Community Authors

Anna Loseva

Anna has been teaching English in a range of contexts for over ten years, nine of which in her native Moscow, Russia. When she was 29, she moved to Japan to see what English teaching and learning are like in other countries. She is currently teaching a discussion course in a private university in central Tokyo. Anna is passionate about teacher AND student self-development and strongly believes that fruitful education process is driven by the mix of positive thinking, reflection, and avid curiosity. In her free time Anna presents at ELT conferences, reads, colours, and writes in her blog.

Adam Simpson

Adam has been fortunate enough to spend the last twelve years of his journey as a life long learner working with others in what some call the ‘language classroom’. He is currently privileged to have the opportunity to help young adults meet their educational goals at Sabanci University in Istanbul. His professional interests include flexibility within the curriculum and the considered use of technology in the classroom. He occasionally finds time to blog about his life. Adam’s blog: Teach Them English.

Alexandra Chistyakova

Alexandra is an English teacher at the Physics faculty of Moscow State University, Russia. She also works as a freelance teacher giving one-to-one English lessons to the large range of learners: from preschoolers to senior adults. She’s always been engaged in the continuing professional development, taking various teacher-training courses, reading specialized literature and participating in ELT conferences and seminars. She received her CELTA at BKC-in, Moscow, in 2011. Her professional interests include: professional development, classroom management techniques, motivating the non-developers, teaching English to young and very young learners, integrating web 2.0 tools in the classroom. She believes that no success can be achieved without motivation and that there is no better source of motivation for teachers as being part of the vibrant international ELT community. Apart from her job, Alexandra has a fascination for astronomy, nature, travelling and meeting new people.

Aline Dyna

Aline is an EFL teacher in Brazil. She holds a BA in English and Portuguese languages, CELTA and CPE. She started teaching in 2000 and has been doing her best to become a better teacher and person since then. Currently she is working for a bi-national center and a public school in Brasília, two very different contexts where she faces interesting challenges every day. She believes that by considering students objectives and skills, by being a good listener and by sharing as much as possible with them and with her peers, she can be an efficient facilitator to learning.

Angelos Bollas

Angelos Bollas (MA in ELT) completed his CELTA and Delta at CELT Athens in 2014. As of July 2016, he is an approved CELTA Tutor. Other than teaching and training, he enjoys being a member of IATEFL Conference Committee, participates in and co-moderates #ELTchat weekly discussions on Twitter, and presents in various conferences around the world. He is a PhD candidate at Leeds Beckett University researching the effects of heteronormativity on LGBTQ students’ motivation.

Anna Musielak

Anna is a Polish teacher and teacher trainer holding a Ph.D. from Silesian University. She has worked at the military unit, at college, teaching British Literature and Culture and as methodology director in a private language school. She has also published articles on literature, culture and language teaching. At the moment she is working on workshops and teaching English to young learners and adults. Anna is interested in using drama, music and literature in ELT. She strongly believes that a lesson carried out with enthusiasm and passion is an unforgettable experience for the learners.

Anna Pires

Anna is from Canada, but currently based in Portugal. She has been teaching young learners, teenagers and adults in different contexts for over 20 years and is currently Assistant Director of Studies at International House Braga. She especially enjoys working with young learners and teenagers and is always on the lookout for new ways to motivate them in the language classroom. One of her main interests, and an area in which she has been doing research, is trying to understand how ‘attention’ works with teens and children.

Anne E. Hendler

Anne Hendler is a teacher who believes that every voice is valuable – be they teacher or learner – no matter the highest degree of education they have attained, the type of institution in which they work or organizations in which they are involved, the types of learners they serve, or the country in which they were born. Anne currently resides in Japan. Anne’s blog: Living Learning Anne on Twitter: @annehendler

Arjana Blazic

Arjana is a high school English and German teacher from Zagreb, Croatia. She is an avid user of web 2.0 technologies and a lifelong learner with a strong passion for travel. She believes that collaboration is the key to success. She has organized and participated in many international projects and school exchanges.Arjana’s blogs: Twitterova družina Traveloteacher Arjana’s wiki: Greetings from the World

Arzu Baloglu

Arzu has been an English teacher in a state school in Turkey for nearly 19 years. She is really proud of being part of the wonderful iTDi community since she loves communicating with other educators all around the world and learning from them. She is always enthusiastic and eager to share, and enjoys reading, travelling, walking in nature and riding a bike.She is also one of the teacher trainers of Ministry of National Education on Innovative Technologies for Engaging Classrooms project.

Ayat Tawel

Ayat is an EFL teacher, teacher trainer and ICT coordinator. She’s been teaching different age groups and levels for more than 17 years. She’s presented at many local and international online and face2face events and conferences. Her main interests are online teaching & learning, exploring and using web 2.0 tools in blended learning and enhancing creativity in the classroom. She believes if a teacher enjoys teaching, the students will enjoy learning. Ayat’s blog: A Teacher’s PD Diary Ayat on Twitter: @ayatawel

Aziz Soubai

Aziz is a Moroccan EFL teacher with more than 6 years of classroom experience. Soubai graduated from Ibn Zohr University with BA degree in English literature. With a passion for learning and teaching using technology, he was enrolled in several professional development courses designed by the International Teacher development Institute, Arizona State University and Coursera. He conducted many professional workshops mainly related to English Language instruction and effective classroom practices. Aziz is also an aspiring writer and a poet.

