I am a recently retired university professor with experience as a teacher of psychology but I’m not an English language teacher. I have enjoyed instructing both local students and those from various countries from around the world. I have lived in Victoria for the past 30 years and was raised in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. I have also lived in the United States. I am the grandchild of immigrants from Eastern and Central Europe. I’ve witnessed some of the challenges of immigration as my mother and her siblings were the first generation in her family to speak English, to get an education beyond the 8th grade, and to become a professional (she trained as a nurse). While my mother grew up with two languages (spoke Russian at home and learned English at school) her parents had a limited mastery of English and my father only spoke English. So unfortunately, my mother’s first language was not passed along to me and I speak only English. I would love to change that at some point and learn other languages. I am grateful to have been born in Canada and to live on the beautiful West Coast of British Columbia. I know that this country is not perfect and it is currently going through quite a few struggles, but I appreciate the privilege that I have as a Canadian. I would love to share my language and my country with you. I’m currently learning French using Duolingo and have tried a bit of Spanish and Russian (but have not gotten very far with those two). I have an interest in helping others to practice English. My husband recently attained his permanent residence status in Canada after immigrating from the US. So he too, is experiencing the benefits and challenges of being an immigrant although with the privilege of being a native English speaker.