Our TEFL tutors

Natalie Ruggins

TEFL, DELTA

Hi! I’m Natalie and I live in Kent in a little picturesque village with my young family. I completed my TEFL certificate many moons ago after teaching for many years in Primary Schools before going on to complete my DELTA at International House, London.

Experience teaching: 20 years, I have worked for i-to-i for of those years!

Where you have taught: I love teaching all types of English and have taught in many different countries around the world including Thailand, India, Canada, Cambodia, Moldova, New Zealand, France and many years in London.

Teaching specialties: I have taught Academic and General English as well as Business English and a variety of specialist courses.  I currently teach 1:1 and teach Academic English online to many wonderful students around the world.

How would your students describe you?  Fun, dynamic, knowledgeable and interesting and I try to pass these traits on when training teachers too, which I do face to face and online within various educational institutions.

What motivates you? I love all aspects of my work and enjoy helping teachers find their own style and flair to support as many students as possible throughout their teaching career and what a great career it is!

Bryan Whitman

MA in International Business, MA in TESOL

Hello, my name is Bryan Whitman, i’m a born traveler, an English and TEFL trainer, and love sharing my stories with as many people that are interested in teaching English and traveling the world. I have been to over 39 countries and taught in 5! I have taught English in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Brazil.

Experience teaching: 16 years

Where you have taught: Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Brazil.

Teaching specialties: I own a fully Accredited English School in San Diego so I’m qualified to teach all types of English, but everything excluding teaching children in my favorite.

How would your students describe you? Awesome!

What motivates you? Travel meeting new people and learning how to make new food.

Teresa Jacobs

DELTA, MA in TEFL, Diploma in ELT Management, Certificate in teaching English for Business

Hi. I’m Teresa and I’m probably I to I TEFLs longest serving weekend tutor. I live in London these days but spend about 40% of my time working in South India and Sri Lanka.

Teaching experience: 22 years

Where have you taught: Scandinavia, Greece Turkey, Germany and South Italy. I’ve also done a lot of business travel in South America, Asia and the Stans.

Teaching specialties: I’ve delivered the I to I weekend course in 44 different locations – places as exciting as Beijing, Brighton Bangkok, Ho Chi and Hanoi, Milton Keynes, Munich, New York and Limerick.

How would your students describe you? Funny, enthusiastic, caring

What motivates you? I like to inspire my tutees to get out and travel and have a not so ordinary like. My classes are fun. My sense of humour is wicked my acting skills are rubbish but I make people laugh!

Clare Hayward

CELTA, Trinity Dip TESOL and MEd with Applied Linguistics

Hello!  I live in Scotland, near Stirling with my husband, our very grumpy cat Tabitha and our new trouble-maker puppy Rusty.  I enjoy reading, cycling or walking in the countryside preferably near water and creative writing.  I have begun listening to more podcasts lately and my favourite is ‘Something Rhymes with Purple’.

Teaching experience: 16 Years

Where have you taught: Australia, Greece, Spain, UK and online.

Teaching specialties: Exam preparation, Business English, 1-2-1 and online

How would your students describe you? Calm and collected, positive, helpful and there for students

What motivates you? Seeing our students progress & broaden their world (and mine).

Suzanne Littlejohn

TEFL, DipTESOL

Hi, I am Suzanne. I live just outside Edinburgh in Scotland. I have worked in TEFL for nearly 20 years. I left Scotland, after finishing my degree in Glasgow, to go off on an adventure, and so my life in TEFL began. I taught abroad for ten years in Italy, where I learned how to cook, the Italian language, the best way to island hop as well as making the best friends I could ever dream of. I started off teaching in a private language school, then onto state schools, private schools, university, countless companies where I taught Business English. After a while, I began to manage my own school, which was so much fun and which ultimately brought me home to Scotland. Today I manage my own school, which is both online as well as in the classroom. I wanted to become my school’s Academic Director, so I studied for my DipTESOL, which I gained in 2017.

Teaching experience: 17 Years

Where have you taught: Italy, online

Teaching specialties: I have had experience teaching juniors, adults in and out of business, but probably I have the most experience in adult groups.

How would your students describe you? My students have described me in lots of ways and happily most of this I can share with you! Fun and funny, patient and understanding and often they say I am considerate to their needs.

What motivates you? The magic of TEFL.

Peter Bowdery

BSc in Geography/Geology, DELTA

Hi, my name’s Peter. I have lived in the Czech Republic for 26 years, but I am originally from Sussex, England. I have been teaching EFL for over 27 years and for the last 16 I have also been a Teacher Trainer, running four-week intensive TEFL courses. I am also a veteran online tutor.

Teaching experience: 27 years

Where have you taught: Czech Republic, UK

Teaching specialties: Business English

How would your students describe you? Fun, helpful, enthusiastic

What motivates you? Helping people to achieve their goals.

Sharon Balani

BA in Education, Trinity Certification in TESOL, MA in TESOL

Hi, I’m Sharon. I first started TEFL by teaching young learners in Singapore. I did this for 12 years, during this time I got my bachelor’s in education. On an extended stay in London in 2005, I decided to obtain my Trinity Certification in TESOL, which then spurred me on to teach Adults. I have since gained a master’s degree in TESOL which gave me the opportunity to teach in a variety of different settings. I became a CELTA Teacher Trainer in 2009 and an Assessor in 2014. I’m currently the Head of Teacher Training and Senior Teacher at St Giles International in New York City.

