Category Archives: Teacher forums

Another TEFL conspiracy theory proved

When people claim that there is a direct link between advertising and censorship on Rave Spelling’s ESL Au Lait, I’d always assumed that they were exaggerating and things were at least a little more subtle than that. Apparently not: “I … Continue reading

Posted in Teacher forums, TEFL certificate | 6 Comments

Why you don’t know where I work

…unless you (like Jason Renshaw and possibly Darrrren Ellllliotttt) have worked it out from the clues, in which case I would very much appreciate you not making guesses online. The reason for that radio silence and having to ask ELTJ … Continue reading

Posted in Dave Sperling's ESL Cafe, Teacher forums, TEFL blogs, TEFL celebs/ TEFL heroes and villains, TEFL villains- Paul Lowe | 7 Comments

An apology

to the three TEFL related communities/ social networking sites that I’m theoretically a member of but never even read let alone contribute to (My English Club, BELT Free and EFL Classroom 2.0), plus the many people whose invitations to join LinkedIn or … Continue reading

Posted in ELT publishing, English Teaching Professional, links, modern english teacher magazine, Teacher forums, Teaching English in Korea, TEFL blogs, Usingenglish | 7 Comments

An interview with Bruce V of TEFL International Part 5

This is pretty old now as it was part of the same interview that eventually became Parts One, Two, Three and Four. Unlike them, I couldn’t be bothered updating or sending the third set of follow up questions this time, … Continue reading

Posted in Bruce Veldhuisen, Cambridge ESOL, CELTA, Dave Sperling's ESL Cafe, Dodgy TEFL courses, Dodgy TEFL school owners, Teacher forums, Teacher training, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching English in Thailand, TEFL, TEFL celebs/ TEFL heroes and villains, TEFL certificate, TEFL chains, TEFL forums, TEFL International, TEFL qualifications, TEFL scams, TEFL School Reviews, TEFLwatch, Trinity, Trinity CertTESOL | Tagged | 9 Comments

It’s all down to us, guys

If I heard correctly, last week’s edition of Law in Action included the statistic that 43 of 44 police authorities in the UK do not investigate or prosecute fraud. There are other bodies that do, but they focus very much … Continue reading

Posted in Dave Sperling's ESL Cafe, EL Gazette, Guardian TEFL, links, Teacher forums, Teaching English Abroad, TEFL, TEFL blacklist, TEFL blogs, TEFL in the UK, TEFL scams, TEFL School Reviews, Windsor Schools | 2 Comments

7 things you probably didn’t know about me

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

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

The greatest TEFL soap opera?

Candidate number one Involves me, and Paul Lowe’s threats to sue me for never mentioning him on my blog (!?) or something, still can’t quite work it out. “Bizarro!” as TESall.com put it. I thought, what the hell if I’m going … Continue reading

Posted in Bruce Veldhuisen, Dodgy TEFL courses, Dodgy TEFL school owners, ELT World, Grammar games, IATQUO, links, Teacher forums, Teaching English in Thailand, TEFL blogs, TEFL celebs/ TEFL heroes and villains, TEFL certificate, TEFL heroes- Sandy McManus, TEFL in the UK, TEFL International, TEFL qualifications, TEFL scams, TEFL School Reviews, TEFL villains- Paul Lowe, TEFLtrade, TEFLwatch, Usingenglish, Windsor TEFL | Tagged | 8 Comments

The TEFL blogs/ TEFL schools culture clash

As is my role as the navelgazer of TEFL, having had to take a close look at the battleground that is the teflnet recently has made me wonder whether something deeper is going on. Do I hear “class war” as … Continue reading

Posted in Bruce Veldhuisen, Teacher forums, TEFL blogs, TEFL celebs/ TEFL heroes and villains, TEFL heroes- Sandy McManus, TEFL International, TEFL Tradesman | 10 Comments

An interview with Bruce Veldhuisen of TEFL International

This interview was conducted by email over the last week or so, with me submitting the main outline and then asking a few follow up questions when the main answers came back. My questions are in bold, and the follow up questions … Continue reading

Posted in Bruce Veldhuisen, Cambridge ESOL, CELTA, Online TEFL certificate, Teacher forums, Teacher training, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching English in Thailand, TEFL blogs, TEFL certificate, TEFL chains, TEFL International, TEFL qualifications, TEFLwatch, Trinity | Tagged | 42 Comments