Monika Panufnik

Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to become a teacher and share my knowledge and experience with people. I have also deeply felt that I want to encourage my students to fully achieve their learning potential, especially those ones who are less privileged, marginalised or ostracised. I aimed for them to overcome their language barriers and obstacles connected with learning a foreign language while being in a new country. Looking back at my experience, in 2004 the Head of the European Policy Department of the European Union Giuseppe Cesari nominated me to carry out a 70-hour promotional campaign of language learning in Poland. This project sought to raise European citizens’ interest in learning languages through a number of promotional and awareness-raising actions which I conducted as the, so called, Language Supervisor-an instrumental figure who was selected and prepared for this purpose. These actions were mainly directed towards the adult population and were introduced within the existing social settings. I received formal training and I was expected to introduce a linguistic approach to help tackle the problems posed by language barriers in various communities. I was also monitoring other trainers’ performances during their teaching sessions.

Since arriving in the UK, I have been working as both a part-time and a full-time community interpreter, ESOL and Functional Skills tutor, translator and language assistant providing assistance and support to migrants and people with multiple language barriers. I have been working for the NHS as a medical interpreter and translator. Medical, healthcare and legal interpreting are my main areas of expertise. I also each ESOL to foreign students and I assess their linguistic skills on a daily basis. I do this as a self-employed tutor and also as a language assessor at colleges and training providers I have worked with. In 2013 I interpreted for a programme featured on the BBC One Show which was aimed at showing migrants trying to find work and settle down in a foreign country. In 2014, I spent 3 months in Poland where together with the organisation “Open your head” I worked with a group of qualified coaches and recruitment advisors as a study and work abroad advisor offering information, advice and guidance about life in the UK. I supervised a group of volunteers who entered data and carried out conversational courses with migrants. I run a social media fan page ‘A CPE winner’ encouraging people to learn English, inspiring them and providing language assistance. Thanks to my interpreting skills I can easily manage confidential situations and know how to maintain safe working boundaries. I have good oral and written communication skills and I know how to organise my work and prepare personalised learning plans.

My CELTA course has taught me how to teach and present the relevant knowledge, how to plan and resource for different teaching contexts and how to develop teaching skills and professionalism. Working as an ESOL tutor has enabled me to utilise all the above skills while planning, preparing and delivering lessons to a range of classes of various age and ethnic groups. My lessons are always marked by promotion of inclusiveness, equality, tolerance and understanding, which in turns enable all students to properly access course content and fully participate in the lessons.

My professional career at ICOS as a senior project worker taught me how to deal with most vulnerable clients and use my own initiative with regards to external referrals and how to resolve or improve a difficult situation. I have also gained awareness of issues facing people migrating to the UK. I myself am an immigrant and I know what it feels like when one is faced with obstacles which feel nearly insurmountable.

I have a CELTA qualification and 16 years of experience in teaching English as a foreign language. I have been teaching students from all over the world; teaching different ethnic groups, different levels of classroom experience and language background, students of various learning styles and of different personalities, religions, genders, educational background and life experiences. I have always taken all of the above into consideration while preparing lesson plans making sure I strive to provide a friendly and non-threatening atmosphere so that the learners can do their best free from anxieties and negative feelings. I always make sure to help my students to develop their self-esteem and experiment with language in a protected environment. I also use sensitive correction techniques always respecting cultural differences and above all I always treat my learners with respect.