Barbara Bujtas

Barbara is a freelance EFL teacher and materials writer in Hungary. She is involved in one-to-one and teaching small groups of all ages and purposes. She also works with groups of very young learners and teaches secondary conversation classes. She has been a teacher for 15 years, holding a BA in EFL she is very passionate, rather than academic. Her fields of interest are dogme, young and very young learners, ICT, online professional development, using social media, community building, learner autonomy, 21th century learning and skills, project pedagogy. Barbara on Twitter: @barbarabujtas Barbara on Facebook: Barbara Bujtás

Barry Jameson

Barry is a teacher of both adults and young learners. He has taught in China, Korea, and Ireland. He is an active member of the online community, and regularly takes part in reflective practice, which helps him connect with other teachers to reflect on and improve their teaching. His passion is sharing ideas with teachers around the world and being part of a strong community. If you ever want to contact Barry, you can send him a message or friend request on iTDi.pro, and he would be happy to connect. You can also contact him on twitter. He is currently studying for his Masters in TESOL. Barry’s blog: Barry Jameson Barry on Twitter: @BarryJamesonELT

Bita Rezaei

Bita is the Director of Studies at Hermes Institute in Tehran, Iran and the president of Iran English Language Teachers Association (IELTA). She is an approved Cambridge CELTA and Delta (M1&3) tutor. She holds an MA in TESOL and Applied Linguistics from University of Leicester and is a PhD candidate researching Educational Leadership. Her areas of interest include teacher training and development, management and leadership and she is running successful ELT Management courses at different centers.

Bruno Andrade

Bruno has been teaching English in Brazil for over 10 years with a very special dedication to teaching Young Learners. He is keen on the use of technology as a means for language learning whether it is through the use of Web 2.0 resources or online environments and, more recently, webinars. Bruno is one of the founders of what initially began as a Twitter hashtagged chat: #BRELTchat for Brazilian English Language Teachers. This Twitter chat has now migrated to a threaded discussion via Facebook once it was identified that this was a more suitable medium for the Brazilian community. One of the very first Facebook group pages for Brazilian Language teachers was also set up by Bruno and it has become a vibrant community of about 1300 teachers. Bruno’s blog: Education and Technology in Brazil Bruno on Twitter: @brunoELT

Cecilia Lemos

Cecilia has been an English teacher in her hometown of Recife in Brazil, since 1993. She is also a materials writer and teacher trainer. She is passionate about teaching for its power of transforming people and their future. She’s also an enthusiast about sharing and learning with other teachers around the world, especially through the use of social media. Her areas of interest in ELT are assessment, correction and the use of technology in ELT. She loves books, music and languages. Cecilia’s blog: Cecilia’s Box of Chocolates Cecilia on Twitter: @CeciELT Cecilia on Facebook: cecilemos

Cherry Mathew Philipose

Cecilia Lemos

Cherry is an English Teacher from India who is currently pursuing his PhD in English Language Education (ELE) at the English and Foreign Languages University (EFL-U), Hyderabad. He started teaching English full-time from 2005 onwards and has taught it in many parts of South India. He generally teaches general and test preparation English to adults. From 2009 to 2011 he was sent to Myanmar (Burma) on an Indian Government funded Indo-ASEAN Integration (IAI) project. As part of the project he helped to set up an English language teaching/training centre called Myanmar-India Centre for English Language Teaching (MICELT) at Yangon, conducted a variety of teacher training programmes for the Myanmar teachers of English and was actively involved in variety of continuing professional activities including that of ELTeCS, Myanmar. Back in India he works as a freelance teacher and is a Teaching Assistant at EFL-U, Hyderabad.

Chiew Pang

Chiew currently works for Aula10 Triana, a small new language school, and Atribord Associates, a company specialising in training business & professional people to communicate more efficiently in a language that is not their own. He’s based in The Canary Islands. The Internet has opened up a world of infinite possibilities, and this motivates him tremendously, instigating his continual search for new ways of bringing fun into education. He believes one learns more when one’s having fun! Chiew’s blogs: A cLiL to cliMB The Dogme Diaries iasku Highly Recommended ELT Blogs Post-CELTA Confessions Chiew on Twitter: @aClilToClimb Chiew on Facebook: acLiLtocLiMB

Chiyuki Yanase

Chiyuki is a private language school owner for young learners, ALT at a nursery school and a writer of TESOL materials. She has co-authored 2 textbooks. She is currently undertaking a distance learning Master’s course at Aston University, UK that specializes in Teaching English for Young Learners. Her interests vary from Yoga to collecting, writing, and sharing picture books with young learners.

Chris Mares

Chris is a teacher, teacher trainer, and materials writer. He is director of the Intensive English Institute at the University of Maine, and has coauthored several popular ELT course books.

