Room A

11:30am - 12:30pm Eastern US time

Alex Birmingham

"Where to Begin…? #thestruggleisreal #part2"

Starting a career as a new teacher or freelancer looking to build your own business is an exciting yet nerve-wracking journey. The road is full of challenges—money worries, self-doubt, and figuring out how to market yourself. The fear of failure can be paralysing, making every decision feel huge. But don't worry! You’re not alone. Many have had to face these same hurdles, and Alex is one of them. Listen in on what he has to say now that he’s been navigating the wild world of virtual teaching — his challenges these days are nothing like the ones he tackled last year. Is everything as Instagram-perfect as it looks, or has he tripped over a few digital hurdles along the way? Time to find out…

Room B

11:30am - 12:30pm Eastern US time

Sandy Millin

“What’s the Point of Doing DELTA?”

As a freelance teacher, it’s a balancing act deciding what to spend your hard-earned money on. Developing your business? Professional development? But which development? And is it worth spending money on expensive advanced teaching qualifications? Will it actually help your business or your learners? In this talk, Sandy breaks down what Cambridge DELTA is, what teachers can learn from it, and how doing diploma-level studies can benefit your learners. She’ll also briefly summarise Trinity DipTESOL, another common diploma-level qualification, and talk about the difference between the two qualifications to help you decide which might be best for you.

Room A

1 - 2pm Eastern US time

Tyson Seburn

“Disruption Complements Usualisation in LGBTQ+ Inclusive Materials”

Our materials and pedagogy can either keep things cosy within the norm or give them a well-deserved shake. This session explores how a disruptive, inclusive approach—in conversation with usualisation—supports learners in forming deeper intersectional insights and feeling confident enough to question “the way things are.” Join Tyson to break down what disruption can look like in practice using LGBTQ+ representation specifically, why it matters for language learning and beyond, and how to feel more comfortable in the messy discomfort that inclusive pedagogy serves. From there, you’ll learn how to embrace it to create lively, critical, learner-empowering wins.

Room B

1 - 2pm Eastern US time

Erin Sebelius

“Why You Should Consider Volunteering as an ESOL Teacher (yes, volunteering!)”

Some say serving others is simply the right thing to do. Others encourage it as a way for us each to do our own small part to bring about the world we wish to live in. And some tout the personal or professional growth, leadership development, and new opportunities that volunteering can bring. Whatever your impetus or inspiration, and from wherever you are located, you could help meet the great need in the US for volunteer instructors to teach the thousands of adult immigrants who want to learn English but cannot afford to pay for classes. In this session, we’ll discuss the landscape of free English instruction in the US, the benefits to both instructors and students, and how you can find the perfect volunteer role for you. 

Room A

2:30 - 3:30pm Eastern US time

Karen Taylor

“The Color Vowel Approach: A ‘Must’ for All TEFLpreneurs”

Working for yourself means working *on* your business and *in* your business. Color Vowel® helps you with both! Learn how this simple but powerful method will boost your learners’ speaking success and make you fall in love with teaching all over again. Then find out how Color Vowel® licensing options give you the extra edge you need for effective client marketing, recruitment, and retention.

Room B

2:30 - 3:30pm Eastern US time

Nina Hanáková

“Unlocking Your Potential as a Female Languagepreneur: an Interview with a Mentor”

The challenges new freelance teachers face often go beyond the logistical - they can be personal and emotional. In this pre-recorded session, Shannon interviews Nina (founder of Nina English), a seasoned freelancer with 21 years of experience in teaching and mentoring female language entrepreneurs. Listen in to learn about Nina’s journey of creating a thriving community for female language teachers, including the organic evolution from teaching to mentorship. She also offers insight into the unique struggles faced by women freelancing in ELT, such as building and maintaining confidence, uncertainty around pricing and marketing, and the emotional aspects of going solo. In the process, Nina shares her best tips for new language entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of visibility, consistency, and authentic self-promotion.

Room A

10 - 11am Eastern US time

Jelena Petkov

“Teach. Inspire. Be Well. Stay Sane.”

As teachers, we often focus so much on our students (their motivation, emotions, goals, satisfaction) that we rarely think about ourselves. It can be easy to lose sight of our own motivation, emotions, goals, and satisfaction. That’s why so many of us eventually lose our mojo or even burn out. In this session, Jelena will share strategies to help keep you passionate and inspired. She’ll share tips for deciding who you want to teach (choosing your ideal students), staying emotionally regulated and managing stress, protecting your needs and your teacher identity, and maintaining strong boundaries and building resilience. When a teacher is present and well, she’s truly teaching and her classroom thrives; when she isn’t, she’s just struggling to survive.  

