David Mulcahy

Profile


About Me

My name is David and I have been a full time English language teacher since 2010. I ventured into the world of teaching as a way of sharing my passion for English. Having been inspired myself by my former teachers, becoming a teacher has been a natural progression to pass on torch to the next generation.

I am very self motivated and eager to learn and try new methods to improve my teaching. I bring enthusiasm of my subject and have a strong passion to improve everything I do. I have traveled extensively and have a strong enthusiasm to learn more about cultures.  I am adaptable and have a keen interest in technology but also can be creative and use any available resources.

Teaching English as a foreign language has allowed me to mix both my love of travel with teaching. I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to teach in Hong Kong, India, Ireland and Spain. Each experience has helped to develop my own teaching skills and given me the opportunity to learn valuable skills from my peers.

 My Teaching Philosophy

“You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.”
~Clay P. Bedford

Desire is necessary to learn. I believe that learning can and should be fun. My role as a teacher is to make learning enjoyable, not only this but to show the importance of learning a language and how it can benefit the student.

I believe that language requires both skill and knowledge. I want my students to be able to use the language I am teaching them. Knowledge is acquired through teacher instruction and student study. Skill is acquired through frequent practice and production. Students can learn off grammar rules and vocabulary but knowledge alone does little when required to produce it in the real world.  It is because of this I employ several different teaching techniques to allow the students the time to produce and practice their language skills. Through role-play, discussion, debates, writing, reading authentic texts etc. students develop both knowledge and skill that is practical to language learning.

My Career Goals

Having completed my CELT (Certificate in English language teaching) in 2011, I am committed to completing the DELTA (Diploma in English language teaching) within the next two years.

My Interests and Hobbies
I believe that our hobbies and interests can be incorporated into our teaching styles and help make us better teachers and help create more diverse and creative lessons. Some of the hobbies and interests that I have a keen interest in are:

Photography
I love photography and have had many of my travel photographs published in Europe and Asia. Photography has taught me to be patient, observant and to think on my feet. Photography also requires attention to detail. I have been able to use my photographs in the classroom as conversation prompts and in writing activities.
My photography portfolio: http://www.davidmulcahy.info

Music
I am passionate about music. I play the guitar and the bass and have played music throughout my life. Music has developed my group skills having played in many musical groups. Timing is very important in teaching and even more so in music. Music in the classroom is always enjoyed by my students and can be a great way to practice English in an enjoyable way.

Diving
I first started diving in Thailand. It was always something that fascinated me but I was never very confident in deep water. When the opportunity came about I decided it was time to try something new and over come my fears. I now dive as often as I can and have dived all over Asia. Diving has given me the confidence to try new things and this is something I incorporate in my teaching.