Christina Markoulaki

Christina is an Athens university graduate and an EFL teacher in Maria Markaki Language School in Heraklion (Greece), where she was also born. She is fortunate enough to have been trusted with students of all ages and levels within her working years, their ages ranging from 5 to 50 years old! Using all types of modern technology along with traditional books to create new learning experiences is what fascinates her. In her free time, she relishes blogging and cycling, while she never fails to attend her favourite book club sessions. All links concerning the school she works in can be found on this colorful glog! Christina’s blog: Teaching and Learning English

Chrysa Papalazarou

Chrysa is a state school English teacher from Greece. She has previously worked in secondary education and as an adult educator with socially vulnerable groups. She is interested in the use of art in ELT as a means of developing students’ creative and critical thinking skills. Chrysa’s blog: Art Least

David Dodgson

David, originally from the UK, works for the British Council in Bahrain as an ICT coordinator. He has also worked in Turkey and Gabon, gaining experience with young learners, adults, ESP and EAL classes. He runs two blogs, Reflections of a Teacher and Learner, which is about his teaching and learning experiences, and ELT Sandbox, which focuses on using digital games as authentic materials for language learning.

Débora Tebovich

Débora Tebovich is a freelance EFL teacher based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She teaches one-to-one and face-to-face and also online. She has been teaching English for over 20 years. She has worked with kids, teenagers, young learners and adults both at private language schools and also in-company. Absolutely passionate about teaching and learning, she is enthusiastic about using technology to create memorable learning moments. Above all, Débora strongly believes in the power of education to transform people’s lives, and to help and encourage freedom of thought and develop bonds to make our world a better place for all of us and for future generations. Débora’s blog: Datenglish

Dina Dobrou

Dina is an EFL teacher and freelance translator from Athens, Greece and has been working for over 18 years in language institutes in Athens as a teacher and a Director of Studies. She currently works for Eurognosi, an educational organisation in Athens and spends her summers in the UK teaching multicultural classes both as a Senior Teacher for Cambridge Education Group summer schools and as an EAP part-time Lecturer at De Montfort University. She blogs at onair.edublogs.org. Dina’s blog: On Air

Divya Madhavan

Divya works in higher education and is interested in language, culture, education and society. She heads a training program for implementing English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) at Ecole Centrale Paris, so she works a lot with academics and in education management. She mentors the teaching assistants at Centrale as well. Divya also teaches courses at Ecole Polytechnique every autumn term on societal challenges. She would love to connect with colleagues from around the world. Divya’s blog: A little diary of language learningDivya on Twitter: @_divyamadhavan

Erika Osváth

Erika, MEd in Maths, DTEFLA, is a freelance teacher, teacher trainer, materials writer and co-author of the European Language Award-winning 6-week eLearning programme for language exam preparation. Before becoming a freelance trainer in 2009, she worked for International House schools for 16 years in Eastern and Central Europe, where she worked as a YL co-ordinator, trainer on CELTA, LCCI, 1-1, Business English, YL and VYL courses, and Director of Studies. She has extensive experience in teaching very young learners, young learners and teenagers. Her main interests lie in these areas as well as using technology in ELT. She regularly travels to different parts of Hungary to teach demonstration lessons with local children and do workshops for teachers, and this is something she particularly enjoys doing as it gives her the opportunity to delve into the human aspects of these experiences. Erika’s blog: For English Teachers – Angoltanároknak Erika on Twitter: @erikaosvath

Esra Girgin Gümüştekin

Esra holds a BA in English Language and Teaching. She has been teaching English to Young and Very Young Learners for 10 years. Currently, she is working fot Terakki Foundation Schools as an English teacher and she is the kindergarten coordinator and Interdepartmental Liaison. She is also a Cambridge ESOL Oral Examiner for Young Learners’ (Starters, Flyers, Movers) and KET, PET exams. She is a teacher trainer and a freelance speaker and has given several talks both at national and international conferences. Her motto in teaching is “If there’s fun, there’s hope for learning!” Esra’s blog: Esra’s Englishous Blog Esra on Twitter: @ekamin

Faten Romdhami

A passionate teacher who has been teaching English for more than 13 years. Faten taught high school students at public schools in Tunisia. She trained secondary teachers for one year. She is keen on exploring tech tools and connecting with teachers from everywhere. She has recently presented at TESOL Arabia and dreams of conducting sessions all over the world. Perseverance is her motto. To know more about her experiences, hopes and reflections visit her blog. Faten’s blog: Reflections, Hopes and Experiences of a Teacher

Hana Tichá

Hana is an EFL teacher with more than 20 years of experience with learners of all ages. She holds a BA degree in teaching English as a foreign language to young learners, and an MA degree in TESOL from Masaryk University in Brno, in the Czech Republic. She loves thought-provoking discussions on ELT topics, education and applied linguistics. Hana is passionate about social media and the plethora of possibilities they offer, and is constantly seeking opportunities to develop professionally, especially through blogging and connecting with her PLN.

