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"A moment's insight is sometimes worth a lifetime's experience." Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
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TEFL GuestThough 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. 26 January 2010 by Tara Benwell | Filed under TEFL Guest | Leave a Comment »
 Shelly Terrell Tara: A website called ‘What the hashtag’ defined #Edchat as a “weekly chat about technology and education”. It seems like so much more than that to me. Can you expand on that definition? Shelly: #Edchat is a collaboration of educators, parents, students, and other stakeholders finding solutions to the challenges facing every educational system worldwide. 10 December 2009 by Tara Benwell | Filed under TEFL Guest | Leave a Comment »
 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? 16 November 2009 by Tara Benwell | Filed under TEFL Guest | Leave a Comment »
 Larry Ferlazzo 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. 7 October 2009 by Tara Benwell | Filed under TEFL Guest | 3 Comments »
 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! 28 August 2009 by Tara Benwell | Filed under TEFL Guest | 3 Comments »
 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. 31 July 2009 by Tara Benwell | Filed under TEFL Guest | 1 Comment »
 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 13 July 2009 by Tara Benwell | Filed under TEFL Guest | Leave a Comment »
 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 18 June 2009 by Tara Benwell | Filed under TEFL Guest | 1 Comment »
 Rolf Palmberg Tara: Can you give us a brief rundown of how your TEFL career unfolded? Rolf: One could say that a series of lucky choices led to a happy end for me. My first choice was whether to study languages or maths. I chose languages. The second one was whether to specialise in applied linguistics or in literature. I chose applied linguistics. The third one was whether to become a language teacher or do something else with my university degree. I came to the conclusion that I wanted to be a language teacher and eventually ended up as a teacher trainer. And no, I haven’t regretted a single day. 6 June 2007 by Josef Essberger | Filed under TEFL Guest | Leave a Comment »
1 June 2006 by Josef Essberger | Filed under TEFL Guest | Leave a Comment »
Brian: Right now I’m teaching English with the British Council here in Thailand, but my background is British. I was doing a degree in Education at Goldsmith’s College in London, specializing in design and |
Josef: You’re a foreigner in Thailand – an American – who speaks perfect Thai. That in itself is pretty rare. But you’re also known here in Thailand as a superstar and heartthrob who takes on roles acting the part of a foreigner, but always speaking in Thai. I’d like to talk about your acting career, with special emphasis on acting in a foreign language. But first, could you tell me a little about your 
Josef: Grammarman has to be one of the most imaginative ideas I’ve seen in the learning or teaching English field. And the whole concept seems to be very well executed. But before we talk about Grammarman in detail, can you tell me a little about yourself?