Ana from Zadar, Croatia grew up speaking both English and Croatian. She explains, “My determined mother always dreamt of studying English and becoming a teacher, so she exposed me to English very early. Although her wish never came true, she passed her love for English on to me. So successfully, in fact, that I got a degree in English teaching and made a career out of it! My 1 ½ year old daughter, Korina, goes to Helen Doron Baby’s Best Start classes, and we try to expose her to English as much as possible. “
In 2009, Ana completed her degree and started searching for a job. “I saw an ad that the first Helen Doron English centre was opening in Zagreb and that they were looking for teachers. I knew very little about the method back then, so I started googling and immediately fell in love with the whole concept. I sent my CV to our National Franchisor, Danijela Haralovic, met with her for an interview, and the rest is history. I moved to Zagreb and became one of the first two certified Helen Doron teachers in Croatia, and I was hooked for life!”
Eight exciting years later, Ana has taught all of the courses: starting with babies, all the way through the teen courses.
Ana explains her personal philosophy about her chosen career. “I am first and foremost, a teacher who loves her job and my goal is not only to educate children, but also care for their general well-being. Working with children, watching them learn with such ease and seeing how quickly their confidence grows from lesson to lesson is the best part of this job. Throughout all of these years I had countless moments during my classes where I whispered to myself (or shouted out loud) that I truly have the best job in the world. I love the fact that as a Helen Doron teacher you constantly have to work on yourself and learn, attend seminars and improve your teaching skills, there are always new challenges, classes and groups so work never becomes dull. I am proud to say that the Helen Doron English method is well-known in Zadar, so we are always filled to capacity. It’s a lot of work, but when you love what you do, success comes naturally.”
She is proud of what she is accomplished and how Helen Doron stands out from the competition. “Immediately upon entering our Learning Centre, it’s obvious that our school is unlike any other. We have highly trained, dedicated teachers that hold classes in a friendly and colourful environment. Our methodology and programmes are unique and based on up-to-date scientific research. We have high-quality learning materials and we even implement modern technology into our teaching. Children are taught in small groups of eight while singing, dancing and participating in fun games and activities, exclusively in English, without any translation, which allows them to learn English in the most natural way possible.”
As a parent herself, Ana’s message to other parents is “What are you waiting for? Giving your child the gift of learning English at an early age is a great gift and one of your best investments. Helen Doron is so much more than English; we socialize your children, boost their confidence and teach them to grow into caring and responsible human beings.”
