Teaching
I have taught for the past 18 years, teaching university writing courses and ESL/EFL courses. I have taught in several countries, including the USA, Japan, Korea and the United Arab Emirates. I currently teach Composition and Academic Skills courses in the English Department at the United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain. For details see my
CV and Teaching Portfolio. For a map of my CV try My Map.
Poetry
I am working on a series of poems that find place essential. The first in the series, "Tropical Depressions" was published in the Mississippi Review and relates to Louisiana and the development of a Filipino community.
"catastrophe blooms numbers" was accepted for the next issue of POM2.
Professional
United Arab Emirates University Seminar Series-- I gave a presentation, "From Learning to Write to Writing to Learn," for the seminar series "Skills in Action." The presentation introduced an approach to teaching ENG 310 that emphasizes developing students' sense of personal authority and their thinking skills while looking to change their view of writing as a mechanical process that communicates knowledge after the learning process is completed. The presentation included methods and materials that support the believe that writing can be a tool for invention and for developing thinking skills.
TESOL Arabia 2007--Dr. Maha Ellili Cherif and I gave a presentation, "What students Want from the Web", that was based on our investigation of student levels of interest and levels of familiarity with topics that they could encounter in online activities. View the presentation in PowerPoint or in pdf format.
Famagusta, North Cyprus--Ed Chaffin and I gave two presentations, "Teaching CALL: Experience, Attitudes and Practice" and "Tech and Reflect: Building Your Professional Web Presence," at The 2nd International English Language Teaching Conference on May 4.
Muscat, Oman--The Certified Professional Development Workshop at The Language Centre Annual ELT Conference was a success. My workshop, "Activity to Exercise: Search Activities to Guide Students in Writing Exercise Content," was sold out and was attended by an appreciative group of teachers.
Technology
I am engaged in exploring how technology can be used to enhance instruction. I have developed numerous activities and exercises for EFL students which I bring together in a portal at greenducks.com. I designed and wrote the code for the exercises, as well as most of the content. I have another portal called the Student Center with exercises that match the Level 1 curriculum at UAEU.
Note: The images used in this page are modified photographs I took of paintings adorning the outer walls of a Buddhist temple in Pohang, South Korea.