This is HD’s last week at Languages International as he is retiring after having taught here since the year 2000. In honour of the occasion, our teacher Sally MacGregor interviewed HD.
1. How is it that you were born in England, but now live in New Zealand?
I trained as a high school teacher in Leeds, England. In my degree I majored in Philosophy and Education. I taught for a year but then I decided not to continue full-time. Teaching millions of teenagers and being responsible for them, was hard work! I went travelling. In 1989 I was doing relief teaching in England. A man from Auckland came to London and stayed at my house. He came for 2 weeks…and stayed for 2 years!! When his visa expired, he came back to Auckland and three or four of us came with him, to start a new life. That was in April 1991. In Auckland, I registered to be a teacher with NZQA and worked as a relief teacher in South Auckland. I taught 25-30 six to nine-year olds, for six months. Then the Ministry of Education stopped funding relief teachers in primary school. I started teaching English at one of the local English schools. That was at the end of 1991. I did the CELTA in 1994 and moved to Languages International in 2000.
2. What do you enjoy about teaching adults English?
Firstly, I like Cambridge exam classes. I like a class with a specific goal and my father went to Cambridge University in England, so I know what Cambridge wants. “It’s in my blood”- so to speak.
I like working with all levels, seeing everybody growing in confidence, getting qualifications and improving their overall English. It’s just really enjoyable.
3. What were some of the highlights from your time at Languages International?
- I studied for the DELTA (Diploma of English Language Teaching to Adults) from 2009-2010 with Melissa, Liz, Simon F., Lara and Emma. The study pushed my professional development to my limits!!
- I cat sat Brian -the school cat, for 4 and a half months. He was good company and laughed at my jokes. I had to make steps for him to jump up onto my bed.
- At LI I have many wonderful colleagues and met many wonderful students. It has been such an excellent place to work.
4. I noticed that you like to wear brightly coloured socks to school. Why is that?
I like bright clothing. I buy very bright colours-primary colours. At school I tone it down (and so don’t wear too many strong colours) but I like to wear bright socks and occasionally a bright shirt. I have a favourite pair of orange trousers that I wear out, to see friends.
5. We know that you are environmentally-minded. You always recycle, you put food waste into a compost bin and into your garden. What would you suggest Kiwi households do more of, to help the planet?
Lots of people don’t recycle. They put plastic bottles and aluminium cans in the rubbish. If all households recycled, that would be great. I have a worm farm. Any food waste goes into the worm farm. The worms eat it and create castings. I mix these with good soil and put it on my garden. The Auckland City Council want Auckland to be Zero waste and for that to happen, companies need to make their packaging recyclable or biodegradable.
6. On Friday 14th Dec 2018, you will finish working at LI and retire from teaching. What plans do you have?
I’m going to move from Auckland to Whangarei on Sunday 16th Dec. I’ve bought a 2-bedroom house with a large garden. I bought a place up there because my friends are there. I go to a meditation meeting every Sunday in Auckland, so I’d like to have more time for meditation. I’ll have time in Whangarei.
7. What will you miss about living in Auckland?
I will miss my friends and colleagues at Languages International. I will miss the traffic jams…No! Never. I like the beaches here in Auckland but there are beaches where I’m going.
8. What are you looking forward to?
I’m looking forward to living a quiet life, where I don’t have to travel much. It’s a 50km round trip from my Auckland home to school each day.
I want to have my friends to stay. My garden is mostly lawn. It needs a lemon tree.
A friend wants to make a retreat centre, amongst the bush on his land. I’ll help him clear some of the land so he can create some space to build small cabins.
HD (our grammar genius!) will be greatly missed by his friends, colleagues and his students. We hope that he has an “excellent” retirement in Whangarei…and doesn’t work too hard!!
I would really like to say thank you HD.
I can’t forget my low intermediate class with him and lovery classmates, also I’ll not be able to forget as well. I’ll work Louis Vuitton in Japan from next April. I could get this job, thanks to HD. Anyway, I appreciate it and take care of yourself.
HD was a wonderful English teacher in my General English class in 2012. I made a huge progress on my English language skills through his patient guidance. I am here to thank him who lectured the English knowledge to me. I will never forget to his selfless attitude and his contributing to this temple of knowledge. I am and will always in awe of his quantum of English knowledge which I think that I would never be able to match.
I believe that his reputation in the languages international never ends. Finally, I wish him all the very best for his retired life.
Shaohua (Samuel) Yang
Ph.D Candiate at Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Dear HD! Thanks for your dedication and great energy during our September 2013 CPE class. It’s been one of my biggest challenges (specially with all the essays I wrote for you ) but also one of the greatest pleasures to be one of the lucky students who had you as our teacher. The “tasty vocab” and complex grammatical structures are just one of the tools and memories I will keep with me as part of my journey here in New Zealand. But what I really appreciated the most, was having the chance to share a bit of time with you and my classmates at your place. You showed us what life is all about: Simplicity and spirituality! Thanks for all your time, passion and hard work helping us to develop our potential to communicate better. I wish you all the best!! Forgive me in advance if I have not improved my writing as you always pushed me to (or any spelling mistakes while I write this note for you)…I passed my CPE Exam and because of that I will always be extremely grateful to you and Paul. Keep enjoying life!
Camilo – Colombia
I want to thank you so much for being my teacher HD in my lower intermediary and again in my intermediary. I was very lucky to study with you on these two crucial levels. You are not only the best teacher of Languages International, also you are an incredible collaborator!
I’m going to miss you a lot here next year. When I miss you , maybe I’ll invite Christine and Martina to visit you and your new garden 😂😂😂I would like to learn with you in this time, about butterflies. Wait for us one of these days 😱😂.
