Instructor Spotlight: Jackie Corkins

"I love this class because my teacher give[s] us the confidence to [be] able to participate without fear of being wrong." -Student of Jackie Corkins

Jackie Corkins is a teacher at the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia (LCNV) where she teaches adult basic English and integrated education and training classes. For more than eight years, Jackie has taught the essential skills that English learners must have to participate more fully and confidently in their workplace and community. To help her students apply their English skills, Jackie focuses on establishing a learner-friendly environment that incorporates real-life situations, day-to-day activities, and personal experiences. We are so grateful to have Jackie as one of our instructors- she truly goes above and beyond to help each one of her students feel encouraged and supported and we are so proud to spotlight her and share the work that she does with the community. In this interview, she talks about how she came to LCNV and what keeps her coming back. We hope you will enjoy learning more about one of our favorite teachers!

What did you do before becoming an instructor at LCNV?

I served in the United States Airforce for 24 years before retiring and becoming an English teacher for LCNV. I was born and raised in Virginia but love to travel- I’ve been to 20 different countries and 16 Caribbean islands. In 2014 I started working for LCNV, but it was a long road to get here. I did a lot of volunteer work- clinical settings, tax prep… etc. I ended up getting more involved in adult education because it fell in line with what I did in the military as an education and training manager. I was used to working with adults and really enjoyed it. LCNV was naturally a good fit for me. I enjoyed the environment. In the office, everyone was always working together and constantly helping and supporting each other. We had a lot of fun, too. Sometimes we just sat around and talked, and it made it more enjoyable to be in the office. I only worked in the office for about 1 year, but I still enjoy seeing everyone when I stop by from time to time.

What do you enjoy most about being in the classroom?

The students! As retired military, I’ve traveled a lot. I’ve been to many of my students’ home countries, so we have something in common that helps them to open up more. I love sharing the culture and the food, too. Besides getting to know my students, I also enjoy just getting out every day and doing something different. Now that we are back in the classroom, we can meet new people, learn new things together and talk. I’ve really enjoyed it since I started.

What classes have you taught and what classes are you currently teaching?

I started teaching Level 1 Beginning English and an FLP (Family Learning Program) class at three locations- Annandale, Falls Church, and Herndon. After that first year, I decided to stay in Herndon and teach all my classes there. I switched to Level 3 Beginning English because we needed someone to teach that class and at the time, my class aide wanted to teach a level 1 class, so she took over and I changed to level 3. I’ve been teaching level 3 in Herndon ever since. After COVID-19, I started teaching virtual classes up until this past Summer. The class I am currently teaching meets in-person at the Herndon Neighborhood Resource Center on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 6:30-8:30pm. I could not have asked for a better class for my first semester back in the classroom. This group of students quickly came together to create an all-inclusive classroom environment. They participated in all lessons and offered encouragement and support to each other. This class was not only engaging but fun. Congratulations to a delightful group of students!

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when switching from in-person to virtual classes after COVID-19 hit?

Jackie: I am not used to sitting down. Being in front of the laptop was kind of torturous at first. Sitting during the entire class instead of walking around to engage with each student was new for me. I got used to it, but that was one of the challenges I personally experienced.

How did you help students adapt to virtual learning?

I helped them login prior to class to make sure they didn’t have any issues. If there were any problems once class started, they could break out with the aide and get help or use the chatroom. There are always enough aides to help, so it works out. Last year, we couldn’t use the computer lab because of COVID-19, but next semester I’d like to help the students use laptops in the classroom so they can browse online and research online during class without having to use the facilities’ computer lab.

What other major changes have there been throughout the years while you’ve been with us?

Now, we have students from all over the world. The demographics have changed. While there have recently been more Afghan students, I have had a lot of students from Africa, especially Morocco and Ethiopia, but also Asia and South America. I keep in touch with many of my students after they leave my class. I helped one of my former students from China study and pass her Guest Service Gold test and after she passed the GSG exam, she got a job at the airport in customer relations working for China Air. She still contacts me occasionally to tell me how she’s doing using the Remind app, a private mobile messaging platform that aims to help teachers, students, parents, and administrators to communicate with everyone at once. At LCNV, many teachers use Remind to extend learning and as a channel to communicate with their students outside of class. On the platform, teachers not only share class reminders and homework with students, but they also share pictures of class activities, supplemental learning materials, and YouTube videos to help the students learn.

