Gayleen Mackereth has led a life full of experiences — we sat down to kōrero about a few of these gems, and how online teaching has been an important aspect of her career.

What led you to teach languages online?

Gayleen began teaching as a lecturer in French at the University of Waikato after she gained her M.A.(Hons) degree. Gayleen’s career has spanned a wide range of levels from Head of Languages at a number of secondary schools, to teaching Paris businessmen, to teaching and marking Masters level translation papers for the University of Strasbourg and now teaching Primary and Secondary level students for Kōtui Ako VLN NZ. Gayleen became a NZ eFellow in 2005 after year’s educational intensive research on student learning in an online environment and was even shouted a trip by Bill Gates to Singapore to present her findings at the international Outstanding Teachers Conference along with another eFellow teaching within our VLN network (Lynda Walsh-Pasco)

“Being a language teacher opens up the world”, she exclaims - and for Gayleen, it also came with the perk (and responsibility) of numerous school trips to France and Japan! 

Gayleen has always made a point of connecting students with the cultures of the languages she’s teaching — and shares first hand experiences with students. Gayleen’s native tongue is English, but she speaks and teaches French, Japanese, German and Spanish online and at various levels.

The mother of three and two stepchildren, she has always had a passion for travel and languages — which stemmed from being one of 4 selected Kiwi students to spend 2 months in New Caledonia on exchange with a French family when she was finishing Year 13 at school. She has passed this love of culture and exploring down the family line. All of her children spent time as youngsters overseas, as well as during their formative years, with the Mackereth whānau now welcoming partners from China and Morocco, as well as of Tongan/Māori heritage.

For the last 8 years, Kōtui Ako VLN (formerly VLN Primary) have been lucky to have her expertise and experience available for primary, intermediate students and secondary students.

How is online teaching different — are their challenges?

Gayleen thoroughly enjoys teaching online which reduces physical barriers related to location. “With VLN we prepare slides to structure our lesson. It’s important to be well organised and prepared, but lessons are not static”.

The miracle of getting students to interact in the same online space no matter where they live is really special — Gayleen has had students from Great Barrier alongside kids in Stewart Island, but she recognises the unique nature of connecting students in the same city yet attending different schools.

Removing physical barriers has also impacted Gayleen on a personal level. A serious traffic accident while cycling to school in 2005 confined Gayleen to a wheelchair but this has not been a problem for online teaching. For any eteacher, an extra screen allows you to teach from the comfort of your own home.

Gayleen was into technology from the beginning from typing up a research project on the Languages Spoken in the School Playground on an old green screened computer and later gained her Graduate Diploma of Educational Technology in Education from Wintec. Gayleen has navigated a number of different platforms over the years from early Apple computers to a “ Wapro” a first Laptop, bought in Japan, then on to Windows, and from the earliest digital camera (which was stolen in the Paris Metro while taking a group of 22 students to France), to modern Smart Phones. She has used many devices over the years, and her keenness for learning continues. “I’ve really appreciated the support and camaraderie of our VLN lead team and support staff”, she comments. However, as every good teacher knows, the tools of the trade are only part of the equation.

“I am a visual, I love colours, and singing, and photography and I use my own slides of the country whose language I am teaching to enliven the lesson. If you pique a student’s curiosity you have them hooked and the rest is plain sailing. Each lesson, we eTeachers alter our approach — we may talk to a topic in depth if it catches student interest, and we are constantly reframing ideas and reinterpreting information to support a range of learners."

Although Gayleen sees her students on Zoom for only 30 minutes she knows that if they’re inspired, they’ll supplement their online learning with other platforms, and carry on with the subject throughout their schooling, possibly their careers and beyond. She has ample testament to that in her past students such as Lynn Miller a world renown authority on birds who lectures worldwide and even married a Frenchman!! So many of her other students have also kept their connections with the languages she has taught them.

Passion and enthusiasm - this is what Gayleen recognises as essential for any aspect or way of teaching.

“If you ever approach a lesson without a new “inspiration”you have just had, then it is time to give up teaching “ she says. (She recently celebrated her 80th birthday!) Even when she’s not officially working, she is dreaming up another great idea for how to impart the gift of language and importance of culture.

Can you share a memorable highlight?

A recent highlight in Gayleen’s enduring VLN career was recommending a student whom she had taught online for two years, as capable of going into Year 10 French at secondary. Other tasty memories are of students cooking cultural dishes — chocolate eclairs, yes please! — or recreating France's national monuments. It is the diversity of students and what they bring to learning languages that keeps Gayleen coming back, and her students can rest assured that no two lessons will be the same with Gayleen.

“If you’re offered a chance to teach online, take it. It is very rewarding, the ultimate 'work-from-home' scenario!” — sound advice from an expert in the field.