Teaching experience: 12 years

Where have you taught: Singapore, Australia, UK, US

Teaching specialties: General English, 1-to-1, Children

How would your students describe you? Creating an encouraging atmosphere with a balance of fun activities and learning opportunities.

What motivates you? I am passionate about making a difference and helping others achieve their language learning goals, which inspired me to further delve into adult English language learning and teacher training.

Karen Gaches

BA hons in Applied Language Studies, Diploma for Overseas Teacher of English, MEd in Educational Technology and ELT, Certificate in E-Tutoring, Post-graduate Diploma in Primary Education

I’m Karen, i’m English and I live near the town of Atlacomulco in Mexico. It’s about 2 hours to the west of Mexico City, up in the mountains. When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time with my husband and daughter and our dogs. When I’m not working I enjoy reading, language learning and bird watching.

Teaching experience: 30 years

Where have you taught: UK, Mexico, Russia and Japan

Teaching specialties: I have taught so many different types of student, at just about all levels in many different contexts but what I love most is teacher training. I also enjoy teaching young learners and working on exam preparation courses. I’ve taught Spanish as a Foreign Language too. I’m especially interested in how to create inclusive classrooms, catering to students of all abilities including those with learning disabilities.

How would your students describe you? Passionate about teaching and learning, organised, fair, interesting

What motivates you? Being able to help other people move closer to their dreams.

Tammy Smith

Dip.TESOL, BA (Hons) English Language, MSc Applied Linguistics

Hi, I’m Tammy! I live in Wakefield, Yorkshire, in the UK. I qualified as an English Language Teacher in 2008 and taught for a little while in Spain and Italy before spending a few lovely years in Lisbon, Portugal. I returned to the UK in 2013 and continued to teach English, in a number of language schools, universities, and even in a hospital! I now work primarily as an examiner, and with i-to-i as an Online Tutor. When I’m not working, I enjoy films, TV and music, food (eating more than cooking!), and nature.

Teaching experience: 12 years

Where have you taught: Spain, Italy, Portugal, UK

Teaching specialties: General English, Exam Preparation, English for Academic Purposes

How would your students describe you? Friendly, patient and encouraging

What motivates you? Being allowed to talk about language all day as part of my job!

Jennifer Parker

MA EdD for ESOL, UC Santa Barbara TESOL Certificate, TEFL online Training Certificate

Hello TEFL Community! My name is Jennifer Parker, a life-long learner and educator.  I live in a small beachside community in Los Angeles, born and raised in California. Like TEFL teachers, I love foreign language, culture, and travel! Over the past 22 years, I have taught a wide array of English language arts. I started teaching TESOL training courses in 2003, and later joined I-to-I in 2006, as a TEFL tutor. The bulk of my experience has been teaching in (IEP) Intensive English Programs in higher education in universities, such as full-time faculty at USC, University of Southern California and Adjunct Faculty at UCLA, University California Los Angeles. I am currently full-time at Pepperdine University.

Teaching experience: 22 years

Where have you taught: Chile, Argentina, Spain, and Indonesia

Teaching specialties: All ELA (English Language Arts) academic English, speaking skills, speaking and listening, academic preparation (aka college readiness), creative writing, online 1:1, blended and flipped classrooms.

How would your students describe you? Creative, enthusiastic, and passionate about diversity and culture

What motivates you? Education is my passion.  Life-long learning is my constant motivation. My ultimate joy is the genuine happiness it brings me to see my students succeed in their life goals.

Annie da Silva

BA in Languages, B.Ed, DELTA

I am family orientated and a homebody (getting old!). I love to travel and explore hidden gems. Professionally, teaching and training is all I have ever done and wouldn’t change a thing.

Teaching experience: 30 plus

Where have you taught: South Africa, UK, Portugal and short time spent training in various countries such as Oman, Ghana, Mozambique, Dubai, Botswana

Teaching specialties: Teacher training

How would your students describe you? Hardworking, responsible, caring, dedicated, problem solver

What motivates you? Equipping people with valuable skills

Emily John

Academic Director, MA ELT

Hey! I’m Emily, and I live in Leeds, UK. I’ve lived and worked in 5 different countries, and the first time I taught English was in Nicaragua, Central America. My experience ranges from teaching English to very young learners through to holding academic writing lectures for MSc students. When I’m not working, I like to go on adventures to new places, practise speaking Spanish, and I’m also a keen plane spotter!

TEFL Advice to students: Enjoy the experience! You’ve stepped into the world of TEFL, and you’re about to make many exciting memories. Throughout your TEFL career, you might not always get things right the first time; however, that’s usually the best way to learn. Have fun, be open to advice, and never be afraid to challenge yourself!

Greatest TEFL Achievement: Challenging a class of 3-year olds to produce full sentences rather than just one-word answers. It was exhilarating to see them understand my question and then provide a full response!

Sahm Amirsedghi

Academic Support Member, Level 5 TEFL Diploma

Hi, my names Sahm and I love travelling, meeting new people and studying languages! I fell in love with TEFL and teaching English when I discovered just how amazing it was living abroad in Japan! It opened my eyes to how different cultures can be and just how vital English is for many foreign students.

TEFL Advice to students: Always believe in yourself! Don’t ever pass up on an opportunity because you think you CAN’T do something. TEFL gives you the tools to go literally anywhere in the world but you are the only person who can actually make that happen.
When teaching don’t be afraid to get things wrong sometimes or not know the answer. Be honest with your students and promise to follow up any tough questions in a later lesson. You are not expected to know everything!

Greatest TEFL Achievement: Moving to Japan to teach in English in a very corporate-style environment. It was very scary at first but so rewarding!