Franklin Orosco

I earned a Batchelor of Arts degree in Political Science, a fascinating topic to me. And one of the highlights of that period was finding myself as a Congressional Intern in a US Senator's office in Washington, DC for a quarter. It is a rare honor to be there.

Upon graduating, I worked in a local government Human Rights office, conducting investigations. All was going well, and then I went to the Hawaiian Islands. This was a major turning point. I decided then that I would travel 'for a year or two' by working on cruise ships to see what was beyond California. Fourteen years and 17 ships later, I was ready to get back on land - to teach English.

With a CELTA teaching certificate in hand, I quickly found schools in Istanbul, where I enjoyed teaching, even at a maritime university, for seven years. So I was still connected to the sea.

As I began teaching, I put to use the methods taught in the course and saw the results for students by combining the communicative method with other methods to fit the classes. And most students passed their exams or achieved their IELTS scores. Aside from the textbooks, I found other materials to help guide students.

In this phase of my career, I have had students, busy professionals actually, who have had enough of grammar, they say. They really want to focus on fluency without worrying so much about grammatical accuracy. I follow their wishes and only make suggestions if they are unclear while speaking.

So this tells you a bit more about how I approach my teaching and who I am.