There will be an ExCom election soon so have a look at all the people you can vote for:
Bethany Cagnol
American, Bethany Cagnol met her French-American husband in a car wash while completing her BA at the University of Virginia, USA, in 1999. In 2002 she moved with him to Paris where she discovered the joys of teaching English to adults. The year 2006 was a busy one in which she received her MA in Teaching Second and Foreign Languages at the University of London Institute in Paris, founded her own freelance teaching business, International Customer, and joined the TESOL France Executive Committee. Thanks to the contacts she's made through the association she has spoken at IATEFL, IATEFL BESIG, IATEFL Poland, and the American University of Paris Conferences. She recently began writing for the publisher Cornelsen. Her professional interests include Business English, Testing and Assessment, Teacher Development, English for Specific Purposes, English as an International Language, and Materials Design.
Debbie West
Debbie West, UC Berkeley grad, brought up in a military family, has done almost everything from teaching French to being International Student Advisor in the United States to now teaching English to all levels and ages here in France. An educator at heart she sees education as broader than in a classroom and is definitely not very traditional in her methods. With a love for developing programs and an ever-present bank of ideas, there never seems to be enough time, energy and money to do everything. Being single helps and sometimes doesn't. Here in France she is an independent (after all the accountants were just "trying to help") and teach English and do a bit of translation. Debbie is a Representative for the International Business Program at UC Berkeley Extension, and is trying to develop a Total Summer Immersion English Program (in August). She tries to do her part in developing people's English skills. She can be reached using her website: westlanguage.com.
Colleen Brown
A Francophile since childhood, Colleen Brown decided to try her luck in Paris after graduating from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in English Literature and French. Thus began her 13-year career as an EFL teacher and trainer. Along the way, she earned a Licence in French literature (La Sorbonne, Paris 4) and a Maîtrise in French Language Teaching and Didactics (La Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris 3). Since 2007, she has been running her own freelance teaching and translating business. Her teaching interests include learner motivation, literacy, cultural studies and using technology humanely in the EFL classroom. She is also deeply concerned about working conditions and standards for EFL teachers in France and addressed these issues in a recent workshop on Sustainable Teaching for TESOL-France in Strasbourg. She enjoys writing for the The Teaching Times and creatively, for herself.
Federico Espinosa
Federico Espinosa is an American with a B.A. in Chemistry from Reed College. He started his career in 2008 working as a Chemistry and Physics Teacher in with the U.S. Peace Corps in Guinea, West Africa. The administrators at his rural college convinced him to teach English as well, and he quickly realized how much more fun and interactive it is to teach languages. Post-Peace Corps life brought Federico to France as an assistant in Besançon, then a lecteur in Bordeaux. In early 2012 he set up TESOL France Bordeaux, and has big plans for this new regional Branch. Personally he plans on pursuing an M.A. in TESOL to continue growing professionally within the French higher education system.
Gillian Evans
My working life and professional career began not as a teacher, but as a production assistant in the Latin American Service of the BBC. As both my parents were teachers, I thought there were enough in the family, so decided to use my language degree in other ways. From working in Latin America Embassies and in companies as a translator in both England and France, I gained an insight into the business world and the life of a company. I never regretted my decision to study for a teaching diploma and for the past twelve years have been teaching business English in a variety of large companies, and designing programs for students of English in all fields of industry. I have given evening classes at the Mairie de Paris and organized programs for the unemployed. I am now very happy to help on the TESOL ExCom team. The teaching world is my world.
Christine Mintcheva
Christine Mintcheva graduated from the Institute of Education London with a degree in teaching. Christine moved to France in 2007 and works in higher education institutions EM Lyon, ENTPE. Christine owns her own freelance company ‘Speak’ and provides English lessons and recruitment services. Christine is currently the TESOL FRANCE, Lyon regional Coordinator. Christine is passionate about all related to teaching, learning and pedagogy and enjoys sharing teaching methods with other practitioners.
Christina Rebuffet-Broadus
Christina Rebuffet-Broadus has lived in Grenoble, France since 2004. She works as a freelance trainer in companies and universities and also writes for several language-learning magazines. Her interests include unplugged teaching, arts in ELT, professional development, and building learner autonomy through technology. She is regional coordinator for TESOL France Grenoble and a member of IATEFL.
Jane Ryder
Jane Ryder is the TESOL France Strasbourg Coordinator has been working for over ten years in EFL in the Alsace. For five years she was the pedagogic coordinator for Greta Nord Alsace, the continuing education branch of Education Nationale. In November 2010 she set up ESOL Strasbourg, in partnership with the Pole Formation of the CCI Strasbourg, to offer the CELTA & DELTA teaching qualifications. Jane is committed to changing the status of EFL teachers in France and, with TESOL France, intends to shake things up in the Alsace. She is a published writer (incl. ELT Journal) and holds an MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL from Leicester University. Previously she was a TV documentary maker, an ethologist and, in her words, sometimes failed revolutionary.
Laurence Whiteside
I started out teaching English in Spain in 1993, and have stayed in the profession continuously since then. I worked in the private and public sectors in England and ran a modern languages department in a further education college in Cambridge for 4 years. I was also active in my union both in my workplace and in the East Anglia region.
I moved to Paris in 2005 to join my partner (now wife) and take up a lecteur post, and I joined the TESOL France ExCom as Membership Secretary in 2006. I passed the CAPES exams in 2007, and I currently teach Business English in the UFR d'Economie et Gestion of the University of Cergy-Pontoise.
Ros Wright
I would describe my 16-year career in ELT as fairly rounded, having worked not only in teaching, teacher training and professional development, but also in publishing and more recently as a freelance materials writer. A career that has taken me to Japan, France and the UK, and one that spans most branches of the field; from general and business English, through ESP and EAP, to e-learning and exam preparation – including the USMLE oral component (equivalency exam for qualified foreign doctors wishing to practice in the US). Having earned an MA in Materials Development for Language Learners from Leeds Metropolitan University under the guidance of Brian Tomlinson in 2003, I have since co-authoredGood Practice: Communication skills for medical practitioners (CUP), as well as online materials for nurses (onestopenglish.com) and an ESAP Medical English title for Garnet Education. Good Practice was short listed for the British Council 'Award for Innovation 2008' and has just received the first IATEFL BESIG/Macmillan 'David Riley Award for Innovation in Business and ESP'. I am an active member of TESOL France and having already completed a stint as Vice President, I am now in my second year as President. I have also recently been elected to the IATEFL Conference Proposals Committee. My fields of interest lie in ESP and the use of spoken corpora and audio-visuals in the training of effective communications skills.
And the latest addition is...
Hal D'Arpini
As a CELTA graduate, I've only been an English teacher for a little less than a year but have already gained a variety of experience teaching legal, business, aviation, and general English to both groups and individuals. I teach for the Pole formation CCI de Strasbourg/Bas Rhin, the Ecole de Chimie at the University of Strasbourg, and privately.
"I've likewise been involved behind the scenes at TESOL France - Strasbourg, helping to plan and execute our events since last December. It's exciting to be part of bringing something of value to teachers in the Alsace area, and I know that I would bring that same enthusiasm to TESOL France as they continue to enrich the professional lives of teachers in France and beyond.