Love u HD!
All the best in your new life and enjoy it!
Heliane
Dear HD,
I can’t believe it’s already been 6 (!!) years that I was on your Proficiency course! You were a great teacher and you’ll be happy to know that I did my degree in English and for all my assignments I used juicy vocabulary 😉
Enjoy your retirement, you surely deserved it! And do get that lemon tree, it sounds like a great idea.
Take care!
Céline
HD, we’ll miss you terribly! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭I feel lucky to have worked with such a great guy. Thank you for your wisdom and friendship over the years ☺️
Dear HD
Five years ago, I was one of your student in speaking class. I really enjoyed the class and improved a lot in speaking compared with the beginning. You were always kind and patient to answer my questions.(Although I was quite naught😂) Thank you for encouraging me and building my confidence in learning English, which motivate me to study aboard.
Hope you enjoy your life after the retirement. Wish you all the best.
Best regards
Tina Huang
I’ll Never forget the first class of HD .. such a wonderful person, you thought me a lot ❤️💚 HANAN – KSA
Dear HD,
It’s been 5 years since I left NZ but I still remembered the moment in your class and the talk about Osho in a restaurant.
You taught me not only English but also the love of life.
Thank you and I miss you.
Bests,
Tim
HD, thank you so much for an unforgettable time at LI! We all had so much fun at your CPE morning grammar class and I have got very fond memories of that time. Thanks to you, I have never gotten an if clause wrong again :). I hope you will be enjoying your time without work and I hope that you are still drinking out of the “What does … mean?” Mug. 😀 Thank you so much! Best wishes from Jula
HD… you should be very proud of the comments on here. They are a testament to your hard work over the years, and they show how much you cared about students’ progress. It will seem very lonely here in the mornings, now, and I will miss my CPE buddy. It’s been great to be your colleague, and I wish you well with your lemon-related ventures. Thank you.
Dear HD
Thanks for being so supportive and calming us students down, whenever we were going crazy about failing our CPE exams 😉 Quite some time has passed since I had to leave LI, Auckland and ultimately New Zealand. As days go by, I start catching myself losing my English skills in small bits, as I am struggling to keep it at the level I want to… But whatever the future may bring – your MARVELOUS teaching and the best time of my life will forever be kept in good memory!
I wish you all the best for your well-deserved retirement.
Marco – Switzerland
Dear HD
About this time, three years ago, I passed the CELTA – and perhaps you remember that I asked you about the stresses in my third assignment paper and we were guessing over whose version would be the correct one. You were not only a valuable and kind person but also my best grammar teacher I’ve ever had. Thanks a lot, HD and I wish you all the best for your plans in Whangarei. Enjoy your well-deserved retirement.
Best wishes from Doris, Switzerland
Hi HD. I just wanted to thank you very much for your continuous support and encouragement. You’ve been such a great teacher and I really appreciate the opportunity to have been your student. It was a great pleasure and an honour!! I wish you all the best in this new stage of your life!! YOU ROCK!!!!!
Dear HD. It’s a pleasure to have been your student. It’s been an honour. Thanks so much for your commitment and encouragement. I wish you the best in this new stage of your life!!!
HD, I will really miss you!!! It’s been great to be your colleague. Thank you for all your support and friendship over the years. Enjoy your retirement! x
HD, it’s so lovely reading all these beautiful comments from your students here, and on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. It’s obvious you are much loved by students all around the world. ❤️We’re really going to miss you at LI. It has been great working with you. Enjoy your retirement!
Dear HD, I still fondly recall our CPE morning sessions during the first half of 2015. It was during this time that I first considered going back to school and your encouraging words first sparked the idea of one day becoming a teacher myself. This September, I started my first semester at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, where I am studying English Literature and History. Thank you again for your unwavering enthusiasm in teaching us each morning. I hope you will enjoy your well-deserved retirement. Best of luck with your move to Whangarei!
Best wishes, Carmen 🙂
Dear HD. Well, I guess this is a bitter sweet moment for you. I know the feeling! Sad to leave, so many memories, great colleagues and students…but wonderful times ahead in your new life. It was a privilege to work with you for 17 years. You are a brilliant teacher and colleague. I knew I could ALWAYS rely on you. I really admired your commitment to improving your knowledge and practice. Most importantly, you are a kind person and I always appreciated talking to you. All the best and I’ll definitely see up north one of these days. Annie xxx
Dear HD
It’s my pleasure to have studied with you.
Along the time that I’d been studying a skills class with you, you help me to improve both of my skills, reading and writing. At last, I’ve made a great progress of these. I’ll always remember everything that you taught and also continue developing.
Have your wonderful, happy and healthy life after retirement.
Yours sincerely.
Ae, Thailand
(December 14th, 2018)
Dear HD. I’m really happy to see you in Languages International. When I was in the Intermediate class, you taught me a lot about English. I continue to read some books!! You’re great teacher for us. Thank you very much. Sincerely, Yumiko(Japan)
Dear HD. It’s with great fondness that I think back to our years together at LI. You were a wonderful colleague: professional, dedicated to your students’ success and great company to be around. You can look back on your teaching career with great pride – you certainly made a big difference in many peoples’ lives. I wish you all the very best in your retirement up North. I’m sure it will be splendid. Victoria
dear HD, i was your student since 2004 and 2010 with my brother, Gun (not weapon). you are my second morning teacher class at that time (2004). it was so great to have you as my morning class teacher. i still remember you asked us to pronoun “i’ll, you’ll, we’ll etc.
finally, i hope you enjoy your wonderful life after this…
Worrachet Thongsawangjaeng, who has longer name and the longest surname in LI.
Thank you so much HD.
dj