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ETAS NEWS
Faces of ETAS Support
“Time to give something back”: A Conversation with
Peter John Pasquill, Regional Coordinator for Graubünden
Ceres: Thank you very much, Peter, for
gracing this issue’s Faces of ETAS Support.
I’ve mentioned in our email conversation
that one of the reasons we do this feature
is to highlight the work of ETAS volunteer.
You are currently Regional Coordinator for
Graubünden. Where did the motivation to
be actively involved in the Association
come from?
Peter: I had stepped down after a decade in
school management and revived my contact
with ETAS as an active member. Graubünden
was looking for a new Coordinator, no one
seemed willing to step in, so I did. Someone
had to do it or the results of all the hard
work of the past few years would have
drained away. ETAS has given me a lot over
the years, and it was time to give something
back (again).
Ceres: While the benefits of being an ETAS
member are obvious, what do you see are
the benefits of being an ETAS volunteer?
Peter: The pleasure of helping to make good
things happen, of making a contribution to
a worthwhile cause. So many people get
lots of fun and benefit from being part of
ETAS. There’s always a buzz in the air at
ETAS events.
Ceres: What are your goals in your term
as Regional Coordinator, and what do you
envision your biggest challenge this year
will be?
Peter: I would like to decentralize the local
branch somewhat and run workshops in
different locations rather than only in Chur.
This is difficult due to the complicated
geography of the Canton and the distances
involved can be great. However, I feel it
would be interesting and enlightening for
members to see the different contexts in
which our members work.
Ceres: I’m sure being a Regional Coordinator
has its share of challenges, not to mention
the huge investment in time. If you were to
do it again in the nearest future, would you?
And would you encourage other members to
do the same, challenges notwithstanding?
Peter: It all depends on one’s personal
situation. I have been doing what I can,
but the day job has to take priority and
sometimes the demands of a full-time
teaching post at a high school are tough.
Finally, you have to limit yourself to doing
just a few things but trying to do them well.
Ceres: Being a member of ETAS for a
long time means you have seen how the
Association has changed over the years.
What would you consider ETAS’s biggest
contributions to ELT in Switzerland to be?
Peter: ETAS has undoubtedly raised the
standard of English language tuition in
Switzerland and helped promote the status
of English language teachers as a profession.
Ceres: Here’s a curious question: how
does it feel being a minority in a
not-just-predominantly-women-but-women-led
Association? If the opportunity presents
itself, would you consider heading the
Association in the nearest future?
Peter: It feels just fine. ETAS has become
the thriving, community-minded organisation
it is precisely because it is women-led. Now
there’s a sound bite! President Pasquill?
The sound bite is not the signal for the start
of my presidential campaign.
Ceres: But going back to the beginning,
how did you first get involved in English
Language Teaching, and where were your
first jobs?
Peter: As a young lad in my early twenties, I
was given a job and trained by Berlitz in their
direct method, which many “communicative”
teachers are rather snooty about. But say
what you will, it opened the classroom door
for me and got me working with learners. It
taught me that there really is no short cut,
that learning and teaching a new language
needs energy, imagination, perseverance, and
dedication. And it showed me that teaching
is communication. I was put in charge of a
new school, but left to do a degree at the
University of Zürich, from where I went into
high school teaching. I joined ETAS, saw
Alan Maley at a Convention, and then knew,
“This is the work I want to do”. Then into
management as Principal of The Bell
Language School, Zürich. Now I am Head
of Second Languages at an international
boarding school in Zuoz, Engadine, after
having led the introduction and development
of the International Baccalaureate
programme at the school for 12 years.
Ceres: Your long professional experience
means you have worked through many
changing trends in English Language
Teaching methodology. What are the major
challenges facing EL teachers in this
country? How do you see the role of the
EL teacher in Switzerland evolving over the
next 5 – 10 years?
Peter: The fundamental challenge is
unchanging: finding the connection to each
learner and then helping them find the right
path to their goal. It is hard to say what the
Switzerland-specific challenge is. Perhaps it
is still the issue of decent pay for what is a
valuable service. Sadly, the market is against
us. Basic training can be completed in a few
weeks, which means that there are lots of
people looking for jobs and most customers
in language schools are willing to pay only
moderate fees for a steadily-improving,
high-quality service. There is a scramble on
for even better qualifications to give one the
edge over rival applicants. It is also important
to try to keep one’s feet on the ground when
faced with the temptations of hi-tech course
materials or Weapons of Mass Distraction!
Ceres: What are your plans for continuing
your professional growth? In particular,
what aspects of your teaching are you
most interested in developing?
Peter: As teachers, I think there are three
things we should always be working on:
our sense of personal well-being, being fully
aware of what precisely we are trying to
achieve, and our choice of possible responses
to what is happening in the classroom.
Methodology, planning, choice of activities,
materials follow. But I don’t always get my
priorities right.
Ceres: Many of us have been lucky to
have mentors who have played profoundly
influential roles in our professional
development. Which writer or scholar has
had the most influence over the way you
understand learning and teaching?
Peter: Without a doubt there are two: Alan
Maley and Adrian Underhill, as teachers and
as writers.
Ceres: Thank you very much, Peter, for
giving ETAS J so much of your time.
Especially, thank you so much for giving
ETAS a part of yourself.
Peter: Thank you for the challenging
questions. I hope the interview is of some
interest to our readers.
Ceres Pioquinto
ETAS Journal 28/3 Summer 2011 11