Skilling up for Management

Continued professional development (CPD) in ELT benefits the individual and the institution. Successful ELT management entails proficiency in ascertaining and delivering client and staff needs and managing time, finance, resources and quality control in order do so. This career progression may require upskilling in these areas and will form part of an individual’s negotiated and agreed CPD plan...

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From free-spirited Teacher to Academic Management - Stepping up your career in TEFL

With the end of summer (in the northern hemisphere), many TEFL teachers are planning their next career move. Sarah Taylor reflects on the fulfilling journey her TEFL career has taken her - from a volunteer placement in rural Nepal to teaching in Italy and eventually earning a management position at a prestigious school in the UK. 

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Working as a Summer School Director of Studies

I’d already been an English teacher in Poland and China for some time when I decided to try my luck teaching English in the UK at summer camps. I got the job and I spent my first summer in the UK teaching. Having enjoyed it, I applied for a teaching job the following year with a different company. But when I went to a summer English camp the second time I thought that it might actually be my last as an...

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Summer School: Teaching between the Lines

Like so many TEFL teachers that ply their trade in Summer Academies, you tend to have many memorable and defining experiences, some good and some less favorable. The following article is based on the summers I spent at a UK based Summer School. It was based at a boarding school located in the south east of England for students aged 11-18 and was used by Summer Academies during...

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Midsummer Madness - The realities of working at Summer Camp

If I had to choose one word to describe working in a summer camp, it would have to be INTENSE. Don’t get me wrong, my experiences at summer camp have always been overwhelmingly positive, but certainly not easy or relaxing compared to teaching year-round. I worked for 3 consecutive summers at a camp based in Edinburgh, Scotland and one year in Castellon, Spain. In both cases the camps were based at large residential schools, outside of the city and I found the day-to-day structure to be pretty similar. The only notable difference being that...

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