Meet Our Trainers

He currently teaches medium and large size business English classes, specializing in financial and economic English as well as teacher training with The TEFL Academy. He splits his time between Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris. He speaks German, French, Spanish, Dutch and Czech. He plays the piano and travels as much as he can with his partner and his dog, Maja.

Jo started teaching EFL in 2008 in Barcelona, spurred on by a love of language and adventure.  Since then she has taught all ages and levels of student in Spain, Italy, Colombia, England and Ireland.  She says that the best language teachers are language learners and so has attempted to learn Spanish, Catalan, Italian and French, to greater and lesser success.  She believes the most exciting thing about being in the classroom is going on a journey with your students and helping them grow and gain confidence.  Engagement and effort are also key to learners’ success.  Having gained her Delta qualification, Jo has taught English for Academic Purposes to help students gain the skills needed in order to do their Master’s in an English speaking country and also tutored students for scholarships such as the Fulbright programme.  She branched out into teacher training in 2017, providing training for teachers of adults and young learners alike.  She loves teacher training because, not only do we teach, but we get to analyse the mechanics of the craft we do every day and that’s fun and exciting for her.

She began teaching English and Spanish in 1999 and was an assistant to the language professor during her university years. She got her Bachelor´s degree in Social Work but focused on School Social Work and worked with many Hispanic families in the USA. Part of her job with the Indiana Department of Education was teaching English to the parents of Hispanic children to improve their children´s education and advance their adaptation to the USA. She then returned to Spain and worked in an English Academy teaching children, teens, adults and business groups. In 2010, she got her TEFL teaching certificate and has been teaching formally and informally ever since. She is currently teaching full time in a private school as an English teacher. Teaching English involves being able to put one´s self in another´s shoes in order to be able to connect English to their life and walking with them as they face their fears and gain confidence.

The best part was that moment when the lightbulb would come on. The glow in their eyes when something that seemed so foreign now looked slightly clearer, was pure joy.

Having never travelled further than 60km away from home, Baphiwe decided going to China to officially kickstart her teaching career would be a fantastic idea. She was right. She taught kids aged 3 to 18 at one of the biggest language schools in China. She enjoyed listening to their stories, discussing the history of culture with them, and mostly seeing them become more confident in the four major English learning areas, reading, speaking, writing and listening.

Baphiwe worked in Istanbul, Turkey after that and then settled in Kobe, Japan for two years. In Japan she worked at a language school, teaching mainly Business English. It was as challenging as it was fun. Many of the students were already fluent and were getting ready to emigrate or to attend conferences where the language would be English.

Baphiwe says the key to her success as a teacher is that she just loves people and helping people understand things.

She has found TEFL teaching a great way to experience other cultures. Clare then went on to study a modern languages degree at the University of Manchester where she taught English, while studying. She has taught on a number of intensive summer courses both in the UK and abroad.  She has also spent one year teaching in Chile which she found to be an unforgettable experience. She really enjoys teaching English and especially likes the creative side of TEFL teaching. She also really enjoys teaching grammar! Her hobbies include; playing music, swimming and reading.

She taught English face-to-face in Romania and China and online to learners from around the world. Her teaching experience covers General English, Business English, English for Specific Purposes and IELTS preparation. She worked with a variety of student demographics ranging from K-12 students to working professionals and corporate executives.
Alex specializes in learner experience, learner engagement and the development of targeted learning interventions to address any deficiencies the learners might encounter in their language acquisition cycle. She currently works in Chicago, IL as Learning Professional designing, developing and implementing blended learning solutions that result in positive desirable change in human performance, work processes and organizational outcomes.

She taught in international schools in The Netherlands and for non-profit agencies meeting the needs of immigrants and refugees in the USA where she lived for over twenty years. She has a Masters degree in TESOL methods and has managed ESL programs based in schools and churches, workplaces, juvenile centres and community colleges. She is particularly keen on providing support and encouragement to newly qualified ESL teachers or those wishing to expand into online ESL teaching. She has extensive experience in the training and management of faculty and volunteer teams in addition to program development and blended learning. She believes that knowing student goals, backgrounds and barriers to learning is essential to the success of her students.

His students have included adult business people, high school and college students, kindergarten and elementary school children, and immigrants living in Boston.  In addition to teaching abroad, Brendon volunteered on organic rice farms in Japan, joined a dance group with security guards in Southern China, and learned to make kimchi in Korea.

Recently, Brendon was the lead teacher at a non-profit organisation assisting immigrants with finding employment and college opportunities in the Boston area, and he currently teaches at a private international high school just outside Boston.

Brendon is passionate about teaching students how to learn on their own, and enjoys helping new teachers find their own strengths and teaching style.  He speaks Mandarin Chinese and Japanese, and enjoys learning about how students’ native languages influence their ideas and personality.

His one piece of advice for future EFL teachers is that when you teach a language, you’re not just teaching others knowledge; you’re guiding them in the development of a skill.  Brendon would like to encourage everyone to try teaching EFL abroad, as you can learn so much at the same time!

He has taught business and general English in the Czech Republic, Indonesia and also at summer schools in the UK. He was College Director of a Japanese School in the UK for twelve years, where he observed teachers, made materials and taught English to high school kids.
Mike is also a published fiction author. His first book, Jalan Jalan, was the Guardian’s Self-published Book of the Month winner prior to finding a traditional publisher. The book was inspired by his experiences while teaching in Asia.
He lives just outside Prague with his wife and two kids.

With her EFL certificate she was able to fulfil a lifelong ambition to live and work abroad.  First, she lived in Budapest, Hungary and was employed as an EFL teacher of children and adults. She gained her DELTA and after 2 years she moved to another post in Prague, Czech republic, teaching adults and children and also editing the monthly British Council Czech newsletter.  After 4 years she was employed as Young Learner Co-Ordinator in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam where she worked for 2 years, helping to set up courses for young learners as well as teaching adults.

Ruth returned to England in 2006 and worked in Newcastle for 2 years as an ESL teacher for adults.  From 2008 to 2018 she combined her skills teaching children with her language teaching experience and worked as an EAL (English as an Additional Language) teacher in primary schools.  She also gained a diploma in Bilingualism in Education from Birmingham University.  Since September 2018 she has worked as an ESOL teacher in Further Education as well as delivering teacher training for The TEFL Academy.