"Teaching or flying? I very much like being a flying English teacher" - Paul Drosnes, NGA professor

February 5, 2015

This semester the American University of Central Asia and New Generation Academy at AUCA welcome a new professor, Paul Drosnes. Paul is from Elizabeth city, a small town in North Carolina. He finished his undergraduate studies at North Carolina State University. There, he also taught English to foreigners, and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in instructional technology.

Paul, please tell us about your academic and professional background?

I worked at Skema Business School’s campus in Raleigh, North Carolina, where I taught Business English, Writing and Communication.  I also specialized in helping students develop their resumes and cover letters for international employment or internships.

I lived in different places: Raleigh 8 years, where I worked at a French Business School called SKEMA. My first teaching contract was in Saudi Arabia at the South Western Corner. It was a great experience. I am also licensed as a private pilot. I trained in North Carolina. Currently, I am working with Air France, training their pilots, as they require to pass test on a regular basis.

Teaching or flying? I very much like being a flying English teacher. I am passionate about teaching, I love meeting students from all over the world.

Being now in Kyrgyzstan, what are your first impressions?

I just feel lucky to have found such a great opportunity here with NGA and the Writing and Academic-Resource Center (WARC) at AUCA. Dr. Zelinka is very helpful and encouraging with all processes. I am very excited to work here. AUCA represents a perfect opportunity for me at this stage of my professional career and aspirations.

I am getting to know students more and more every day. I worked with Afghan students, a very nice group, motivated to learn. I hope to have a great semester.

As an English language teacher, I feel like I can have a good insight into the language, its meanings and practices. For me, this is a tremendous opportunity to travel away from home, meet interesting people. And I am here to help.

Recently, I rode “marshrutka: for the first time and it was interesting, very different from other cities I lived in. I haven’t had the opportunity to do a lot of research about Kyrgyzstan. Here, in Bishkek, I spend my free time reading, working out, or exploring the city.  Back in the U.S., my favorite activities was definitely to fly.  It’s an amazing feeling, and it gets better every time.  I also enjoy biking and training for obstacle course races.

In your opinion, who is a “good student”?

A good student takes responsibility for his or her own education with the understanding that the rewards will reflect their efforts.

Please, describe your regular class. How it runs?

I begin my class by presenting the day’s objectives, then delve into the instructional material, and give students a chance to apply what we’ve talked about.  I believe in facilitating the construction knowledge among peers through participatory learning.  After that, we reconvene for review and reflection.     

What do you like most about teaching?

About studying instructional technology, it has been learning to embrace smartphones and tablets as educational tools in and out of the classroom.  I like the idea of appealing to students with what they are already paying attention to.  For example, we use Twitter as a way to keep students accountable for homework, allow backchannel discussions of course material, and engage in professional discourse communities.  It’s been really cool to see just how far beyond the classroom technology can let us reach each other.

Any message to your students and colleagues?

Encourage your peers!  I owe that to a fortune cookie.

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