Tag Archives: Sponge Chats

Sponge Chats – Materials Writing with Emma Heyderman

Last week I got to sit down with established materials writer Emma Heyderman, who has written many materials including titles such as Compact Key for Schools and Complete PET. She was kind enough to share her journey from teacher to materials writer (and trainer and academic manager) as well as her thoughts on her workContinue reading “Sponge Chats – Materials Writing with Emma Heyderman”

Sponge Chats – Teacher Training and Development with Thom Kiddle, Director of NILE

This blog post is part of the Sponge Chats video series. In the ninth Sponge Chat, I had the pleasure to sit down with Thom Kiddle, the director of NILE and board member of many other associations including Eaquals and AQUEDUTO. We got to talk about Thom’s journey from teacher to trainer and from trainer to trainerContinue reading “Sponge Chats – Teacher Training and Development with Thom Kiddle, Director of NILE”

Sponge Chats – Teacher Training with Teresa Bestwick

This blog post is part of the Sponge Chats video series. Last Thursday, I had the pleasure to sit down with teacher trainer, materials writer and all-round awesome person, Teresa Bestwick. Teresa is a CertTESOL and DipTESOL trainer, and she is very active in the online development world as well. For example, she and Simon Pearlman haveContinue reading “Sponge Chats – Teacher Training with Teresa Bestwick”

Sponge Chats – Teaching English in Spain with Alan McDyre, President of ACEIA

This blog post is part of the Sponge Chats video series. There are few within Spain who have more knowledge about the current language teaching context than Alan McDyre, President of ACEIA, Spain’s largest language teaching association. I have had the pleasure to meet Alan a number times at various ACEIA and FECEI conferences, and now IContinue reading “Sponge Chats – Teaching English in Spain with Alan McDyre, President of ACEIA”

Sponge Chats – Teaching, Teacher Training and Teacher well-being with Richard Brown

This blog post is part of the Sponge Chats video series. For the sixth Sponge Chat, I got to sit down with teacher, trainer, materials writer and owner of the website English for Positive Change, Richard Brown. Richard has worked in both the UK and Spain, and now works predominantly to better the working lives of languageContinue reading “Sponge Chats – Teaching, Teacher Training and Teacher well-being with Richard Brown”

Sponge Chats – Teacher Training and Materials Writing with Lindsay Warwick

This blog post is part of the Sponge Chats video series. For the fifth Sponge Chat, I had the pleasure to sit down with teacher, trainer and materials writer, Lindsay Warwick. Lindsay is someone who has been very established in two important strands of ELT, teacher training and materials writing, for quite some time. She has trainedContinue reading “Sponge Chats – Teacher Training and Materials Writing with Lindsay Warwick”

Sponge Chats – Teacher Training with Monica Ruda-Peachey

In the fourth Sponge Chat, we got to speak about her development as a trainer, the Cambridge Delta, some of the problems she has faced, her blog and, of course, some pieces of advice for teachers looking to move into teacher training.

Sponge Chats – Fresh into teacher training with Rachel Tsateri

This blog post is part of the Sponge Chats video series. Last week I had the pleasure to sit down with newly-into-the-teacher-training-industry Rachel Tsateri. We spoke about her journey into teaching and training, some mistakes and difficulties along the way, and how she is planning on establishing herself as a trainer now. We also went into detailContinue reading “Sponge Chats – Fresh into teacher training with Rachel Tsateri”

Sponge Chats – Teacher Training with Chris Roland

In the second of the Sponge Chats, I got to sit down with teacher, trainer, author and chilli-jam concoction expert, Chris Roland. We discussed how he got into teacher training, the various pieces of advice he has for teachers looking to make similar moves, and some things to avoid doing when you are a trainer. We also did a surprise unboxing of his latest book, Understanding Teenage Language Learners Online.