Marina Dowden: English is fun!
"We want to attend Marina’s course" is what our guest has heard many times from different students. And indeed, it is important to find a teacher who will instil the beauty of the language, teach you to understand it and speak fluently. Marina Dowden is a qualified and experienced teacher of English. She has worked in private and state schools, has taught adults and children, thanks to her many students have passed Cambridge examinations successfully. She is an official Cambridge Speaking Examiner (PET, FCE, CAE, CPE). Nowadays Marina Dowden is teaching in one of grammar schools in Prague and is running her own courses.
Text and photo: Boris Kogut
Marina, I admire your dedication to your profession. Please, tell us why you decided to become a teacher?
The choice of profession was obvious; I didn’t hesitate at all as everyone in our family was involved in teaching this way or another. I studied linguistics at university and as soon as I graduated, I immediately began teaching English. I loved everything about England, its history, culture and traditions. I was fascinated by Walter Scott’s novels. And I was also very lucky to have the best English teacher when I was at school.
How did you end up in England?
Once I brought a group of five-six-year-old pupils to a Scarborough School of English. For some reason, they couldn’t provide us with a teacher, so the school asked me to lead the course for those little ones and then gradually I was offered to teach English to children from other countries.
Marina, many people will be interested in your professional development.
Years after I graduated from university, and after many years of teaching, I decided to get a Cambridge qualification in teaching English as a foreign language. I took a course that focused on practical methods of teaching English and received a certificate. After a while I took another course that provided professional development for teachers and earned a Cambridge Diploma in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Then I went through a selection process and became a Cambridge Speaking examiner.
You have recently opened a new branch of your English language courses in Prague's Černý Most district, at Kučerova 807/15.
That's right. In addition to the premises we rent in Malá Strana, we have recently opened a new branch in Černý Most, where we also offer English courses: group, individual, online and offline. We mainly offer specialised courses, so-called courses for academic and specific purposes, which are Cambridge exam preparation courses, courses for doctors, lawyers, accountants etc. Although, of course, you cannot do without general and conversational English courses. In my English courses I focus on two things: speaking and writing. Teaching productive skills is important because written and oral communication are basic life skills. We, of course, offer the courses of different levels (according to CEFR). I must admit I am not in favour of long-term courses. I want to show my students how to study, how to organize their time, how to learn words more effectively, how to use them... My goal is to teach how to learn a language and boost my students’ confidence and stop being afraid of using the language, because English is fun.
English Language Courses in Prague ANGLO.CZ
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