Oegugin

Welcome! My name is Helene. I love helping people become fluent in French and English, and I also enjoy learning languages myself: I studied Spanish in university, then Chinese in Shanghai, and I know random words in several languages, thanks to my friends and students!

What does “OEGUGIN” mean?
“Oegugin” (pronounced “way-gu-geen”) is the Korean word for “foreigner”. Korea is the place where I first learned to appreciate being a stranger in a strange land.

Montreal-Korea-Shanghai-Edmonton
As far as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to travel and discover the world. When I was a kid I had international penpals, then I moved to Montreal and, with my international friends, explored exotic cultures, cuisines, and languages. Finally, one day, I boarded my first plane on a very cold January morning and headed to Korea to teach English.

When I returned to Montreal, I continued working on my Master’s thesis (French, creative writing) but teaching had grown on me: I ended up inventing a language exchange method which became so popular, a language school grew out of it!

Since I couldn’t forget Asia, Daniel and I eventually moved to Shanghai, where we spent three exciting years. We then came back to Montreal for a year, and have recently moved to Edmonton, Alberta. Daniel is working on a top-secret project for BioWare, one of the best videogame companies in the world, so we should be here for at least three years…

I’m currently accepting new students - please visit this page if you’re interested. Thank you!