The E4L ENGLISH4LIFE STORY
In Search of
The Living Wisdom
at the Heart
of Communication
Witnessing the wonder of life through the wonder of language by way of lifelong learning as a labor of love
Founded by Ali Galestan in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 2014, E4L ENGLISH4LIFE is a language, communication, and lifelong learning service provider committed to helping learners and learning organizations rediscover the wonder of language as the gateway to life-enriching learning, meaningful communication, and a more fulfilling life.
We do not merely offer standard English courses, and our learners do not merely develop confidence and fluency in English language learning and communication. At E4L ENGLISH4LIFE, excellence in language learning and communication is a way of life. We enable, encourage, and empower aspiring learners to discover and cultivate a deepened sense of awareness, wonder, attention, empathy, resilience, appreciation, and care in the various domains of life, from the personal to the family to the social to the professional. Not only does this help to enrich our participants’ lives; it helps them enrich the lives of those around them!
Ali Galestan aspires to be a life-long learner of Life’s wondrous languages of meaning by traversing the various domains, horizons and life-worlds through which he’s led, seeking to listen to and comprehend the meaning of what Life is conveying here and now (and there and then). Over the last twenty-five years, therefore, he has assumed various roles, including that of academic research assistant, reference librarian, university English instructor, English-language communication trainer, in-house corporate language and communication coach, learning consultant, pedagogical advisor and English-language proofreader and editor. E4L ENGLISH4LIFE was born as a living confluence of those different streams of learning and discovery.
Throughout his journey of growing as a lifelong learner, Ali Galestan has sought to support prospective learners in discovering and developing their language, communication and learning proficiency in a way that is life-enriching — that is, inspiring, intentional, effective, and meaningful. This extends all the way back to his time as a university student, research assistant and teaching assistant at The University of Virginia, continues to his graduate studies and teaching roles at the University of Toronto, on to his roles as university instructor of English at The University of Education Weingarten and at The University of Applied Sciences Karlsruhe (HsKA) in Germany, all the way to the founding and ongoing development of E4L ENGLISH4LIFE (2014 - present).
Ability as a native speaker of English, a passion for the wonder of language and communication, more than two decades of teaching experience in both the university and corporate contexts, and a commitment to learning as a way of life have all been crucial in helping Ali support learners on their journeys of learning via English. But above all, it has been the exemplary souls whose lives have been a testament to the way of knowing, loving, and serving that have left an indelible imprint upon his soul and inspired him to intend to follow…