"A moment's insight is sometimes worth a lifetime's experience."
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
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TEFL Guest
Though teachers by trade, we are all learners in life. Oftentimes it is a question asked or answered by someone else that leaves a lasting impression and causes us to rethink our own habits and career paths. Whether it’s a student, a teacher, or a famous author, a real life story can inspire us to do a better job, try a new approach, or even journey to a place unknown. TEFL Guest is a place for us to share these stories and get a little closer to real people who have caught our attention in the global EFL network. Whether conducted at poolside, via email or over the telephone, we hope these conversations will open up the world of TEFL for you.
Vicky Saumell, an English teacher at Instituto San Francisco de Asis (Argentina), and the blogger behind Educational Technology in ELT, recently wrote a guest post for Ken Wilson’s blog that received a tremendous response from teachers worldwide. The title of the post, Daring to move away from course books, is a subject that many teachers are tempted by. We’re happy that Vicky has agreed to continue the conversation here at TEFL.net so that we can all learn more about her school’s Project Based Learning shift.
 Vicky Saumell Tara: When you wrote your guest post for Ken Wilson’s blog did you expect such an interest from the online community?
Vicky: Absolutely not! I was overwhelmed by the many comments and amazingly interesting questions that arose.
Tara: In the title of your post you use the word “Daring”. Have you always been daring in your profession as an English teacher?
Vicky: Well…not really…and I was thinking of writing a blog post about that! In the beginning of my teaching career I mostly did what was expected of me from my senior teachers in a very traditional way. It was gradually through experience and reflective teaching practice that I got the confidence to criticize educational possibilities in my particular context.
Tara: You mentioned that doing away with textbooks would give students more choice. In what ways do your students have more choice in the classroom now, and how has this motivated them?
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Graham Stanley teaches English for the British Council in Barcelona. His enthusiasm for ICT in the EFL classroom made him the perfect candidate for this interview about interactive whiteboards. Thank you to Shelly Terrell for helping us find the right guest this month.
 Graham Stanley Tara: Thanks for offering to share a little knowledge about interactive whiteboards with TEFL.net readers. I’ve heard lots of teachers saying they could never imagine teaching without one. Are you one of those teachers?
Graham: Well, I have to say it’s easy to get used to teaching with an IWB, mainly because of access to the Internet. Suddenly you have the real world at your fingertips instead of the cardboard cut-out world of the average course-book. However, there are times in my classes when it never gets switched on. You have to remember that it’s just a tool to help you get the job done, which in our case is helping our students learn and practise a language. You shouldn’t be afraid to switch it off. I’ve seen some teachers overuse it. That tends to happen with teachers who have just started using the IWB, or when someone hasn’t really had much training in how to use it effectively. And when I say ‘effectively’ I mean in a pedagogically sound way.You wouldn’t want to stand at a blackboard all class, would you? Well it’s the same with an IWB.
Tara: Is it true that having an IWB is just like having a big computer at the front of the classroom? I read that one of your learners called it Graham’s Magical Board.
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 Bear and Mary in the Classroom Tara: Can you tell us a bit about your teaching history? How long have you been teaching with your teddy bear sidekick?
Mary: I started by teaching English and Spanish and then moved into ELT and into teacher training. I began using my first puppet Bear as my language assistant about 17 years ago. He was always a hit with the teachers on training courses and when I worked as a visiting teacher the children really loved him. I designed the present Bear to look like my original puppet – so when I visit schools today I tell children that Bear has many cousins!
Tara: Congratulations on your big win at the 2010 ELTons. What was it like to be at the British Council’s awards ceremony? Did you have Bear with you for support?
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 Dr. Simon Borg ELTons Judging Facilitator Tara: Your TESOL career spans over twenty years and has taken you around the world. Can you describe your current position at the University of Leeds?
Simon: I work in the School of Education where I teach on our MA TESOL programmes and supervise PhD students. A good proportion of my time is also spent doing research, mainly in the area of language teacher education.
Tara: You are also the judging facilitator for the upcoming 2010 ELTons. How did you get chosen for this important role with the British Council?
Simon: This is my fifth year as judging facilitator for the ELTons. Presumably I was asked to take on this post because I had the organizational skills required to manage the judging process and to ensure that it was conducted with integrity and completed on time.
Tara: In your own words, how would you describe the ELTons?
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 Larry Ferlazzo Tara: I think of you as Larry the TEFL list maker. Your Websites of the Day blog for Teaching ELL, ESL &EFL is full of lists that make it easier to sort through the growing supply of educational resources and tools on the web. You haven’t always been involved in teaching English, though. Take us back to your days as a community planner in California and explain how you got into teaching high school to ELL’s.
Larry: I was a community organizer for nineteen years working with low and moderate income families, mostly in immigrant communities. We work on issues around citizenship, affordable housing, job creation, etc. But what really struck me was how people were using what they learned through organizing — self confidence, taking initiative, the ability to work with diverse people — and using it to dramatically transform their entire lives. They were learning these lessons in their thirties, forties, fifties, sixties and beyond. I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be great if people learned these things earlier in life?” and decided to become a high school teacher.
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 Kenneth Beare Tara: You have been the ESL guide for About.com since 1997. Describe your work at About.com and tell us how you became one of the first ESL experts on the web. Is it true that you were in the right place at the right time?
Kenneth: About.com is a fantastic workplace. There are about 800 guides, mostly in the United States, who cover a specific niche. As a matter of fact, I was in New York last week for our annual conference. The meeting was held at the New York Times building as About.com has been part of the New York Times Company since 2005. The event was a great chance to catch up in person with my editor, old friends and colleagues from the network. We’re a big family!
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 Gavin Dudeney Tara Benwell: Second Life is a virtual world that is becoming increasingly popular for educational purposes. For the past few years, you have helped promote and support this aspect of the online community, especially in the field of English language learning and teacher training. Can you describe how your combined interests in life crossed over to the islands of Second Life (SL)?
Gavin Dudeney: I think it’s a question of being a teacher who likes and knows technology – which is a curious mix. I’ve been using computers since the early eighties and have been through many types or technologies in those nearly thirty years. I’ve spent much of my life learning about the technology side: software, hardware, building computers, repairing computers and writing software, graphic design and a few other things. At the same time I’ve spent a lot of time teaching, teacher training and writing about technology and education.
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 Nergiz Kern Tara: Before you take us behind the scenes of Second Life (SL) can you tell us briefly about your TEFL background in real life (RL).
Nergiz: I have always been interested in languages but it was only when I met a brilliant English teacher in the US and a Brazilian lady who had her own language school that I became interested in teaching languages. Soon after, in 2000, I had the opportunity to work at a language school in Brazil and loved the experience. Back in Germany, I started working as a freelancer mostly in-company and taught general, business and technical English. Since moving back to Turkey two years ago, I have been exploring teaching online and in Second Life extensively. I have given some courses and have also done some teacher training in and about SL. I did the CELTA in 2003 and the DELTA in 2007 and am now planning to
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 Burcu Akyol Tara: For many EFL teachers in the blogosphere “Burcu” is a household word. Can you share a bit about your background for those who are just about to meet you?
Burcu: I graduated from Hacettepe University, ELT Department and have been teaching English for nine years. I started my career at a language school where I taught adults. After teaching adults for two years, I decided to work at a private school. In Turkey, private schools provide better opportunities for teachers. I’ve worked in three different private schools since then. Currently, I work at a group of private schools in Istanbul as an Education Coordinator. My main areas of interest are teacher training and learning technologies. I find great pleasure in sharing my experiences with colleagues. The possibility of inspiring a lot of people is just great! In February 2009, I decided to create a teacher blog
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