Hengameh Ghandehari

Hengameh is Head of the English Department at Hermes Institute in Tehran, Iran. She has an MA in TEFL and holds the Cambridge CELTA. She has taught in both public and private sectors as both an EFL teacher and teacher trainer. She’s presented several papers on TEFL issues in national and international conferences. Her most recent paper “Using Dictogloss Task to Enhance EFL Learners’ Language Proficiency” was published in SSTESOL Journal in Fall 2013. Her research interests include testing and assessment, teacher training and education.

Henrick Oprea

Henrick is a freelance teacher and teacher educator in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. He believes that teachers have to be true educators to make change happen. He has been a working in ELT for 18 years and he has learned the power of sharing ideas for professional and personal growth. He certainly enjoys being with friends, and this is what he does when not teaching. Hennrick’s blog: Doing Some Thinking Henrick on Twitter: @hoprea

Ika Chieka Wibowo

Ika teaches a wide range of students from young learners to adults at New Concept English Education Centre in Depok, West Java. Ika opened her own English school in 2009, which now reaches more than 100 students each day. Ika believes that joining the iTDi community has made her a better teacher through online learning, sharing, and making connections with teachers from around the world. Ika loves being a teacher.

Irina Ostapchuk

Irina is a Ukrainian language teacher and journalist who holds an MA in teaching languages from Petro Mohyla Black Sea State University. Irina has worked as an English teacher at Kherson Humanitarian Institute , as a social journalist for New Slavs newspaper, and is now is teaching English and Bulgarian online.

Işıl Boy Ergül

Işıl is an EFL Instructor at Yildiz Technical University in Istanbul, Turkey. Having taken her BA in TEFL from Istanbul University, she started her Online Master’s Degree in Educational Technology and TESOL at the University Of Manchester. Having developed a heartfelt love for educational technology, she came to realise that in a highly tech-driven society, education and technology should go hand in hand. ICT in Education, Blended Learning and Second Life in Education are among her interests. She is also a twitter addict and keen on fashion.

James Taylor

Originally from Brighton, UK, James has taught English as a foreign language to adults and teenagers in Brazil, South Korea, Belgium and Costa Rica. He’s currently working for Cultura Inglesa in Brasília, Brazil.Jame s is a former President and a co-founder of BELTA, the Belgian English Language Teachers Association. He’s also a very active member of the online ELT community, and you can also find him moderating #ELTchat, a weekly discussion on Twitter with teachers from around the world, producing the TEFL Commute podcast, mentoring teachers for iTDi, blogging and presenting at conferences, online and offline.

Jeffrey Doonan

Jeffrey has been an active classroom teacher for more than 25 years. He has taught the English language in many aspects and he has also taught many of the Social Sciences as well. He currently lives and works in Turkey but has enjoyed living, working and learning all around the eastern Mediterranean area. He enjoys wandering with his camera, cooking and reading in his free time.

Jessica Brook

Having recently returned to Europe from a stint in Bogota Jessica is finding her feet in Barcelona, working at ESADE University with first and second year students, amongst other things. She has taught EFL off and on since 2005 in Japan, South Sudan, Colombia and the UK. She has an unhealthy obsession with how to approach listening, thrives on moody teenage and adult classrooms, and loves the creativity this job offers. She’s currently building on her training experience as a TYLEC tutor, TKT assessor, delivering freelance sessions, blogging and mentoring. Career highlights include surviving the DELTA, pulling off a Teen Poetry Slam, completing her first qualitative research trialing Lesson Study for a PGCert with Leicester University, and discovering she can learn a language herself with a bit of effort. Jessica’s blog: teflwaffle

Joanne Sato

Joanne Sato is a British woman who has been living and teaching in Japan for thirteen years. She has lived in Fukushima (yes, THAT Fukushima) city for the last ten of those and works at a women’s college. She has an MA in TEFL from the University of Birmingham, England. Joanne on Twitter: @sugarjo

Judy Wu

Judy is an English teacher from Taiwan. She’s been teaching English in Tawian for more than 12 years and has also taught the Chinese language in the UK. She currently lives and works in Taiwan. She is passionate about using technology in learning, storytelling, and intercultural communication education. She believes that the teacher is a facilitator and a coordinator — not the dispenser of knowledge. She is also a masseuse, an acupuncturist, a zumba teacher and a lover of salsa dancing.

Kevin Stein

Kevin is an English teacher working at a small private high school in Osaka, Japan. He’s been working as an English teacher for 14 years, all of them in Japan. He’s worked with students at the kindergarten, junior high school, high school, and university level in both private and classroom settings. So he has a little bit of experience working with all kinds of students. His area of special interest is stories/literature in the classroom. He thinks it is important to give his students interesting and moving stories to help transport them out of the classroom and explore language in fresh and natural ways. He blogs regularly about what’s happening in his classroom or what he’s reading and sharing with other teachers. Kevin’s blog: The Other Things Matter. Kevin on Twitter: @kevchanwow

Kieran Dhunna Halliwell

Kieran is an educator from England, currently working with year six students (10-11 years old). She is passionate about child-led learning, the benefits of play and critical thinking skills.

