Meet Our Trainers
Join a global community of over 200,000 TEFL teachers working throughout the world! Enrol me!

Linda Herbert
Academic Manager
"Linda loves the challenge of helping students understand and use English in a variety of contexts."
Linda started teaching English for Academic Purposes in 1992. In 1993, she started teaching Business English courses to EFL and ESL learners. She has also taught EFL learners at several universities in South Africa, USA and Canada. She loves the challenge of helping students understand and use English in a variety of contexts; and finds it very rewarding to see new teachers develop a passion for their job.
Linda loves travelling, and has visited Europe, the Middle East, Canada, the United States of America and the United Kingdom. When not teaching or travelling, Linda loves helping animal rescue organisations, and has a passion for Zumba dancing.

Luan Midgely
Senior TEFL Trainer
"I believe that the best way to effectively train aspiring teachers is to be myself, immersed in the environment."
She has worked in the publishing industry as a researcher and writer but her love for the English language has ultimately led her into the classroom. After gaining experience at the top language schools in Cape Town, she went on to become the Head Teacher of a well-known English institution. This is where she discovered and practised her passion for teacher training. She now runs the TEFL courses for The TEFL Academy in Cape Town and continues to teach second language learners – both in the classroom and online. She believes that the best way to effectively train aspiring teachers is to be herself immersed in the environment – giving them first-hand insight into the ESL classroom.
When she isn’t teaching, she reads, writes and spends time with her family and friends.

Judy Alden
Senior TEFL Trainer
"I have a keen interest in supporting both new and experienced teachers."
Judy Alden has taught English as a Foreign Language for over 16 years around the globe (Asia, Europe and North America) to young children, teenagers and adult learners from absolute beginner to advance EFL students in a wide range of contexts. As a teacher trainer, she has a keen interest in supporting both new and experienced teachers so they can strategically assist their non-native English speaking students with their language learning process. Judy is also involved with the writing of English language assessments from A1 to C2 CEFR levels with an internationally recognised language assessment provider.

Mark Hurney
Senior TEFL Trainer
"The best thing he did in teacher development was learning another language"
He’s taught all ages across the range of levels from true beginners to proficiency. After 17 years of teaching general, professional and academic English, he still yearns for those lower levels where students bloom. He claims the best thing he did in teacher development was learn another language. He loves coffee, running and David Attenborough.

Tiffany Probasco
Senior TEFL Trainer
"I realized that being an EFL/ESL instructor was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life"
She originally thought that teaching English would just be her gateway to international living, but only after a few months of teaching, she realized that being an EFL/ESL instructor was what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. After living in Spain for almost 2 years as a TEFL instructor, Tiffany decided to return to the US to continue her education by getting a Master’s degrees in Adult Education and later in Applied Linguistics. Currently, she is an academic English specialist and teaches English composition courses for international college students at a state university. She also works directly with educators at Master’s degree and practitioner levels as a teacher trainer. She hopes that by sharing her passion for teaching will inspire new teachers to continue to grow as educators.

Lisa Topolniski
TEFL Trainer
"I am passionate about the relationship between language and culture and the means by which people choose to express themselves. "
Lisa has both CELTA and DELTA, and attained her M.A. in TESOL and Applied Linguistics from the University of Leicester, with her dissertation titled: An Evaluation of the Endangerment Level of the Henqeminiem Dialect Spoken by First Nations Communities in Vancouver. Lisa’s expertise in teacher training coupled with her in-depth understanding of IELTS has allowed her to assist a wide rand of trainers, teacher and students. In her free time, she is enthusiastic about exploring new countries, going on road trips and being in nature with her 7-year old son and partner.

Ian Appleby
TEFL Trainer
"I’m excited by the way in which teaching can help everyone to realise their maximum potential, and by the power of language to build bridges and foster cross-cultural communication. "

Harvey O'Leary
TEFL Trainer
"I like to make the teacher training course fun and interactive"
His career has included work in Ireland, France and Greece and, apart from TEFL teaching, he has worked in school management and quality assurance. Harvey likes to make the teacher training course fun and interactive and to give trainees as many opportunities as possible to practice and develop the skills that they will use in their future teaching practice.

Nicholas Edwards
TEFL Trainer
"I believe that the key to successful learning is to build a strong rapport with learners and tap into the life experience that they bring. "

Delia Ortega
TEFL Trainer
"Being able to teach another human being how to communicate in a different tongue is like magic. Granting another the gift of speaking a new language makes a long-term difference in a person's life like nothing else can."
Delia found success in her students’ ability to speak English by applying a peculiar approach to learning a new language: no books! By forcing students to communicate in their own words without relying on textbooks, Delia has managed to teach over 1,000 of her students how to speak English. Her promise? You will leave her first class speaking English (even if not perfectly at first).
Her background in law and experience teaching for various Universities has given Delia the ability to tailor each course to a specific student’s needs. Whether it is preparing a businessman for an interview, or for a business meeting or presentation; helping a college student excel in an official English exam, or simply preparing a traveler with confidence for an upcoming trip overseas; Delia prides herself in knowing that she can apply pertinent content to each class.
So, why did a lawyer and businesswoman become an English teacher? You may ask. Her answer is simple: Being able to teach another human being how to communicate in a different tongue is like magic. Granting another the gift of speaking a new language makes a long-term difference in a person’s life like nothing else can. She considers making a student realize their own potential and learning that they are more resilient than they ever thought possible to be the greatest joy of teaching. “They teach me as much as I teach them”, she says.
Accreditation Partners
The TEFL Academy was the world’s first TEFL course provider to receive official recognition from government regulated awarding bodies in both the USA and UK. This means when you graduate you’ll hold a globally recognised Level 3 (120hr) Certificate or Level 5 (168hr) Diploma, meaning you can find work anywhere and apply for jobs immediately.