Teacher Feature: Dara Chambers, English Language Center Instructor

[Editor's Note: This story is part of a Texas Global series celebrating the work of faculty members in the English Language Center at The University of Texas at Austin.]  

The English Language Center (ELC) at The University of Texas at Austin offers an impressive range of language-learning services, which can be tailored and customized for groups from a diverse range of backgrounds working across all levels of proficiency.  

Attention to detail and breadth of knowledge are some exemplary elements that set the ELC apart from other English as a Second Language (ESL) programs, as are its more than 20 experienced faculty members. Another distinct advantage at the ELC are the numerous social immersion activities offered to help students feel more at ease and integrate culturally with their English-speaking environs.  

Perhaps nobody is better acquainted with these social events and their numerous benefits than veteran instructor Dara Chambers. After using her master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) to teach English in countries including South Korea and Mexico, she joined the center in 2005 and has taught at essentially every level for nearly 20 years. Serving also as social coordinator, she has planned and hosted social events for ELC students — from ice cream socials to bowling, from happy hours to bike rides and well beyond — each week since 2013.  

Previous to your current position, did you teach English at other institutions, in other cities or countries?   

I started my ESL teaching career teaching fifth graders at the Colegio Americano in Puebla, Mexico, in 1999. From there I taught at the University of New Orleans and Southeastern Louisiana University. After completing my MA in TESOL, I taught at the Samsung Human Resources Development Center in Korea until late 2004. I came to The University of Texas at Austin in the summer of 2005 and found my home here.  

How did you become an  ELC instructor, and how long have you taught there?  

The story of how I ended up at the ELC is a little unconventional. Christine McCourt, a now-retired ELC instructor, lived four floors down from me in Korea. She showed up on my doorstep at 9 p.m. the night I arrived in Korea with a few provisions to welcome me, and we became instant friends!  

Fast-forward to 2005: I was living in Louisiana and looking for a job while Christine had returned to her teaching position at UT. We met up again at a TESOL conference, during which I interviewed and received an offer for a position at Tec de Monterrey in Mexico City — but their funding fell through, and I soon found myself on the hunt for a job again.  

Knowing this had happened, Christine reached out to me on a Thursday, saying the ELC at UT Austin needed a teacher for the summer, if I was interested. I immediately said yes, and she passed the phone directly to ELC Director Mike Smith. He conducted a brief interview and asked if I could be ready to teach in Austin by Monday morning. I packed my bag and hopped a flight on Saturday!  

I fell in love with Austin and the ELC that summer and made some great friends, so I was thrilled to be offered a full-time position at the end of Summer 2005. Coincidentally, I left Louisiana to move permanently to Austin on the weekend that Hurricane Katrina hit my hometown. To say that I feel very fortunate to have landed in this position when I did would be an understatement!  

Please describe your work at the ELC.  

I have taught all skills and nearly all levels at the ELC. For the past 10 years, I have mostly focused on low-level reading for the English Language Program, low-intermediate reading for the Academic English Program, and classes preparing students to pass the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).  

I have also been the ELC’s socials coordinator since 2013, which involves planning and hosting social events for our students each week. Social events are a way for our students to connect and explore different activities as part of the ELC family and bigger community during their time here. 

What hopes do you have for your work as an instructor at the ELC?   

My greatest hope is to always find ways to connect with my students in a way that encourages them to try their best and keep them engaged in their own learning. 

What has teaching English taught you?   

Teaching English has taught me that we are all connected and fundamentally want the same things: to be seen, heard, understood and valued. 

What do you wish more people understood about learning a language?   

I wish more people understood that learning a language is a journey that can open you up in so many ways. This journey goes far beyond just learning the language. It open ups true communication, understanding and acceptance across cultures. 

What has motivated you the most over the years?  

My students! I am in awe of how much growth and determination I see in my students. Then, when I get an email from a former student telling me that I have impacted them in some way, that’s the icing on the cake!  

What do you find most difficult about teaching? What do you like most about it? 

The most difficult thing for me is when I see that a student is not putting in the effort, and I can’t motivate them enough to turn it around. There is only so much I can do as a teacher. It must be a two-way street, so when a student doesn’t do his/her part, it’s frustrating. 

I love that every semester is a little different. The materials and books may stay the same, but each new group of students brings a new dynamic and set of perspectives.  I love that each class is cocreated and has its own kind of energy.  

What is your best teaching memory?  

This is a hard one, as there have been many great memories! I remember doing an activity in a Level One class that required students to put things in alphabetical order. There was a student who was struggling. She didn’t understand the concept of alphabetical order and was getting really frustrated.  

I took the list that she was supposed to alphabetize and tore it into strips to physically show her what to do by placing the first few words in order and pointing to the alphabet strip in the book.  

It was like a switch went on when she got it! Her whole face lit up, and she quickly completed the task successfully. There have been so many moments like this throughout the years. That moment when understanding clicks is magical!