Francis Aleba

Having previously been a sessional lecturer of English 210 at Concordia College and the University of Alberta—and having previously taught English as a Second Language, English 101, and other introductory writing and reading courses at MacEwan University—I am, at present, a tutor of English 255 at Athabasca University. Indisputably, each of the major periods of English literature has gems to offer inquiring readers, but I number myself among the many who are especially interested in Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Fielding, Dickens, and Orwell. My other interests include Peter Abrahams, African literature (that from roughly the 1940s to the 1980s), literary autobiography, essay writing, and practicable (not dryasdust academic) English grammar. I find everlastingly fascinating the enviable ability of some writers to use a few words to paint a picture. “Good prose is like a window pane,” says the inimitable Orwell. Wow! Who, after reading such a remark, brief but pithy, needs an explanation of what a good simile is—or of what a good simile does?

To my job of tutoring, I bring dedication, enthusiasm, and many years of tutoring and teaching experience. And, in this job, I welcome new challenges and the chance to expand my horizons. Without an adequate understanding of language, one cannot give clear, correct, and lively written expression to one’s examined thoughts and feelings. My students and I, therefore, have, in effect, a conversation about the English language, a conversation in which I encourage my students to think and write critically, and to think and write clearly, when they read and study works that they subsequently summarise and when they write expository and argumentative essays.

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Educational credentials

• BA [Hons] and MA, Alberta