Meet the New Teacher – Steve Liu – Primary EAL Teacher

Steve grew up in Niagara Falls in Canada and obtained his BA from Brock University his Master’s of Teaching at Griffith University in Australia.

“I started my international teaching career in South Korea where I met my wife. She really likes it here; she loves the food! My love of travel, exploring new cultures and being adventurous brought my wife Mi Hwa (Jenny) and I to Singapore. Moving to Thailand was something we always wanted to do so we jumped at the opportunity to be a part of Bangkok Patana School.

I play tennis, golf, and swimming. Love to travel, I’ve been to 23 countries, not too many but we hope to tackle part of Europe next summer. It’s so much more convenient being closer to other places and great for my wife to be able to go home more easily.

I knew that teaching was something I would never get tired of.  I just love helping people. I tutored in high school and really enjoyed it.  When I see that light in people’s eyes that something has clicked and then I see that I helped someone. The more you give; the more you get. I started teaching in high school and then moved to Primary.

I feel like I make more of a difference at the Primary level. Now with English as an Additional Language, I like helping students with their struggle with language – I went through that in South Korea, so I know how it feels. I know how to help them connect those dots in their heads.

It is really important to care about the student and what you do, knowing and being an expert in what you teach, and being incredibly prepared for absolutely everything. I think a good EAL teacher needs patience because everyone learns differently at a different rate. It is really key to understand that sometimes students stay still and need to stew a little before moving forward.

I have 22 students on my roster, and I want to get 22 in the mainstream. I want each and every student to grow and see that they can be happy speaking in another language. I don’t think they know how happy they can be speaking English. They will definitely make more friends. That is something they don’t expect, and I think they will see it. I think that learning to be happy to speak in another language will cause them to have an infectious attitude that propels them forward in all that they do and learn.”

Learn about all our new teachers here: https://www.patana.ac.th/new-teachers-2019-20/