Meet Our Teachers: Kris Bowerman

Read the interview below to find out more about a long-standing addition to the VanWest family – our level 5 teacher Kris Bowerman!

How did you become an English teacher?

I started teaching when I was 17. I started teaching music to children. I taught trombone specifically, but I also taught piano, some drums, and other instruments. Eventually, I went from Music to English. I taught in China for over 2 years then in the Czech Republic for about half a year. When I first got to Vancouver around 2005, I quickly started working at VanWest. I’ve been here ever since. I feel very relaxed in Vancouver – there’s a lot of openness. I feel freer to be myself here.

Do you have any general advice for students?

I think students don’t read enough. I would say reading is so, so important. If you really want to support your learning in English, you should read. Do it every single day, even if it’s for a short time.

Do you have any recommendations to get practice reading?

First, find your level. Students can go to the library, try a novel, higher level children’s books, or pick up the free newspapers on the street and just read the short articles. Even if you’re not taking conscious note of it, your grammar and vocabulary is expanding. If you only read once a month, I’m not sure how much that will help. If you read all the time – it’s like exercising. It will help.

What are some of your personal hobbies or interests?

I play music with my wife in one group, and I also have a Jazz group that I play in. My main instrument is trombone but I also sing and play African drums and different kinds of flutes. I also really like gardening. I love to swimming, backpacking, and hiking in the mountains. I recommend Stein Valley. You cannot drive into the park. You drive to the edge of it and you have to walk in and camp. It’s got a raging river – huge – I mean you can’t swim in this river. It will wash you away, but also the coolest thing about the park is that there are pictographs from the native people from several hundred years ago.

Do you have any final comments?

I’ll just say about VanWest is that the school has always been a great school for supporting students to learn English. Even though sometimes the academic world might not always be the most exciting, it is the most modern way to learn right now. It makes students have more responsibility for their own learning rather than teachers always spoon-feeding them. That’s all I have to say.