On the Job

Stephanie Hanson

Name: Stephanie Hanson

Number of years in the field: 4+

First job in the field: Instructor at the Intensive English Institute at the University of Illinois while working toward my Master’s in Teaching English as a Second Language.

Current job position: Lecturer in Cornell University’s International Teaching Assistant Development Program.

Reason you were asked to write the inaugural “On the Job” column:  I spent this past summer teaching English to crewmembers on a cruise ship.

Location:  The Pacific Ocean, sailing between San Francisco and Alaska’s Inside Passage.

Student Population:  About 40 adults from around the globe: Bulgaria, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Nepal, The Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Thailand, and Ukraine.  Most of them worked in a cleaning or food service capacity on the ship.

What were your job duties?  I taught a vocational ESL curriculum specifically developed for Princess Cruises, which focused on oral English for customer service and safety.  After assessing students for placement into one of two levels, I taught 4 class sections a day, 6 days a week, during the 10-week program.

What did you like about the job, class, students, and/or program?  The students were generally great – motivated, polite, interesting, and friendly.  The lessons were well-planned while still allowing some flexibility in activities.  And of course, living and working on a cruise ship for the summer while traveling to spectacular locations along the Pacific Coast was incredible. 

What were the challenges you faced? While I only worked 4-6 hours per day, most crewmembers work 2 to 3 times that much.  When they are not working, they can a) sleep, b) go ashore, or c) attend English class, with their preference often being in that order.  Consequently, attendance and energy sometimes lagged.  Scheduling classes to accommodate various work schedules was also tricky.    Finally, ship life is not for everyone; confined working and living environments, irregular work hours (to accommodate students’ schedules), motion sickness, and inconsistent communication with the outside world were some of the challenges I had to overcome.

How has this job affected you professionally and/or personally?  This was the most intensely diverse setting I’ve ever been in. Even though not all of the 40-odd nationalities on board were represented in my classes, I still interacted with coworkers from a variety of language backgrounds, including various dialects of English. Professionally I found this exposure to different languages and cultures very insightful.  It was also a great experience to work in a vocational rather than academic setting.  Personally, I befriended interesting, adventurous and fun-loving people from all over the world, and was able to experience a beautiful area of Alaska that I might never have visited otherwise.