Siobhan Mackie

I’m an ESOL lecturer on the Senior Phase. Pupils that do ESOL gain qualifications that can help them enter Higher and Further Education as it is accepted as equivalent to Higher English for entry to university. Students focus on expanding vocabulary, working on a wide variety of texts, listening and advanced writing skills. The students who come to the ESOL classes are from families that come from all around the world. I admire how resilient the school pupils are as it can be quite challenging for them when they first arrive in Scotland, but they quickly improve their language skills, becoming fluent and integrating well.

I feel proud to work for a college that serves the local community so well. I find it rewarding to see students from the ESOL classes progress into full-time courses. Moray College UHI is a smaller college, which is more informal and extremely friendly.

I did a degree in Modern Languages at Aberdeen University; I did voluntary work teaching English in a secondary school in Nepal.

About me: I love salsa dancing, kayaking, and yoga. I enjoy foreign travel when COVID allows.

The most fun and scariest thing I have done is paragliding off the Swiss Alps from a height of over 2000m and I also explored underground ice caves in Iceland.