How has the past year of training gone?

The past year has been great! There have been so many amazing people on the course, all full of enthusiasm and looking forward to travelling the world with their teaching qualification.

What is your favourite part of the course?

The best part of the course is always watching everyone gain in confidence on their second teaching practice. I have covered some of the 3 day courses and I love the section on Phonology. I use the Phonetic Alphabet all the time when I teach and I think it is an essential tool for all TEFL Teachers.

How are you finding your role as Director of Studies?

I love my job as Director of Studies. It is great after 14 years of teaching to put my knowledge into creating new resources. I have really enjoyed all the challenges the role brings.

Have you done any more teaching abroad this year? Do you plan to in the future?

At the moment I haven’t, but I am hoping to apply for the six day voluntary VaughanTown Placement. I love Spain and I think this would be a great experience for me.

How are the Spanish classes you set up going?

The adult Spanish classes I run are still going very well but I am focusing my energy more on TEFL related things at the moment.

Have you any memorable moments from the courses you have taught over the past twelve months?

I had a lovely student called Darren who has been teaching in the Czech Republic. He did an amazing lesson using 'I am the music man' to teach kids. In Birmingham last month I watched another amazing teaching practice with can you....? The student used loads of props and got the students doing lots of different things to prove they can or can't do something for example; Can you unroll a toilet roll in 30 seconds? Can you blow bubbles with bubble gum? Can you balance a cabbage on your head? He bought all the realia in his lunch hour and the lesson was very inspiring!

Any recent success stories?

Tamara, one of my students, has been teaching in Spain and enjoying her teaching post. All ex UK-TEFL graduates keep me posted by writing on my facebook page and letting me know what they are up to. They also post lots of questions on the wall for me to answer.

Where do you see yourself in ten years time?

In ten years I still want to be teaching and training. I would love to get things published and become a CELTA trainer.

Have you got a favourite course group from this year?

I had a lovely group on the 3 day course in Birmingham in February. Everyone got on really well and there was a great atmosphere. The March weekend course in Aston was also great, there were some amazing characters and really good dynamics in the group.

Are you looking forward to teaching our brand new Advanced Course?

I am really looking forward to teaching on the new Advanced Course. I wrote the course so long ago now so I am just going through all the course content to refresh my memory before it launches in Birmingham this month!

What are the best aspects of the Advanced TEFL course?

Business English is a great part of the course and is a valuable asset for TEFL teachers. Students often find the topic can be daunting and quite intimidating so the course shows them how to become confident in presenting Business English Classes. The section on one to one teaching is really important for teachers to build confidence as teaching a one to one class is very different from group dynamics. These additional skills are very useful for UK TEFL graduates as earning potential is much higher when teaching one to one classes.