Laura Adele Soracco

Laura currently teaches English composition to first year students in Seattle. She got her MA in TESOL at the New School in NYC, and has taught in Turkey, China, Italy, and Colombia. She is interested in project-based learning and the use of digital technologies in ELT. In her free time, Laura loves to take photos using different analogue cameras and film. Learning, sharing with other teachers, and questioning everything gives her energy to teach every day. Laura’s blog: TESOL Thoughts Laura on Twitter: @LauraSoracco

Malu Sciamarelli

Malu has been working in Brazil for 20 years as an English teacher, materials designer, translator and consultant for publishers. She has taught in schools, language institutes and in companies, where she has developed a new concept of ELT in the workplace. She’s passionate about teaching. She believes teachers can affect how students perceive the world around them; they can ignite a spark of curiosity and help them develop their own creativity; they can help them overcome fears, express themselves, initiate ideas, plans, actions and a desire for lifelong learning. She’s also an enthusiastic runner and she loves dogs.

Marc Jones

Marc was born and raised in and around Sunderland, England. He has worked in call centres, a library, then a Hawaiian bar in the Tokyo suburbs but finally settled on working in schools, colleges and businesses. He tweets at @getgreatenglish. Marc on Twitter: @getgreatenglish.

Márcia Lima

Márcia has been involved in TEFL for over 25 years and currently teaches and trains teachers at her own language school, B. A. English School, in Brazil. Her passions include teaching (very) young learners and using technology in the classroom.

Marco A. Brazil

Marco holds a Master’s degree in Child Psychology and a degree in Development Communication. He has been teaching children and training teachers in Japan for over 16 years. He believes learning and teaching English should be fun and easy for both non-native learners and non-native teachers. Theater is a passion and directing plays is what turns him on. Marco, his wife, his daughter, and his pet dog, Pippin, live in Tsukuba City, Japan.

Mari Yamauchi

Mari teaches in Chiba University of Commerce. She has long been fascinated by how language works and curious about how languages are learned. She is exploring ways to help students to find it fun to learn an additional language by actually using it for communication and collaboration, and particularly interested in integrating technology to expand their learning opportunities. Mari’s blog: Teaching and Learning Languages

Maria Bossa

Maria is an EFL teacher from Rio Tercero, Argentina. She has been teaching for almost 25 years now. She has taught at all levels, including in-company teaching. Maria is an International Exchange Alumni for the US Embassy in Argentina, an Ambassador for the Simple K12 Teachers Community, a co-moderator for EVO, TESOL since 2011 and a proud member of Rotary International. Her main interests are online teaching and learning plus exploring and using web 2.0 tools in the classroom.

Marisa Pavan

Marisa has been teaching ESL/EFL in a variety of contexts for over 20 years. She’s a Spanish/English, English/Spanish translator, article writer and an interpreter. She also works as an assistant of an educational consultancy firm taking Argentinean students to London on cultural trips. She is a life-long learner who’s passionate about sharing with educators from all over the world. She favours motivation and creativity in the classroom as a way to help her students to become autonomous learners. Marisa on Twitter: <"http://twitter.com/Mtranslator">@Mtranslator Marisa on Facebook: <"http://www.facebook.com/marisa.pavan.58">Marisa Pavan Marisa on LinkedIn: <"http://www.linkedin.com/in/marisapavan">Marisa Pavan

Martha Mendoza

Martha is a Peruvian teacher at Asociación Cultural Peruano Británica in Lima. She has been an English teacher in her hometown since 1985 and she loves it! She holds the COTE and CPE. She teaches teenagers and adults and she has also had the opportunity to be a teacher trainer. She feels every day can be a new beginning and it’s up to us to bring the best out of our students!

Maryam Fazeli

Maryam is an MA student of TEFL at Guilan University in Iran. She’s an English teacher and lives in Rasht, Iran. She’s currently conducting research on Demotivation and teaches English in language institutes. She’s passionate about helping others and psycholinguistic issues. She’s a music lover and an avid gardener. She believes that a successful teacher primarily should be a motivated motivator of students to desire learning. Furthermore, she agrees with this statement that a person who dares to teach must never cease to learn.

Matt Shannon

Matt Shannon is an educator, cultivator and curriculum developer who works with elementary and junior high school students in Saitama, Japan. His goal is to provide real-world opportunities for EFL learners, specifically in the areas of debate, journalism, and science. Some of his students will have an experiment launched into space soon. He enjoys cooking, gardening, and the life sciences. He likes to build things.

Matthew Noble

Matthew found a calling in ELT as a volunteer instructor at a Buddhist monastery in Sri Lanka in 2004. Since then, he has taught English in many different contexts in the US and abroad. He loves reading teachers’ blogs and participating in online teacher development events. He currently helps train teachers on an initial certification course in Tacoma, WA. He’s most easily found on twitter at @tesolmatthew.

