I Taught English Abroad
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
AI, TEFL and what’s ahead
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s 2025, and building upon the advancements from the past year, it's no secret that the TEFL industry is rapidly transforming. With more stud...
You don’t have to teach like that
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You could go your whole TEFL career going “by the book”, carrying out the same lessons over and over, and still have an enjoyable experience. Or, ...
TEFL for good: refugees, asylum seekers and being a positive light
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
While TEFL can open the doors to the rest of the world for talented teachers, there are also incredible opportunities to make a difference for newcome...
What makes a good TEFL teacher?
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It sounds like a simple enough question. How do you become a great TEFL teacher? Seemingly, greatness can come through countless routes, but what skil...
Changing your life and making it work
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve all been there: the rain clatters against the window of the bus, train or car on the commute to the job we don’t necessarily want, in the ci...
Teaching English in Japan - The Comprehensive Guide
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why do so many TEFL teachers want to try their luck in Japan? What is it about the land of the Rising Sun that draws so many curious English educators...
Season 6 Teaser
21 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're excited to announce that the sixth season of I Taught English Abroad will be out next week! We're returning stronger than ever with in...
From the priesthood to the classroom
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Seth Knight left seminary after training for the priesthood in Milan for 3 years, he wasn’t quite sure what he’d do next. Qualified in music,...
It all started when she pressed ‘play’
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rachael McGettigan had pretty much put any plans to teach and explore Asia aside. It just wasn’t a priority, nor something that seemed realistic - u...
Finding identity through teaching
28 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It can be difficult when you have parents from two different cultures. Growing up, Lucia identified as both a Londoner and a Canarian, spending differ...
Hello, and hola: The American teacher breaking down barriers
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Through her own company, English With Grace, and from her career in working with refugees, asylum seekers and other vulnerable groups, it’s no exagg...
Lessons from a podcasting polymath
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We love a unique perspective on ‘I Taught English Abroad’, and if you do, too, try this on for size: Frank Carrizo Zirit has more qualifications t...
Test tubes to bookshelves: A Brazilian teacher’s unlikely journey
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fernanda Cwiertnia had planned for a career in chemistry, but after finding herself dissatisfied with life amongst the test tubes and periodic tables,...
From the pitch to pronunciation
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Benjamin Robson dreamt of Premier League stardom growing up - who doesn’t? - and even played in a couple of notable soccer academies. Now, though, h...
How “getting geeky” with English language sparked a successful career
24 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Pronunciation is an integral part of learning a language, and there are so many different accents, types of English and ways to perceive phrasing. Ell...
From leaving Iran to La Dolce Vita
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We don’t meet many TEFL teachers who start in Iran, take online classes with American universities, and then opt to live and work in Italy. But then...
How TEFL started a journey to every peak, every nation and both poles
10 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Johnny Ward is a one-of-a-kind. Growing up poor in Ireland, Johnny made it his mission to make a career out of doing things that he loved. To say he s...
Meet Japanese TikTok’s favourite English teacher
03 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When he joined TikTok during the pandemic, Michigan-born TEFL teacher Patrick Smith thought it’d be a fun way to kill some time while teaching in Ja...
S5: I Taught English Abroad - trailer
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How could I Taught English Abroad possibly go bigger than it did last season? How can we outdo ourselves after reaching lots of new listeners, recordi...
Goodbye boredom, hello Cambodia
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The idea of the career changer is something we talk about a lot at The TEFL Org. We like to imagine that teaching English can be a get-out from the ti...
Transcribing Spider-Man to blazing a trail in Iran
16 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How determined does a person have to be to achieve their goals? How highly must the odds be stacked against you for you to give up?Sara Alami, an Engl...
As real as it gets: TEFL in Los Angeles
09 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine your first ever teaching experience was in a purpose-built Korean village, where everything was in English. Even if you’ve worked on film or...
There is room for us: deconstructing native speakerism, leading the discussion
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Let’s be clear - the English language can be difficult. Whether it’s on a conversational level, where idioms stalk almost every sentence, or at th...
Who runs the world?
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We love confidence here on I Taught English Abroad. The confidence to say “I’m going to be a teacher”, for example. The confidence to travel to ...
Comfort in the unknown: turning down Seoul for smalltown Korea
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When it came time to pick somewhere to live and teach in South Korea, Ilsa Strough had loads of options. Seoul and Busan, for example, represent two b...
First China, then the world
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Like many TEFL teachers, Dan Wharton once found himself looking out his window and dreaming of being somewhere else. Somewhere new, somewhere exotic, ...
From art school dreams to teaching teens
21 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Gav and Em, of the How To English Podcast, first met in art school with designs on breaking into the world of fine art. Over 20 years later, they’ve...
Tales from Tinseltown: The Hollywood TEFL teacher
14 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I Taught English Abroad has gone Hollywood, as we meet LA English Tutor, known to her friends as Anne Crutchfield. Anne, originally from Illinois, tel...
Setting off sparks: A constantly creative teacher explains her method
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You probably remember your favourite teacher. If that’s the case, chances are they’re the one who gave you creative freedom and let you express yo...
The teacher, the Messi shirts and the world map
31 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
They don’t have pictures in the dictionary, but if they did, you’d maybe see Matt Mitzel’s face under the word ‘Wanderlust’. Matt, a qualifi...
S4: I Taught English Abroad - trailer
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Your favourite TEFL podcast is back for a fourth season! Yes, once again, ‘I Taught English Abroad’ is back to tell the most compelling stories fr...
Bonus episode: Season 3 roundup with Euan Davidson and David Foster
05 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We take a look back through Season 3 with The TEFL Org’s social media and marketing guru, David Foster. In this episode we tackling subjects as dive...
