Meet our Teachers

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1. What is your name?
Tom Davis.

2. What subjects do you teach?
I’ve taught nearly everything SCIE offers to ESL students: all levels of reading, writing, listening, and speaking, as well as advanced grammar, business and computer skills, cross-cultural communication, lecture comprehension, pronunciation and conversation, TOEFL preparation, vocabulary and idioms, and other courses.

3.How long have you taught at SCIE?
15 years.

4.What is your education and teaching background?
I have a bachelor’s degree in theater from the University of California at Los Angeles, a teaching credential and master’s degree in English from the University of Washington, and ESL teaching certification from Seattle University. I taught high school English and drama in the Seattle area for several years and then taught English in Japan for a year before I started teaching at SCIE.

5.Have you ever lived outside of the United States?
In addition to my year in Japan, I’ve spent six months traveling in Asia and a couple of years living and traveling in Europe. I have many friends abroad and like to stay in touch with them as much as possible.

6.What are some of your hobbies?
Besides traveling with my wife and sons, I like attending films, concerts, and festivals.
I enjoy photography,collecting books, music, and movies, and taking part in sports like hiking, biking, skiing, and swimming.
I try to scuba dive whenever I visit the tropics.

7.Why do you like teaching at SCIE?
Our students are a constantly-changing population from all over the world. I’m always learning new things from them. My colleagues are warm and supportive people, and of course Seattle is a fun place to live.

8.What do you think are the benefits to attending our program?
We offer students so much: small, challenging classes, individual attention from caring instructors, personal and academic counseling, computer labs and sports facilities, a wide variety of extracurricular activities, and a convenient, lively location.
Our students achieve real English proficiency that will enable them to be successful in any setting – academic, professional, or social.

9.What is an interesting fact about you?
I was in Berlin when the Wall came down in 1989, and I still have pieces of it.

10. Is there anything else you would like to add?
All of our instructors have lived and worked abroad and speak second languages, so we understand the cultural and educational challenges that international students face.