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

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

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

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

The TEFLtastic Blacklist of Shame Guardian Watch 3

You can’t do much reading about TEFL on the Net without coming across stories of dodgy geezers and their nasty little business schemes, and then you can’t read much more without coming across the nasty little TEFL teachers with their … Continue reading →

Posted in Bruce Veldhuisen, Dodgy TEFL courses, Dodgy TEFL school owners, Teacher forums, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching English in Asia, Teaching English in India, Teaching English in Japan, Teaching English in Thailand, TEFL, TEFL certificate, TEFL International, TEFL scams, TEFL villains- Paul Lowe, Windsor Schools, Windsor TEFL | 14 Comments

The disadvantages of teaching in Japan

“My first two years in Japan were spent teaching English… The students… studied English- or should I say, English was taught in their presence. Nothing ever seemed to sink in. Years of classes and endless tests and still they couldn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in becoming a teacher trainer, British Council, Business English and ESP, Cambridge Delta, CELTA, Cultural differences/ cultural training, Dave Sperling's ESL Cafe, Eikaiwa, English Teachers in Japan, Functional language, JALT, Materials, Mixed ability classes, Pairwork and groupwork, Problem students, Teacher forums, Teaching English in Japan, Teaching low levels, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL working conditions, TOEIC | 22 Comments

TEFL Insider Part Six- Nova and the CELTA

To prove that I am capable of not only the idle speculation of the average post on this blog (but then, isn’t that what a blog is for?) but also of getting down and dirty in the trenches of TEFL, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge ESOL, CELTA, links, Nova, Teacher forums, Teacher training, Teaching English in Japan, TEFL, TEFL certificate, TEFL scams, TESOL | 1 Comment

MA= My A*se! Super CELTA is it, man!

Hope that headline got your attention, but actually I have nothing to say about the MA today at all… Right, now to talk about the CELTA. I have decided to trust a whole lot of people I have never met … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge Delta, Cambridge ESOL, CELTA, Dave Sperling's ESL Cafe, Linguistics, applied linguistics and SLA, MA TESOL, PGCE in TEFL, Teacher forums, Teacher training, TEFL, TEFL qualifications | Leave a comment