I AM GUSTAV A. HELMAN
I am a certified teacher with experience in IB/IGCSE foreign languages. I started teaching in 1990 in primary school, then moved to secondary school Literature, then Japan where I studied at Yokohama National University - where I collected knowledge and some of my best friends - and taught in primary school for the International Understanding Program of the Yokohama City Board Of Education (and also, English as a Second Language, with the best possible results).
Later on, Zambia, the real Africa: IB/IGCSE Spanish and Japanese. I taught Japanese and Spanish at Jakarta International School, where I also facilitated workshops for teachers, as well as presenting a lecture at SEEC March 2002, in Kuala Lumpur. Recently, I have presented workshops on "Language B: the ideal subject" -along with Andrea Verry- at the 24th IB Asia Pacific Annual Regional Conference, in Singapore, March 2010. Along with Andrea Verry, we introduced the new concepts of Cultural Logic®; and Intercultural Action Competency®. After that, I have presented another workshop (also with Andrea Verry) called "Languages, a world of cultures and skills", at the 2010 Global Language Convention, at Wesley College, in Melbourne, Australia (April, 2010).
I was a Spanish teacher at Mont'Kiara International School, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for nine years, while doing consultancy on Language and Cultural issues at international schools, as well advisory on setting the language programs in schools worldwide. I am IB Examiner for Spanish Ab Initio, as well as an AP Reader for Spanish Language and Literature. Recently, I became an IB Workshop Leader, to train IB teachers new to the program.
I was Head of Faculty (MFL) at Dulwich College Suzhou, in China, while continuing with my IB Workshop Leader, Examiner, and Online Facilitator roles.
I am currently the Whole School Languages Coordinator, at IGB International School, in Malaysia, in charge of a team of seventeen teachers from the three IB Programmes, comprising English, ESOL, and World Languages.
I enjoy travelling, learning and experiencing the culture of every place in this small world. I have travelled five continents extensively and there are still more places to go...
I love getting involved in extracurricular activities: student council, school newsletter, cooking classes, photography, sports, school trips, creative writing... My teaching philosophy: teaching is learning and the students are our best teachers. My interests include friends, cinema, literature, music, sports, and travels, of course!
If you would like to get a closer look at myself and my work, please review my résumé. Also, take a little trip with me and allow me to share with you a few of my experiences when teaching in Japan, Argentina, Zambia, Indonesia, Malaysia and China. Last but not least, there are a few Letters of Reference about me. Do you want to know what I am doing at the moment?
It would be my pleasure to hear from you, so send me an e-mail, please, if you have the time!
gustav.helman@gmail.com