Full time F2F Motivation in the 21st Century Classroom Erasmus+ Course for Teachers course at IH Split

I’ve been an EFL teacher since 2005 and a teacher trainer since 2010. Teaching English has been my whole career, apart from occasionally being a pianist.

My job as a CELTA tutor is to give every trainee teacher on the course the tools, knowledge and skills they need to start their teaching career with confidence and competence. My hope is that they do as I’ve done (and continue to do) – go out into the world to work hard, experience new cultures and meet new people.

I began working in EFL in 2010 and moved into teacher training in 2015. I dabbled in a few industries before taking my CELTA. I worked as cabin crew, an estate agent, and in facilities management.

My hopes and aspirations for people who embark on a TEFL career is that they’ll have the fantastic opportunities to travel as I have, and that they’ll meet many wonderful students and colleagues around the globe.

I started my TEFL journey as a graduate straight from University. I’m a teacher trainer now, but I'm still teaching alongside; this will be my ninth academic year in the classroom. I've been doing in-house teacher training since 2015 and qualified as a CELTA Tutor in March 2019. So, I can still see things from both sides of the coin.

What I (still) like the most about teaching is the amount that I learn from my students thanks to their life experiences and expertise, so I try to treat teaching as a two-way interaction. During a CELTA course, this translates into encouraging genuine interaction between trainee and students. It can be necessary to remind trainees not to leave their humanness at the classroom door, despite any nerves or stress they may be experiencing.

I’ve been an EFL teacher since 2006 and became a teacher trainer on CELTA courses in 2012. But teaching is always a part of my life and training takes many forms in my context, as in-house training is a big part of our school. I’ve had another career before I started my life in TEFL – and I still do it! I’m a theater actor and director and have been since 1998. There are lots of similarities between teaching/training and theater direction so I’ve never thought of the two careers as mutually exclusive.

What do I hope for my trainees? This is a big question! My main hope is that they develop the ability to reflect on their classes and identify strengths and weaknesses of their lesson plans. To me, this is the most important skill to develop on the course as the trainees are with the tutors and their peers only for a limited amount of time. It’s like planting a seed, really.

I have been an English teacher since 1979, and a teacher trainer since 1989. Before that I was a graphic designer.

My advice for an interesting and rewarding career in TEFL is to never stop learning, keep a balance between career and life, work for an organisation where you can develop your skills and learn from your relationships with others.

I’ve been an EFL teacher for about 30 years and a teacher trainer for 10 years. I’ve always worked in the EFL industry, but I did have a break from EFL for about 6 years when I worked in the international relations office of an Italian NGO. But I came back!

I hope my CELTA trainees learn how to engage with their students, listen to them and react to their needs. I also hope they develop good self-awareness in teaching practice and learn how to plan effective lessons and provide everyone in the classroom with a quality language learning experience.