What led your path to joining the team at GET Academy?
Before living in Vienna, I was working in Saudi Arabia. I visited Vienna on a short holiday and decided it was a definite improvement on the desert, so moved there shortly afterwards. After living in Vienna for several months, I saw an opportunity to start training English teachers for an organization based in the Austrian lake district. After getting a train at 4:30 a.m. one dark, wet morning in Vienna, I arrived in the Austrian Alps just as the sun was coming up, and have been working here ever since.
Can you tell us about your role as the Course Manager?
My main job is making sure that the CertTESOL part of our course is delivered effectively. It involves overseeing input and workshop content, designing and grading assignments, and undertaking and standardising observations. I also work closely with our other staff to make sure that different parts of our courses are as complementary as possible.
What about your job excites you the most?
I find visiting lots of different schools and seeing different students and contexts fascinating. But the most exciting thing about the job is seeing the improvement in the standard of teaching from student teachers, and then hearing about their plans to travel and take up their first teaching position, or hearing how former student teachers are doing when they start work.
You have extensive experience traveling and studying in the UK, Egypt, Colombia, and Saudi Arabia, before settling in Austria. How have those experiences impacted you personally and professionally?
There are some underlying truths about all societies, but living in different places has also made me appreciate how to form relationships based on the expectations of the person or people you are working with.
In terms of teaching, working in a wide range of contexts - schools, universities, corporate, exams - has given me the opportunity to develop my understanding of different genres of English, and how best to present them to students.
Personally, there are far too many experiences to go into here, but often living in places where I actually understand very little of what is going on has definitely led to being quite relaxed with whatever is going on around me.
What makes GET Academy special?
Apart from the great staff, it’s the only initial teacher training course in the TEFL world that provides real and significant classroom experience, producing teachers who are ready to start operating autonomously in the EFL classroom. It also prepares teachers for the rigours of teaching young learners and school life in general - something that most initial EFL training barely touches on.
How do you utilize the lessons you’ve learned from your own teaching experiences in your role as the Course Manager?
Broadly, by trying to engage students in solving puzzles and using or discussing ideas that were presented, rather than simply lecturing. Encouraging students to bring their own experience and knowledge of English and teaching into workshops and lessons, rather than providing a one size fits all template.
What makes Austria an ideal location for traveling and TEFL training?
Well organized schools, with bright and engaging students, good infrastructure and friendly people. Alongside that is, of course, a huge range of culture, sports, and spectacular scenery. It’s also right in the heart of Europe, and the well run and affordable rail system can get you to Prague, Budapest, Munich, Bratislava, and even Venice within a few hours.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
Finding out something new.
Why is it important for individuals to travel and experience new cultures?
To gain a better understanding of how the people of the world work. And to give people the opportunity to understand your point of view. And, you only live once!
What developments do you hope to see in GET Academy courses in the coming years?
More student teachers in more centres across Austria or Europe, who then go on to work for the GET Academy. I would also like to see our model of teacher training more widely used, as I think current initial TEFL training courses don’t provide as much experience as they could.
