Teach Middle East Magazine Nov-Dec 2018 Issue 2 Volume 6 | Page 34

Featured Teacher STEPHEN KAVANAGH MAKES LEARNING MEANINGFUL AND FUN FOR HIS STUDENTS BY LEISA GRACE WILSON S tephen hails from Newry in County Down, Northern Ireland. His first valuable experience of working with children came when he was fifteen and volunteered at a local summer scheme in his home town. This was the beginning of something great. He loved working with children and the staff knew that and always supported his enthusiasm. At the age of eighteen he moved to Liverpool, England where he completed a BA (Hons) degree in International Journalism. Once he completed his degree, he moved to a small village in Asturias in the North of Spain to teach English as a foreign language. He arrived in that rural village in Spain without being able to speak a word of Spanish, which was really frustrating at the beginning, however, through participating in sports, he met a lot of friends, from whom he learnt the language. After about a year and a half, he became quite fluent in Spanish. This gave him a great sense of achievement. Stephen credits this experience with helping to develop his ability to assist the multilingual students he now works with in Dubai. After four amazing years in Spain, He decided it was time for a new challenge and so he returned to Liverpool and completed a PGCE in Primary Education. Upon completion of his final university placement, He