Jesse Ward may have been born and bred right here in Ottawa, but he is no stranger to foreign languages and other cultures. The linguistics and applied language studies undergraduate has been working with ESL (English as a Second Language) students since high school. He taught in Tokyo, Japan for a year.
Ward is currently teaching a private ESL class to a large group of Korean students who are studying in Ottawa for two months. “This is kind of an after school program and promotes an easier transition for these students to join the English speaking community,” says Ward.
The second year student also volunteers at the International Student Services Office where he helps at various events. With five languages (English, French, Spanish, Korean, and Japanese) under his belt, he is a natural fit to assist with the English Conversation Circle every Thursday at noon. Ward explains that attendees participate in guided group conversations on specific topics and focus on developing language skills like vocabulary and figures of speech. He says, “I like this because it is more relaxed than teaching ESL and I get to hear various cultural perspectives on many different topics.”
Ward says the school of linguistics and applied language studies was a major draw because of his extensive language background. He adds that his decision to attend Carleton was also influenced by his friends who gave the university rave reviews.