Matthew Turner

Matthew is an English teacher working at a private university in Tokyo, Japan. He’s been working as an English teacher for 8 years. His areas of special interest include form-focused instruction, task-based learning, oral fluency development, and reflective practice. Matthew is also currently taking on a new challenge of incorporating a deaf learner into his English discussion class. In his spare time, Matthew enjoys cycling, drinking craft beer, and attending live music shows. Matthew is also a host and co-founder of The TEFLology Podcast: A podcast for people interested in teaching English as foreign language and related matters. Matthew on Twitter: @TEFLology

Michael Griffin

Mike has been teaching for more than 16 years. His current “day job” is teaching graduate students at Chung-Ang University in Seoul, South Korea. He also does teacher-training and trainer-training both on and offline. Though Mike prefers low tech and materials-light approaches in his day-to-day teaching he is a believer in teacher development online. Mike spends quite a lot of time on the internet and is actively involved in #KELTchat. Mike’s blog: ELT Rants, Reviews, and Reflections

Miguel Mendoza

Miguel is a Venezuelan ESP teacher in the school of librarianship at Universidad Central de Venezuela. He holds a Master’s degree in English as a foreign language. He’s an ICT consultant and e-moderator for the British Council in Venezuela. He’s a founder member and current Vice-president of AVEALMEC (a Venezuela CALL Association). He’s also an IATEFL and Webheads in Action member. Miguel Mendoza is interested in extensive reading, ICT integration in ELT and functional diversity. Miguel’s blog: eFL Miguel on Twitter: @mike08

Naoko Amano

Naoko is a private language school owner. Her school, Yellow Banana Academy is in Osaka Japan. She has been teaching English to young learners for over eight years. She is an active member of the Japanese Association of Language Teachers. She loves to use English to help students step into the larger world. When she is not teaching English, she is singing songs with her family and enjoying Japanese festivals.

Naomi Epstein

For more than twenty-five years Naomi has specialized in teaching English as a foreign language to deaf and hard of hearing pupils in Israel. She began her career as an elementary school teacher but has taught high-school for the last 21 years. She has a B.A. in Deaf Education, a B.E.D. in EFL and an M.A. in Curriculum Development. She’s the author of two textbooks for these pupils. She is both a teacher and a teachers’ counselor. As a firm believer in the quote: “Be the change you want to see in the world” (Gandhi) Naomi has found that sharing with others, networking and reading have helped her keep her enthusiasm for teaching burning bright. She has recently discovered the joys of audiobooks – she now read books AND listen to them while doing housework! Naomi’s blog: Visualizing Ideas

Nina Septina

Nina Septina feels very lucky to be able to teach a wide range of levels from young learners to adults at a private language school in Indonesia. Teacher Development is one of her main professional interests and she believes in the power of connection building and collaboration as they allow the opportunities to make the most out of one’s individual ability to evolve and make positive changes happen. One of her main concerns in teaching is to foster a passion for learning by incorporating the use of technology and music in and outside the classroom to help students achieve their learning goals. Nina on Facebook: nina.septina

Nour Alkhalidy

Nour is a Jordanian computer teacher, has studied CIS & ICT in education, is passionate about new technologies in the classroom, believes that the 21C learning & teaching must take place in every classroom, to finally prepare our digital natives children to live, learn and work in this rapid race of digital communities. She wants every kid to have a better education & life, by spreading knowledge to educators all over the world.

Özge Karaoğlu Ergen

Özge is an EFL teacher and a freelance teacher trainer in teaching young/very young learners and teaching with web based technologies in Istanbul, Turkey. She’s passionate about facilitating collaboration, innovation and connecting to others. She strongly believes the uniqueness of each individual child, the importance of nurturing children’s creativity and encouraging them to make connections with the world around them. Recently, she has been working on global online projects with her students and she enjoys working with them a lot.

Pravita Indriati

Pravita taught preschool for 7 years, but now works at a school where she teaches English to all levels from children to adults, including General English and Business English. She is also responsible for training new teachers. Pravita loves teaching because it is the job where she doesn’t ever stop learning, She learns, from students, from books, from the Internet and from her Personal Learning Network. She loves making new friends, learning, sharing, presenting and attending international conferences for teachers. Pravita is interested in learning more about ICT, using social medias and technology in education and also, neuroscience. She also enjoys traveling, karaoke, writing and baking. Pravita’s blog: Me, My Journey, My Life Pravita on Facebook: pravita.indriati

Priscila Mateini

Priscila has been an English teacher for over 6 years in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She holds a BA in Classical Languages and English Language and is post-graduated in Linguistic Studies (Spain). She is currently an English mediator and MA researcher on Inclusive Education focus on adapted materials for SEN.

