I chose to do the Trinity CertTESOL in 2008 for a very dull reason, really. I was in the area and the school I’d been working at for a year recommended Active Language in Cádiz. I couldn’t have been luckier. More than 11 years later in this industry, I’m convinced it was the best choice I ever made. The team at Active are extremely professional and at the same time approachable and really up to date with all things TEFL.
For me, the highlights were:
- the valuable feedback I got after each of my teaching practice sessions
- the 3-day additional course for ‘Teaching Young Learners’ which was a huge help as I taught mainly children
- the ‘Unknown Language Journal’ module, where we learnt some Welsh with Ceri. Extremely fun and insightful!
So, 11 years on, I’ve moved from teaching full time to freelancing full time as an ELT materials editor and author. I’m based in Greece from where I collaborate with the ‘big names’ in the ELT publishing industry: CUP, OUP, Macmillan, Pearson and Cengage/National Geographic Learning among others. My training with Active and my subsequent teaching experience helped me gain the knowledge and skills necessary to write and publish content.
I also completed my DipTESOL in 2018 and I try to attend IATEFL in the UK every year so I can keep up-to-date with the new trends. In the near future, I’d like to carry on working as an ELT editor/author and go back in the classroom for a couple of hours a week. I miss the contact with students. I’d also like to look into doing a postgraduate degree in linguistics, but a bit later on as the DipTESOL was quite demanding.
