Introduction

My name is Carol Kubota and I am an ESL, English as a Second Language, instructor at Arizona State University. I have been teaching ESL for almost 30 years. My teaching experiences include five years of teaching in Japan and five years teaching in Mexico city. I started teaching ESL out of necessity when I was about 19 years old. I graduated from High School in Phoenix Arizona. I had no idea what I was going to do for the rest of my life. My educational studies began at ASU. I took classes for the first semester. It really wasn't what I wanted to do. I was looking for adventure.

I "ran away" to Mexico city where I lived with a family for about a month. I did not want to be a burden to the family so I decided I needed to get a job. I bought an English newspaper and found a job teaching English in a Business school. The ad said that no experience was necessary. They were just looking for a "native" speaker. That was me.

I began teaching and ended up staying in Mexico for 5 years. I went to school at the Anglo Mexicano tor receive a teaching certificate. They would not hire me because they were looking for British teachers. I did not have the accent they were looking for. I didn't give up. I found jobs in high schools and elementary schools. My last position was at the UNAM. I taught there for free because they were dragging their feet in getting my working papers in order. What they really wanted was "money for dinner". I did not have any money so off to the USA I went.

I began studying at the University of Northern Iowa to get my ESL degree. I was supporting myself and life was not easy. Prince charming walked into my life. I met my husband and after 6 months we were married. His company was sending him back to Japan so off to Japan I went. I didn't even know where Japan was. I asked the man sitting next to me how long it would take to get to Japan. He told me 15 hours. I was so surprised and very naive at the time.

My husband and I have been married for almost 31 years. We have a daughter who is 28 years old. Many things have happened in those 31 years. He is my hero and will always be my knight in shining armor.

I completed my BA and MATESOL degree at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mi.