Community Profile: Geoffrey
Learn more about Geoffrey who teaches one of our Advanced level ESL classes. Thanks for sharing your interesting experiences with us, Geoffrey, and for your recommendations to students who are new to learning English!
Please tell us about yourself and what you do at MOSAIC.
My name is Geoffrey Morrison. I'm a language teacher at MOSAIC Engage in Metrotown, where I teach the Advanced English class.
What are some of your favourite places to visit in and around Vancouver?
I love spending time on Commercial Drive or South Main, and I also like going for walks in places like Deer Lake Park. On a rainy day you might find me in a bookstore or a library.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I love to read, write, study languages, cook, go on walks, and go to the movies. My wife likes to rollerskate and sometimes I join her, though she is much better than me!
Tell us about one of the best places you’ve travelled to and where would you like to go next.
This year, my family made a very special trip to Scotland, where my mother is from. It was the first time my mother and I had been there in 30 years. Remarkably, many of the places she had spent her time when younger were basically unchanged, and as soon as she saw our cousins she immediately started speaking in Doric again (Northeast Scots, which people speak in her home town of Aberdeen). It was a deeply moving visit for us and we will never forget it.
I speak Spanish as a second language so I'd love to spend more time in Latin America and Spain. My wife and I would also like to visit our friends in Norway someday.
What advice do you have for students who are new to learning English?
I think the main thing about learning any language is to make sure you're practicing all of the key skill areas: speaking, writing, reading, and listening. They all complement each other and are all important.
For students starting life in a new country, I suggest keeping a little notebook or flashcard app with you at all times to note down the meaning of any unfamiliar new words or expressions you encounter. Also, I highly recommend reading fiction as a way to build vocabulary and internalize grammar rules, while also having fun at the same time.