“Jackie goes above and beyond (Guest Service Gold® vocabulary) to help her students succeed. She offers extra study sessions to review GSG material so students feel less nervous about taking the exam. The extra sessions are usually for small group study but she also offers individual tutoring for students who need more help. She’s very invested in helping her students succeed. As of today, more than 90% of her students have passed the exam.”

-Soo Park, Instructional Design Manager for LCNV

What is Guest Service Gold?

The Guest Service Gold® is a training program by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI) that is designed to help individuals in the hospitality industry provide excellent customer service to their guests. After completing the training, students can earn the Certified Guest Service Professional credential by taking and passing the certification exam. LCNV prepares learners for this credential as part of an Integrated Education and Training (IET) course offered at multiple locations each year. The aim of the course is to provide participants with the confidence and skill to engage with customers more confidently in English.

My job is to prepare students for the certification test and to make sure they understand the context of the information from vocabulary to basic customer service concepts to give them the skills and confidence to go through the exam, which is very intensive. Most of our beginning English students are not familiar with the terms and the customer service skills and concepts needed for the exam, but they work hard, and we work hard with them to prepare them as much as possible. The exam has very specific questions that are situational. All the questions are multiple choice and designed to gauge if they really understand the concepts so passing the exam takes studying and practice. It is very exciting when they pass the exam, for them and for us.

Who takes the Guest Service Gold exam?

Anyone who is interested in taking the exam is welcome to. In my last class, we were online and all 4 students who took the test passed. Now that we are back in-person, I’m hopeful that we will have more students that will take the exam. It’s a great opportunity for the students but it’s up to them if they want to take the exam or not- it’s a lot of work.

What do you most enjoy about working with your students? What keeps you coming back?

I look forward to being in the classroom and continuing to see students grow into a tight knit community. The sense of working together and seeing them support each other and help one another is great. I love seeing them grow throughout the semester. We talk about their plans for beyond the classroom- their goals and what they want to achieve. Most of them want to continue their English studies and at least finish the book, which takes about 1 year. If they are more advanced, I will try to push them into a more challenging program or guide them to the next step.

What has gotten you through all the changes since the pandemic? Outside of work, what are your interests and hobbies that inspire or motivate you?

Usually, I love to travel. Hopefully, if everything works out, my husband and I have a trip scheduled after Christmas- my first real vacation since 2019. We plan to take a cruise from Miami down to the Caribbean and back- a short cruise. We used to cruise every year until everything was canceled. Hopefully, it won’t be this time! Going out of Miami is an easier trip. Last year we wanted to go to the Mediterranean, but of course it was canceled and many places in Europe are locked down still. We love to travel back to places we used to live. We’ve gone back to England 3 or 4 times. We are already planning for next year.

What do you most enjoy about working with your students? What keeps you coming back?

I look forward to being in the classroom and continuing to see students grow into a tight knit community. The sense of working together and seeing them support each other and help one another is great. I love seeing them grow throughout the semester. We talk about their plans for beyond the classroom- their goals and what they want to achieve. Most of them want to continue their English studies and at least finish the book, which takes about 1 year. If they are more advanced, I will try to push them into a more challenging program or guide them to the next step.

What has gotten you through all the changes since the pandemic? Outside of work, what are your interests and hobbies that inspire or motivate you?

Usually, I love to travel. Hopefully, if everything works out, my husband and I have a trip scheduled after Christmas- my first real vacation since 2019. We plan to take a cruise from Miami down to the Caribbean and back- a short cruise. We used to cruise every year until everything was canceled. Hopefully, it won’t be this time! Going out of Miami is an easier trip. Last year we wanted to go to the Mediterranean, but of course it was canceled and many places in Europe are locked down still. We love to travel back to places we used to live. We’ve gone back to England 3 or 4 times. We are already planning for next year.