Meet the Teachers

I’ve been helping, inspiring and motivating students since 2005. It still doesn’t feel like a job. Teaching for me is more like a passion. It’s really part of who I am.

To be a member of the Excel family makes me so happy and proud every day. Such a positive environment, amazing professionals; you’ll certainly find great people here.

The interaction I have with my students is fascinating. To be able to see each and every student’s improvement every day is very rewarding.

I just wish I can continue to make a difference in their lives, that is all that matters to me.

I grew up in the DFW area and am currently a PhD candidate in the field of rhetoric. I am a proud alumna of Wellesley College and Yonsei Graduate School of International Studies. I worked in Seoul for six years in corporate, coached middle/high school debate and speech, mentored high school students in preparation for college, and taught college-level general education courses. When I am not busy helping students, I enjoy yoga classes for a healthy body-mind balance. I also love trying out new recipes and sharing homemade meals with family and friends.

My experiences as an educator have changed the way I view learning and the extent I value education. Instead of seeing it as merely a tool of ambition to get ahead, I have come to view education as a process to intake and appreciate limitless growth. As a teacher, I hope to impart the same exhilaration from learning as well as its practical benefits to my own students.

I joined the Excel teaching staff in 2014 when I moved to Dallas. However, my life as an ESL instructor began when I ventured from Ireland to Brazil and found I enjoyed teaching English there even more than I enjoyed my work as a registered nurse. Many hours in the classroom and many courses through the University of Cambridge, England, followed, providing me with the knowledge and the skills to be an effective and engaging instructor. Upon moving to the US, I earned a Master’s Degree in Education, specializing in TESL, from Oral Robert’s University, Tulsa, OK.

What I love about being an ESL instructor is the opportunity to learn, first-hand, about the people and daily life in the amazing countries my students come from. I have to thank them for teaching me so much about their people and their cultures. Also, with my broad educational background and years of experience, I believe I can help my students improve their English so that they can reach their personal, academic or professional goals and live life to the fullest, be it here in the USA or in their own country.

I have been teaching English for over 15 years. I majored in French and Art at Austin College where I spent my junior year abroad studying in France and living with a host family. That is where I got my true taste for travel and love for learning about new cultures. Upon graduating, I spent time traveling the US and abroad before deciding to get my Certification to Teach English as a Second Language. I taught ESL for 6 years in various places throughout Mexico such as Campeche, Guadalajara and San Luis Potosi. In 2009, I returned to the US and taught for 3 years at Northwest Vista College in San Antonio. Finally, I came back to Dallas to be closer to friends and family, and start my own family. I have been teaching at Excel English Institute since the Fall of 2015.

My name is Donald Gleason, but the students call me Mr. Don. I have been a teacher since 1974. When I was in college, one of my professors told me that you did not have to be a famous rock singer, politician or movie star to make a difference in the world; you could do it by being a teacher. That’s what I have been trying to do for more than 30 years. My grandparents were immigrants, and I work with immigrants. Believing that I am helping them to have better lives makes it all worthwhile.

I have taught in a number of schools, but Excel English Institute is the best by far. The facility is beautiful, modern and functional. My colleagues are top-notch, and the students are wonderful. Just wonderful. I am very fortunate to be here.

I specialize in teaching beginning levels due to my desire to help the students build confidence in themselves while providing them with the basic building blocks of language skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing.

I grew up in Los Angeles, which is a cosmopolitan city. While living there, I constantly found myself helping people from other countries. That is how I discovered my knack for languages.

In my opinion, the most difficult part about learning a language is “losing your fear to speak [which] is hard for many introverted students.” However, I always advise any new students interested in coming to Excel to learn English to come aboard and do your best. “You can do it!”

“Inspire Boldly to Aspire Boldly”
First and foremost, my passion to teach English surges from the depths of care for students yearning for a better chance in life. I find myself training students to have unswerving confidence that can be the sail which will take them far and beyond in their English language learning. I make streams of encouragement and exhortation for a positive mindset; a mind and heart that can focus clear goals and organize accordingly with reminding tips on good study habits to aspire a desired target outcome; exerting daily praise and attentive motivational feedback are the sparks that keep students pedaling on the track of success. I predominantly have been a foundational link in the chain of success for students in the lower levels, thus I feel it truly has been my calling to be an instructor who “inspires” to face the new untrodden road ahead with confidence, stamina and patience.

It’s awesomely fulfilling for me to see measurable improvement in speaking that comes alive from the rock bottom. It’s my heartfelt aim to wait for the revealing moment when students witness themselves declaring, “I can be more than a conqueror!”

I first discovered my love of teaching English and working in multicultural environments in Xinjiang, China in 2003. Since then I have taught in various university and college settings in the US, including teaching immigrants basic reading skills all the way to helping international graduate student instructors with accent reduction. I enjoy interacting with students from all over the world on a daily basis.

My background is diverse because I love to learn. I have a BA in History from the University of Michigan, an MA in Intercultural Studies & Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Wheaton College, and a second MA in Christian Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Currently, I am working on my dissertation focusing on literacy in pursuit of a PhD in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies.

At Excel English Institute, students are able to learn English in an academically challenging, as well as, safe and caring environment. I am proud to be part of a language school that is centered on the needs of its students.

I have over 30 years of experience teaching English in middle school, high school and at the college level. I have a BA in German and English and a Master’s Degree in Humanities with a focus on teaching English as a Second Language.

I believe there is no better career than helping students improve their English to succeed personally and economically in the US or in their home countries. Excel English Institute has become a home for myself and hundreds of students.

Mallory An studied Linguistics at the University of Missouri and has a Master’s degree in TESOL from Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea. She spent 3 years teaching English in South Korea, then moved to Dallas to work at Excel English Institute as the Office Manager. She also teaches elective courses in the afternoons.

“I love teaching English and working with International students. I think all cultures are unique and wonderful and getting to meet people from all over the world is my favorite part of this job. The Excel family is made up of caring and hard-working individuals and I feel so blessed to work with each and every one of them.”

We are both ESL certified veteran teachers with more than 35 years combined of experience teaching, writing curricula and working with students in college and independent schools in Dallas and abroad. As co-workers, we always thought we could provide a better education than what we were offering at our previous places of employment. We decided to embark on a journey in 2014 to open our own school, which would be a place to learn, make new friends and have an unforgettable experience.

After Excel earned its full accreditation in 2017, the school that started with only 8 students, has since grown to serve several hundreds in its short life. The thing that makes Excel different from any other school we have worked at is that we are teachers who wrote and taught the curricula. We know what works and what doesn’t, and we work closely with our teachers to provide them with the resources and training to make our vision of a top-notch English school become a reality.