Ratnavathy Ragunathan

Ratnavathy (or Ratna for short) is a freelance teacher from Malaysia, currently teaching both ESP and General English at a private university. She considers herself truly fortunate for getting the opportunity to work with young learners, teenagers, young adults and adults of varying proficiency levels from different parts of the world. She’s been teaching for the past 7 years, including an 8 month stint in South Korea. She’s also conducted several teacher training workshops, both online and offline. Ratna believes that teaching and learning is a journey where the teacher and learner walks hand in hand. She loves designing lessons that promotes creative and critical thinking, collaborative learning and learner autonomy. She strives to continuously develop as a teacher by growing together with like-minded passionate educators from around the globe. Ratna’s blog: Ratna’s ELT Journey Ratna on Twitter: @ratnavathy

Rose Bard

Rose has been teaching English in private language schools since 1998. A passion for teaching and learning led her to pursue a degree in Early Childhood and Elementary education. I’m currently applying for an M.A in ICT in Education, taking a B.A in Computer Science for Education and a Specialization in Instructional Design. She loves learning from and with other teachers. She’s also interested in Digital learning and teaching, Game-based learning, Instructional and Game design. I’m proudly a gamer and a Minecraft-teacher. I love working with kids, teens and young adults because they are open and we learn so much from each other which leads nicely to a dialogic pedagogy. Rose’s blog: Rose Bard — Teaching Journal Rose on Twitter: @rosemerebard Rose on Facebook: rose.bard

Roseli Serra

Roseli is and educator from Recife, Brazil, where she lives and works. She has worked in the field of ELT (EFL and ESL) for over 30 years now. She has earned degrees in Psychology and in Arts and Humanities, majoring in English, Portuguese and Literature in English and Portuguese. She is post graduate in Applied Linguistics for ELT and is studying long-distance for her Master of Arts. Roseli is an ELT consultant, E-Moderator, teacher, teacher trainer, mentor, Cambridge examiner and materials writer. Roseli believes that professional development is a continuous and endless process, and is an active presenter and participant at conferences, workshops, and online. She loves learning and sharing knowledge with teachers around the world. Roseli’s Blog: SerraRoseli Roseli on Twitter: roseliserra

Ruthie Iida

Ruthie Iida, originally from the US, owns and runs a private English language school in Japan. She loves both the experience of learning and the process of studying, and does her best to spark the same passion in her students. Teaching children also enables her to play with Mr. Potato Head, sing at work, and get paid for coloring with magic markers. In her free time she exchanges stories with her daughter, a newbie language teacher in Mexico. Ruthie is glad she charged ahead and got her Master’s in TESOL and happy to be published in the iTDi blog.

Sevim Açıkgöz

Sevim Açıkgöz teaches in the English Language Teaching Department at İstanbul Bilgi University, in Istanbul, Turkey. She is the organizer of The Third International ELT Students Conference and Istanbul Bilgi University ELT Students Conference. She has given workshops at international and national conferences, and is interested in Learning Technologies. She blogs to reflect about teaching and to broaden her personal learning network. Sevim’s blog: Reflections from an ELT Student

Sirja Bessero

Sirja started teaching back in the 1990s when still at University in Estonia. Since then she has taught English to all age groups in various settings using different methods. She is currently working in an art school teaching English to future graphic designers. Three years ago she had the opportunity to work as a teacher trainer, an experience which proved to be a real eye-opener and helped her grow as a teacher.

Stewart Gray

Stewart is an English teacher who has been working with students of all ages in South Korea since 2011. He is the current facilitator for the Seoul KOTESOL Reflective Practice SIG. He is working on a PhD with Leeds University, and his research interests are language and identity, reflective practice, critical thinking, and critical pedagogies. When free to choose, Stewart prefers to design his teaching around friendly conversation, role plays, critical discussion, and reading for pleasure.

Svetlana Lupasco

Svetlana is an Adult ESL and Literacy practitioner committed to a culture of community development, peer support and collaboration. She enjoys being a connected educator actively involved in teacher training by mentoring TESL students, volunteers and interns, blogging and tweeting to promote best practices in language teaching. She co-moderates #LINCchat, a Twitter chat for LINC instructors and administrators, and invites all those passionate about teaching English to join the conversation. Svetlana’s blog: Teach2LearnESL Svetlana on Twitter: @StanzaSL

Syke A.K.

Syke A.K. holds a Bachelors of Education as well as a Masters in English, and has been teaching English for the past 12 years in high schools and universities in his home state in India. He is a presenter, materials writer and a coordinator/host of webinars and virtual conferences. Syke has presented papers at many national and international conferences. Syke on Facebook: sykeak Syke on Twitter: @sykeak

Sylvia Guinan

Sylvia is an online English teacher, writer and blogger who facilitates professional development online. She uses brain-friendly techniques to help students and teachers around the world. She designs educational materials, develops courses, and publishes ebooks. Her work is the result of much research into the psychology of learning, as well as hands-on experience with multi-media technology.

Tamas Lorincz

Tamas is an English teacher with over 20 years of experience as a classroom teacher. He has also worked in the coursebook publishing industry as marketing executive and teacher trainer. Tamas is passionate about learning communities, mentoring and using technology in teaching and teacher development. He is most interested in the process of building and expanding and nurturing professional relationships. Currently he is a full-time father with two beautiful daughters and pursues his professional interests when his “bosses” are asleep. Tamas’ blog: A Journey Into Teaching

Theodora Papapanagiotou

Theodora is a teacher of EFL and DaF (German as a foreign language) in Greece since 1992. She has worked in various language schools in her hometown, Thessaloniki and with various levels and ages. Currently working as an educational consultant, content developer and teacher trainer in Greece and Cyprus. Theodora’s blog: Keep On Teaching Theodora on Twitter: @dorapap

Tim Thompson

Tim taught in Korean universities for 15 years before leaving to start Archer English Consulting in February 2016. In addition to helping his clients, Tim is currently working on a book project consisting of a collection of stories showing the importance of networking for boosting career opportunities. His professional website and infrequently updated blog can be found at timthompsonkorea.com.

