Category Archives: TEFL Tradesman

Interview- TEFL Hero Jon Marks on the life of a full-time TEFL writer

Posted on 31/12/2009 by alexcase

It’s been a while since I’ve used the TEFL hero category, and I’ve even stripped some people of the honour (and Sandy MacManus has been pretty close a couple of times), but I’m glad I kept it going because Jon Marks deserves it for … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge Young Learner Exams, Delta Publishing, EFL exams, ELT publishing, English Teaching Professional, General English textbooks, getting into ELT publishing, Getting published, Grammar games, IELTS, links, Photocopiable worksheets, PPP (Presentation practice production), Teaching English in Korea, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL games, TEFL heroes- Jon Marks, TEFL pay, TEFL Tradesman, textbooks, Writing ELT textbooks and materials | Tagged | 2 Comments

The most TEFLtastic attempts at humour in 2009

Posted on 29/12/2009 by alexcase

Wasn’t a great year for humour on TEFLtastic (must be taking my job seriously in my old age?!), but I did manage my most successful spoof yet, if not quite up to the standard of UN to Ban Unnecessary Languages: Don’t Do the … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative teaching techniques, Dogme, links, notes from the TEFL graveyard, Teaching English in Spain, Teaching methods and methodologies, TEFL, TEFL blogs, TEFL in the UK, TEFL interview questions, TEFL Tradesman, The Silent Way | Tagged | 5 Comments

New TEFL articles etc October 2009

Posted on 20/10/2009 by alexcase

Chuseok holiday came just at the right point for me, so for once you can actually read my articles in the month which they are supposed to be for: Natural Interactions (in HLT magazine for the first time in many … Continue reading →

Posted in EFL CD ROMs, ELT World, Grammar games, HLT magazine, Present Perfect Continuous, Specific English, Teaching English in Turkey, TEFL, TEFL blogs, TEFL games, TEFL Tradesman | 9 Comments

Breasts in ELT

Posted on 21/09/2009 by alexcase

And you thought Sexy ELT was an attention grabbing blog post title! This post was prompted by the infamous Bosomgate incident and agreeing to censor the word “tits” in my contribution to the Birds in ELT series on Kalinago English. … Continue reading →

Posted in links, TEFL blogs, TEFL heroes- John and Liz Soars, TEFL Tradesman | 12 Comments

Has the TEFL blogging zeitgeist changed?

Posted on 10/08/2009 by alexcase

Posting those hilarious highlights from English Teacher X and contrasting When I Am a TEFL Billionaire Part One and Part Two has made me wonder whether something fundamental has changed in the last 562* blogging years that TEFLtastic has been … Continue reading →

Posted in Englishteacherx, Insights into TEFL, notes from the TEFL graveyard, teacher in development, TEFL, TEFL blacklist, TEFL Tradesman, TEFLlogue | Tagged | 5 Comments

How much are you like your house party self online?

Posted on 03/08/2009 by alexcase

Karenne’s comment that I was missing out on the Twitter party and my reply that I had never been any good at house parties has got me wondering whether the metaphor can be taken any further (because you can never … Continue reading →

Posted in TEFL, TEFL Tradesman | 6 Comments

How to choose a good summer school

Posted on 19/06/2009 by alexcase

If teaching is more important than saving money or accommodation being included, the first thing to do when choosing a summer school is to avoid actual summer schools altogether. If I was in the same position of looking for a … Continue reading →

Posted in British Council accreditation, EF, EL Gazette, finding good TEFL jobs, first TEFL job, links, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching English in Europe, Teaching English in Turkey, TEFL, TEFL blacklist, TEFL blogs, TEFL career planning, TEFL chains, TEFL in the UK, TEFL Tradesman, TEFL working conditions, UK summer schools | 5 Comments

Two new ways of blacklisting schools

Posted on 09/03/2009 by alexcase

As I’ve worked for the school in these two links I can tell you that the changes in technology certainly haven’t improved on the usual TEFL blacklisting accuracy (although they can’t be much worse than Sandy’s recent accusations of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Eikaiwa, Let's Japan, links, Shane Language Schools, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching English in Japan, TEFL, TEFL blacklist, TEFL chains, TEFL Tradesman | Tagged | 6 Comments

7 things you probably didn’t know about me

Posted on 01/02/2009 by alexcase

1. Dave Sperling still owes me ten Euros he borrowed off me at the TESOL Spain conference 2. The EF school in Eastbourne had the alternative word for the “F” part of its sign that me and my friends graffitied … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge Delta, EF, EFL geek, IATEFL, Teacher forums, TEFL blogs, TEFL chains, TEFL heroes- Jeremy Harmer, TEFL heroes- Michael Swan, TEFL heroes- Sandy McManus, TEFL heroes- Scott Thornbury, TEFL Tradesman, TEFL villains- Jennifer Jenkins | Tagged | 23 Comments

Bruce Veldhuisen interview Part Three- TEFL and TI update

Posted on 17/11/2008 by alexcase

Hi Bruce, welcome back to TEFLtastic. It’s a shame we never get anyone from TEFL International contributing to TEFL.net when it isn’t connected to teacher training. Let me know if any of your trainers are interested in writing book reviews … Continue reading →

Posted in Bruce Veldhuisen, Dodgy TEFL courses, Dodgy TEFL school owners, links, Teacher forums, Teacher training, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching English in Asia, Teaching English in Thailand, TEFL, TEFL blacklist, TEFL blogs, TEFL certificate, TEFL heroes- Sandy McManus, TEFL International, TEFL qualifications, TEFL scams, TEFL Tradesman, TEFLtrade, TEFLwatch | Tagged | 50 Comments