you, developing confident, relaxed, adventurous and superior speakers of the English language.
RESUME
CONTACT INFORMATION
Name: Gregory John Matheson
Address: Miaoli-xian, Toufen-zhen, Sanhu-li, Xuefu-lu, 110
Chinmin Institute of Technology
Applied Foreign Languages Department
Telephone: 037-605582
Email: lang@ms.chinmin.edu.tw
Homepage: http://momotaro.chinmin.edu.tw/~greg
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Date of Birth: January 29, 1949
Place of Birth: Sydney, Australia
Citizenship: Australian
Alien Resident Certificate: KC00125148
Sex: Male
SUMMARY STATEMENT
A dedicated, experienced, effective EFL teacher
EDUCATION
Troy State University, Seoul, Korea (Troy, Alabama, USA)
MS in Educational Leadership
1993-1995
University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia
PhD (ABD) in Psychology.
1970-1972
University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales
BA (Psychology)
1966-1969
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Berlitz & Talk-In, Kansai, Japan
English Conversation Teacher (1981-1985)
The Korea Times, Seoul, Korea
Copy Editor (1986-1996)
Hyundai, Samsung, Kolon, and others, Seoul, Korea
Part-time Business English Teacher (1987-1996)
Soonkyunghyang University, Asan, Korea
Listening, Composition and Conversation (1997-1998)
Chinmin Institute of Technology, Toufen, Taiwan
Composition, Conversation, Business English (1999-2007)
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Korea TESOL (1986-1998)
Seoul Chapter President (1992-1996)
Korea TESOL Teacher Development & Education SIG
Co-founder/co-leader (1997-1998) With Barbara Wright
Taipei Perl Mongers
Member (2004-to date)
Open-source perl programmers' organization
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
Language Skills
Japanese, Advanced
Korean, Intermediate
Chinese, Basic
Computer Skills
Perl language, intermediate
Haskell language, basic
Linux system administration
Web programming
Web, mail server administration
Natural Language Processing Certificate
March - May, 2012
Jurafsky and Manning (Stanford)
Grade 84.3
Testing Skills
GRE scores (1992)
Analytical 710
Quantitative 780
Verbal 780
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Korea TESOL National Conference, Fall 1996
Swapshops (with Troy Ottwell, Andrew Todd)
First Pan-Asian Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, January 1997
* Swapshops (with Troy Ottwell, Andrew Todd)
* Teacher Knowledge
Pusan KOTESOL Regional Conference, May 1997
Teaching metaphors
INTERESTS
Jogging, 6 kms in 1 hour
Pushups, 35
Cycling, Taichung-Toufen, 8 hours, August 2004
– Greg Matheson Whereof we cannot speak, we must remain silent.
--Ludwig Wittgenstein
