Читать книгу The English Teachers - RF Duncan-Goodwillie - Страница 29

Setting the scene: The school is a long way from the Kantemirovskaya metro station, but it does have a certain charm, much like the rest of Moscow, as it struggles to warm up in the early spring time. Ana and I have taken refuge in a classroom decorated with posters produced by students and the school administration. She gives off a relaxed, friendly vibe and I quickly recover my sense of calm after my long walk from the metro station.

AK: I was born in Moscow and I’ve lived here all my life. I graduated from two universities, a humanities one and a linguistic one, and I’ve been working as a teacher for almost 17 years. Before I worked in a state university in Moscow.

RFDG: Why did you decide to become a teacher?

AK: I think it runs in the family because my grandfather and my mother were teachers. He was a History teacher.

RFDG: Why did you focus on English?

She smiles with the memory.

AK: I was lucky. I had a perfect teacher at university. I hated English at school but university changed everything.

RFDG: What was so bad about it when you were younger?

AK: The teacher. She was humiliating people. She wasn’t a nice person. It wasn’t the language, it was a personal thing.

RFDG: Is that a common thing amongst teachers in some schools?

AK: In Russia? Yeah, definitely. My students say if they like the teacher then they like the subject and they go on with their studies.

RFDG: Was Moscow a natural choice from being born here?

AK: Yes.

RFDG: If you hadn’t been a teacher what would you have done?

AK: A lawyer. I got the training at high school, but then I had this great English teacher. I originally settled on law, but meeting that teacher changed my life.

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