The teacher flipping the script in China
22 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jema Perry (Mooncake English) hadn’t always planned on being a TEFL teacher, but the mark she’s made - and continues to make with her work online ...
Teaching English in Asia as a couple
15 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Travelling the world, finding work as a teacher and assimilating to new cultures can be difficult solo. As a couple? It’s a different story, as Celi...
From fleeing revolution in Egypt to haunted farms in Spain
08 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Now an online TEFL sensation, it’d be quicker to list what the amazing Jamie Gajewski (also known as ESL Teacher 365) hasn’t experienced in her ...
Korea, Romania and academia
01 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When you have the experience of teaching young learners in countries as diverse as South Korea and Romania, you probably make some pretty astute obser...
15 years as an English teacher in Spain
25 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It started with some curiosity about teaching in Spain, and now Mrs A is one of the leading lights in English and Spanish teaching in the country. Mrs...
How a Brazilian TEFL teacher ripped up the rulebook
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It all began with a voracious hunger to learn English phrases and a love of the Backstreet Boys. Today, Lachesis Braick is an amazing example of how n...
An unforgettable Chinese TEFL experience
11 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine going from disillusionment with civil engineering to flying around China as an English teacher within 5 years? Sometimes truth is stranger tha...
How a Hungarian-Romanian teacher used TEFL to launch a business
04 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re looking for a podcast episode that namechecks Stirling, Romania, Hungary and Beverley Hills, you’re in luck. Kitti Majorán takes us thr...
S3: I Taught English Abroad - trailer
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
‘I Taught English Abroad’ is back; bigger and better than ever.Our award-nominated podcast returns for Season 3, and has some of the most dramatic...
Bonus episode: Season 2 roundup with Euan Davidson and Erin MacKenzie
04 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Join host Euan Davidson and Erin MacKenzie, Content Marketing Manager at The TEFL Org, for a roundup of the second season of 'I Taught English Ab...
From the bottom of the garden to the top of the industry: Meet The TEFL Org co-founder Jennifer MacKenzie
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How did a politics student become co-founder of an industry-leading TEFL course provider and an influential ambassador for Scottish women in business?...
Titanic, Iraq and Moulding TEFL Talent: Around the world with Carl Cameron-Day
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Carl’s ruthless academic determination and wanderlust has seen him teach in some of the less-heralded but most eye-catching locales in the world, in...
Dancing across borders: Cheryl Obal’s incredible career
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From Pennsylvania to the rest of the world, Cheryl Obal turned TEFL into performance art, combining world-renowned choreography and dancing skills, En...
From busy Hallowe’ens to teaching Teens: Sophie Oliver’s TEFL journey
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From feeling aimless and working as a Hallowe’en “scarer” in Cornwall, Sophie Oliver used the momentum from a trip to Barcelona to motivate her ...
Oregon to Saigon: How Arthur turned despondency into opportunity
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Arthur’s story is a perfect example of changing both career and fortunes. From despondency in Portland during the global financial crisis, Arthur tr...
It was all a dream: How Ellie Rayner made it happen in Japan
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When the Covid-19 pandemic forced a change of plans, Ellie Rayner went from working on cruise ships to achieving what had seemed impossible; uprooting...
From Hobnobs to Shaping the Future: Melissa Thomson’s worldwide whirlwind ride
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Melissa Thomson tells us all about changing careers; from the world of PR to teaching everywhere from Bilbao to Japan, via a spell working with asylum...
Of Mics and Mentors: How rapping turned Jason Levine from TEFL teacher to Fluency MC
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To kick off season 2, we’ve got a real treat: Fluency MC. Jason Levine, a former music industry worker and hip-hop DJ, was filmed by one of his stud...
S2: I Taught English Abroad - trailer
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome back to ‘I Taught English Abroad’, a podcast series by The TEFL Org. For season 2, we’ve continued to source some of the most interesti...
From first-time nerves to leading the industry - a chat with The TEFL Org co-founder Joe Hallwood
11 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the season finale of 'I Taught English Abroad', we talk to The TEFL Org’s co-founder, Joe Hallwood. He explains how teaching in France ...
Fish Fingers, Grammar Books and Madrileños with Thomas Kerr
04 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Thomas Kerr, Online and Academic Courses Manager with The TEFL Org, talks us through his impromptu first English lesson, how it led to living in Madri...
Sarcastic students, wanderlust and climbing the ladder with Richard Cullen
28 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this fascinating episode, experienced teacher and TEFL advisor at The TEFL Org, Richard Cullen, talks through his nomadic career, climbing up the e...
Culture shock, Covid-19 and Career Trajectory with Luke Bartsch
21 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Luke Bartsch graduated with a degree in music production, he wasn’t sure what he’d do next. So, he went to China and loved it. In this episod...
Professional development & Vietnamese street fashion with Frances Fraser-Reid
14 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Six years ago, Frances Fraser-Reid took the TEFL plunge and moved out to Vietnam after graduating in Biology and has never looked back. In this action...
Transatlantic TEFLing with Jenny Hilder
07 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
England, North Carolina, and Italy have all been home to Jenny Hilder, and in this episode we discuss online teaching, using puppets and stick figures...
IELTS, YouTube & teaching online with Claire Mitchell
30 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mancunian Claire moved from corporate life to teaching English online, helping her students pass the IELTS exam, and even starting her own YouTube cha...
From Manchester city council to Cambodia with Daniel Gillard
30 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re joined by the fascinating Daniel Gillard, who went from a seat on Manchester’s city council and running a nightclub to a prestigious job at ...
S1: I Taught English Abroad - trailer
22 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hello, and welcome to ‘I Taught English Abroad’, a podcast series by The TEFL Org. In this podcast, we chat to TEFL teachers from all over the wor...