The Wilky Way

After receiving a Bachelor's degree in Management from Clemson University, I decided all I really wanted to do was travel!! After spending a few years at a uninspiring office job filling the void with trips abroad and around the country, I finally decided to become an ESL teacher. I went back to school, received a Master's in Education (TESOL K-12) and started teaching ESL part time to visually impaired students at a public school in Brooklyn, NY. The past two years I have spent teaching ESL to 2nd and 3rd graders in the same school, both in a pull-out and push-in model. I have also taught Common Core after school test prep to 3rd-5th graders as well as a NYSESLAT test prep program with 2nd and 3rd graders. I'm trained in Reading Reform as well as Ortin-Gillingham. After 6 years of teaching at a public school I went on to train English teachers in Ukraine ultimately landing me with my dream job teaching English as an additional language at an international school in Ecuador.

The challenge of beginning my ESL teaching career, an area of teaching that relies heaving on "visuals", working with students with low to no vision was a humbling yet empowering experience to say the least. It definitely opened my eyes to the importance of hands-on, interactive, multi-modal teaching and learning in the classroom. Having my own interest in learning languages has also put me in the "student's seat" many times. Taking language classes has given me opportunities to learn from other language teachers as well as help me truly understand the frustration and exhilaration that can be experienced by my student's when learning English as a second language. When teaching, I try to make the classroom fun! And colorful! And creative! I honestly believe that real experience leads to true learning, no matter what type of learner you are or what subject you're learning.

Yet to be added

Yet to be added

Having done push-in the past year, I've realized the overall lack of differentiated materials provided for the ranging levels of ELLs in the general ed classroom. I hope to provide useful materials for ESL teachers and classroom teachers alike! My uploads are simple because that's all we need.