Taking Risks: From Business Owner to Educator – Stuart Lang’s Journey

—English version follows—

« In life you have to be willing to take risks“. This is the saying that led Stuart Lang to not only decide to start his own business, but to choose teaching as his 3rd career.

It was after spending several years without speaking French that Stuart decided to take on a new challenge, that of following the B.Ed. in French at UBC Okanagan. “It should be noted that in September 2022 it had already been 15 years since I spoke French.”

Despite the challenges encountered in reclaim French, Stuart remains confident and determined.

“I still make a lot of mistakes when I speak, but I still try to have confidence in myself and we must continue, we must make mistakes and that is the slogan of my life, I believe” .

The French B.Ed courses program. at UBCO offers opportunities to develop French as well as excellent academic support to its candidates. This is possible in part thanks to internships in French and oral communication courses for future teachers. Two of the program’s goals are to increase candidates’ identity as a bilingual or multilingual educator, as well as develop their French language skills and build their confidence as French speakers.

“To be able to develop the language, you need to have a context where you can use it and practice it. That’s what the program gave me.”

Additionally, a collaborative and inclusive learning space is cultivated between candidates and advisors, and learning by mistake is encouraged.

“I learnedis that you shouldn’t feel bad if you make mistakes in French when you start learning. Not to apologize when you make mistakes, not just in French, but in general to accept the mistake, and that it is part of learning. »

Stuart reunited, 15 years later, with his host family from his exchange student in Germany. | Stuart, reunited with his host family from his student exchange in Germany 15 years later.

Indeed, Stuart applied this concept throughout his life, which allowed him loosen your horizons and gain experience in several fields. Immediately after obtaining his Bilingual Dogwood Certificate at Kelowna Secondary School, he took the risk of going abroad for 1 year to learn a third language.

“After high school, I did a year of school exchange in northern Germany. I learned German at the time I was 18.”

Upon his return to Canada, the continues of develop this new language in doing un double bac in biology et in German has the university d’Acadia, in New-Scotland.

« I have speak with the director of the programmes in Germanand he m’a it ton German East very strong, and maybe what tu could do both. After that I have do my mastery in administration, MBA, and with That I am became a person Who loved well the marketing ».

Aafter finishing his studieshave acquired experience in telecommunications and started his own business, the life of Stuart took a turn unexpected due has the pandemic.

« En 2016 I started my own tourism company here in Kelowna, it’s called Smile Cycle Tours. Mays I had to put all that aside during the pandemicbecause tourism was absolutely non-existent and he was our ideal client ».

It is has this turning point in his life what Stuart decided to enroll in the bachelor’s degree in education at UBCO to become a teacher.

” HAS At this point, I had things to share, I had knowledge in technology, in tourism, in language in the arts and sciences. I said to myself: OK. I’m 33, I have a lot to share ».

Stuart sur une des bicyclette de Smile Cycle Tours devant la micro-brasserie Red Bird à Kelowna | Stuart on one of the Smile Cycle Tours bicycles in front of the Red Bird microbrewery in Kelowna.

Although he initially enrolled in the English-speaking B.Ed. route, Stuart decided to take a risk and follow the French route.

“I first registered for the B.Ed program. English-speaker. But on my CV, there was the mention Immersion and I was therefore offered the B.Ed. French routes. Since it had already been several years since I had spoken French, at first I hesitated. But because I had already done that [prendre des risques] with my business and my travels, I accepted.”

Now halfway through his journey, Stuart shares how the program has supported his learning as a second language educator.

“The French Pathways Program allowed me to reinstate the idea that it’s possible. The advisors told me: you are here and you are part of the French-speaking culture in your own way. It helped me a lot.”

Stuart now feels ready to share his knowledge and experiences with young people.

“I like middle school, 9th and 10th grade. I am in the Course teaching adolescents. I believe that my skills and knowledge are better at this level and I believe that if I have a chance to be able to teach and talk about my business knowledge, that it could be very good. Maybe I’ll teach a course in French in entrepreneurship.”

—ENGLISH—-

“In life, one must be ready to take risks.” This is the motto that led Stuart Lang to not only decide to start his own business, but also to choose teaching as his third career.

It was after several years of not speaking French that Stuart decided to take on a new challenge — pursuing a Bachelor of Education (BEd), French Pathways at UBC Okanagan.

“It’s worth noting that in September 2022, it had already been 15 years since I had spoken French,” says Stuart.

Despite the challenges of reacquainting himself with French, Stuart remains confident and determined.

“I still make a lot of mistakes when I speak, but I try to have confidence in myself, and you have to keep going, you have to make mistakes, and that’s how you learn. That is the motto of my life, I believe.”

The BEd’s French Pathways offers opportunities to develop French language skills as well as excellent academic support for its candidates. This is made possible in part through French-language field experiences and oral communication courses for future teachers. Two of the program’s goals are to increase candidates’ identity as bilingual or multilingual educators and to develop their French language skills while strengthening their confidence as Francophones.

“In order to develop the language, you need a context where you can use and practice it. That’s what the program has offered me.”

Furthermore, a collaborative and inclusive learning space is cultivated between candidates and advisors, and learning from mistakes is encouraged.

“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t feel bad if you make mistakes in French, when you’re just starting to learn. Don’t apologize when you make mistakes, not just in French but in general, accept the error, and understand that it’s part of the learning process.”

Indeed, Stuart has applied this concept throughout his life, allowing him to broaden his horizons and gain experience in several fields. Right after obtaining his Bilingual Dogwood Certificate at Kelowna Secondary School, he took the risk of going abroad for one year to learn a third language.

“After high school, I did a year-long school exchange in northern Germany. I learned German at that time; I was 18 years old.”

Upon returning to Canada, he continued to develop this new language by pursuing a double major in biology and German at Acadia University in Nova Scotia.

“I spoke with the program director in German, and he told me that my German was very strong, and maybe I could do both. After that, I did my Masters of Business Administration (MBA), and with that, I became someone who enjoyed marketing.”

After completing his studies, gaining experience in telecommunications, and starting his own business, Stuart’s life took an unexpected turn due to the pandemic.

“In 2016, I started my own tourism company here in Kelowna; it’s called Smile Cycle Tours. But I had to put all of that aside during the pandemic because tourism was absolutely non-existent, and that was our ideal clientele.”

It was at this turning point in his life that Stuart decided to enroll in the BEd program to become a teacher.

“At this point, I had things to share; I had knowledge in technology, tourism, language in arts and sciences. I said to myself: OK. I’m 33 years old, I have a lot to share.”

Although he initially enrolled in the program with the intent of pursuing the English stream, Stuart decided to take a risk and follow the path of the French program.

“On my CV, there was mention of French Immersion, and I was offered a place in the French Pathways as an option. Since it had been several years since I had spoken French, I hesitated at first. But because I had already taken risks with my business and my travels, I accepted.”

Now halfway through his journey, Stuart shares how the program has supported him in his learning as a second language educator.

“The French Pathways allowed me to reinstate the idea that it’s possible. The advisors told me: you are here, and you are part of the Francophone culture in your own way. That helped me a lot.”

Stuart now feels ready to share his knowledge and experiences with young people.

“I like middle school, and grades 9 and 10. I believe my skills and knowledge are better at this level, and I think that if I have the chance to teach and talk about my business knowledge, it could be very good. Maybe I’ll teach a course in French entrepreneurship.”