Tülay Önder

Tülay is a teacher in a primary school in the capital city of Turkey, Ankara .She’s been working as a teacher for more than 15 years. In her opinion, working with children has created a child inside her, and she loves the inner child within her. She teaches English to children who are between 10-13 years old. She’s interested in Projects and Students’ Exchanges, and has been doing projects for four years. She also travels to other countries with her students and believes that it is really a good chance for them to share cultures, learn traditions, get more self-confidence and improve their English. During these visits they are hosted by foreign families. When they return to Turkey after these visits, they feel that they have gained much and it makes her extremely satisfied with the work that she does. She loves learning when she teaches. In her opinion, teaching also means exchanging knowledge and she believes that she’d never stop doing it. Tülay on Twitter: @tulaying

Vicky Loras

Vicky Loras is an English teacher, born and raised in the beautiful city of Toronto, Canada. She has been teaching English as a foreign language and literature to students of all ages, since 1997. She now lives in Switzerland and is the co-founder and owner of The Loras English Network, a school she owns with her sister Eugenia. They teach English to students of all ages and levels, train teachers and also hold children’s events. In 2014, she was named as one of the 42 Leading Women in Education Worldwide, by the University of Southern California. Vicky’s blog: Vicky Loras’ Blog Vicky on Twitter: @vickyloras

Victor Hugo Rojas B.

Victor Hugo is associate professor of Didactics of TEFL in the Department of Foreign Languages at UNE-EGV. Likewise, he is assistant professor of EFL and FLE in the Department of Linguistics at UNMSM in Lima, Peru. He is a teacher trainer and educator with more than 30 years of experience. He is passionate about language teacher training and development, and learning technologies. He believes, fervently so, that teachers must be trained through teaching practice, facing challenges, and creating new methodologies. He is the founder of PETsNet. Victor Hugo’s blog: Issues Concerning Language Education Victor Hugo on Twitter: @victorhugo Victor Hugo’s website: Peruvian English Teachers Network

Victoria Ostankova

Victoria teaches English at the Educational Centre for Gifted and Talented Children. She is an alumna of the programs as E-Teacher Scholarship and Access Scholarship Program run by the Department of State, USA. She is also a teacher trainer on behalf of the British Council in the Kamchatka region. She believes that a teacher plays an important role in students’ lives. Every child has an inborn potential and it is up to a teacher to recognize it and make it grow or develop further. In addition, teachers themselves should master and prefect their professional skills every day, that is, attending conferences, workshops, keeping diaries or blogs, writing articles and sharing classroom experience, etc. The more we learn, the more we enrich not just our own lives but also the lives of our students.

Vladimira Chalyova Lamyman

Vladimira teaches English as a foreign language at State Language School in Slovakia. She teaches general and business English to adults and teenagers. She is interested in student-centered approaches, developing learners’ autonomy and believes that a teacher shouldn’t be a slave of course books and that inspiration, motivation, purpose and meaning are essential in learning. She brings colours, crayons and surpr@ise (surprise + praise) to her classroom and just recently also on the canvas. Vladimira’s Blog

Wawan Setiawan

Besides being a teacher, Wawan has been functioning for over 13 years as a mentor and coach at one of the biggest English courses in Indonesia. Amidst his job at the institution, he also has started his own Life Skills Coach Center in the city where he lives, Bandung, West Java Indonesia. His career has taught him that teaching is a profession that enables someone to evolve and transfer his teaching skills to another area that needs a special touch that only a teacher can do. He also believes that a teacher owes much to on-going teaching reflection processes for his or her development to take place. His fashion in approaching his function as a coach and a mentor is very much practical rather than academic.

Yitzha Sarwono-Bryant

Yitzha (Icha) teaches in the Kidea Preschool and Kindergarten in Jakarta, Indonesia and loves every minute of being in her Kindergarten class. She’s passionate about English. She believes in collaboration, expanding her knowledge and building connections between teachers and encouraging their further progress. She is convinced that education is possible in many ways. She loves evolving and re-inventing herself by broadening her teaching subjects from early learners to adults. She knows one is never too young or too old to learn, and that children are entitled to a good education. And that is why a passionate teacher can make a difference. Icha’s blog: Icha Sarwono.

Zhenya Polosatova

Zhenya is a teacher, teacher trainer and professional development coach. She is based in Ukraine and works with teachers and trainers internationally. Likes exploring how reflective practices and experiential learning, combined with positive regard and critical thinking, transform teaching and learning. Zhenya’s blog: Wednesday Seminars Zhenya on Twitter: @ZhenyaDnipro