This article is part of a series of posts highlighting our community of teachers around the world. We hope you find their stories interesting and inspiring!

Many years ago, Marilyn was helping a friend with a project for her evening language class. That’s when she realized she wanted to become a teacher.

“Like many instructors who come to this line of work, I fell in love," says Marilyn.

Marilyn has been an ESL teacher for 15 years now. She currently works at North York Community House (NYCH), an organization in Toronto that provides support for newcomers. There, she teaches English language classes at the introductory level through the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The LINC program provides free English classes for landed immigrants, permanent residents, and convention refugees to Canada.

“This government-sponsored initiative is free for students and is designed to familiarize newcomers with life in Canada by teaching the basics of English, as well as some cultural and societal aspects of Canada," she explains.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Marilyn has been teaching her classes online over Zoom. A typical day of online teaching starts with checking her email to make sure her students received the Zoom invitation, haven’t forgotten their ESL Library passwords, understand the homework, and know when class starts. Next, Marilyn plans out the day's lesson using a combination of her own personal materials, lessons from ESL Library, and links from YouTube.

“ESL library has been my favourite tool! I find the flashcards exceptionally useful. They save me endless time searching for pictures online to explain things like food, drinks, and clothing. My students enjoy the grammar stories, which put the grammar in context for them.”

Check out Marilyn's text response below to learn more about why she loves ESL Library and how she uses it with her students.

For Marilyn, teaching online is not always easy.

“It has been a challenge to help students ‘enter’ the Zoom classroom. I’ve had to have tremendous patience with my students and myself as I learn to navigate the virtual world with more finesse and confidence.”

But despite these challenges, Marilyn truly loves being a teacher.

“I love my work because I get to witness the growth of language skills, the emergence of confidence in using English, the new friendships people make in my classroom, and then their movement forward into the world of jobs and college. Some students have remained in touch, and I love seeing their progress.”

Want to share why you love ESL Library and how you use it in your classroom? Tell us here.