Room B

10 - 11am Eastern US time

“Fluency MC” - Jason levine

“Motivating Students with Rhythm and Rhyme”

Music and song lyrics develop accuracy and fluency across all four skills. This workshop will focus on the unique role songs play in language learning by exploring issues surrounding memory and motivation. Join Jason Levine, better known as Fluency MC, to learn how to select songs, plan activities, and create materials that meet your students’ needs.

Room A

11:30am - 12:30pm Eastern US time

Rachael Roberts

“Attracting Better-Fit Clients with Smarter Social Content”

Many freelance language professionals put huge amounts of energy into social media, but still feel as if they’re posting into the void. In this practical session, Rachael brings together insights from her work with hundreds of teachers, trainers, and coaches to explore why content often fails to connect - and what to do instead. Drawing on real examples, she shares the six most common content mistakes she sees in the ELT world, including unclear positioning, overly broad messaging, and posting without a clear purpose. You’ll learn how to create content that genuinely resonates with the people you want to work with, gently filters out those who aren’t a good fit, and builds trust over time so that prospective clients feel confident taking the next step. Expect a down-to-earth session full of practical advice, strategic insights, and a few lightbulb moments to help you refine your own approach.

Room B

11.30am - 12.30pm Eastern US time

Olga Kiriushina

“So You Want to Start a YouTube Channel…”

You don’t need fancy equipment and an over-the-top personality to create a YouTube channel with the goal of teaching English. You don’t even have to be a native English speaker. You do, however, need to become a sort of jack-of-all-trades in a way. Olga, the creator of YouTube channel Fluent English with Lady Giraffe, will teach you what the process of creating an educational video looks like, how long it takes (you’re in for a big surprise!), the basics of how the almighty YouTube algorithm works, what kind of skills you’re expected to acquire, what challenges you’re going to face when you decide to upload your first videos, and what being a small content creator feels like.

** This is a pre-recorded session **

Room A

1-2pm Eastern US time

Joshua Yardley

“Putting the PBL in PossiBLe: Tackling the Challenges of Project-Based Learning”

Joshua has been designing project-based learning (PBL) courses for over 10 years in a variety of contexts. He will share lessons he learned from designing projects at a technical college in Saudi Arabia to a middle school in Ohio, as well as how he is trying to simplify the process for other teachers. We will review the fundamentals of PBL, including benefits and examples, before exploring the challenges of PBL and how to address them. We will also go over resources that you can use to get started with PBL and elevate your teaching by creating memorable learning experiences.

Room B

1-2pm Eastern US time

Kirsten Smith

“Reinventing Niche Teaching:
Sustainable, Innovative Models for a Changing ESL Landscape”

If you attended last year’s conference, you may remember that Kirsten built her teaching business around an extremely specific niche. While her business was humming along with one to one sessions, Kirsten started to feel like she needed a more flexible, sustainable business model - for her clients and for herself. So she made a dramatic shift in her business towards asynchronous offers. And this lead to a major epiphany. While her initial goal was simply to save time and resources, she realized she had actually accomplished something even more impactful: her students were becoming more motivated, proactive learners. In this session, Kirsten shares how she overcame the challenges of niche teaching, how she restructured her business into a more asynchronous model, and the tools and strategies she uses to encourage active, self-guided learning.

** This is a pre-recorded session **

Room A

2:30 - 3:30pm Eastern US time

Karin Bates

“Bring Success into Your Freelancing Work with Confidence”

Looking for professional materials that will work in person or online, with small groups or 1:1? Join Karin to discover how you can teach with Intercambio’s Confidence and Connections curriculum. It’s designed to work well for students who want to learn authentic English and for teachers who want and need a curriculum backed by sound English language teaching principles but that is also easy to teach from. The name “Confidence and Connections” says it all: this curriculum builds skills, increases learner confidence, and inspires life-changing connections for all participants. Karin will share a little about the history of Intercambio, what "relationship-based ESOL” is, and how the Confidence and Connections curriculum can help teachers break into freelancing with confidence.

Room B

2:30 - 3:30pm Eastern US time

David Deubelbeiss

“The Seven Deadly Sins of TEFLpreneurship”

It’s not easy “going it alone” and being at the helm of your own educational ship. Besides having to do so much, there are many hazards out there on the high seas of learning and teaching. This session will review seven “sins” that TEFLpreneurs need to avoid or temper to maximize their own success as freelancers or consultants. The presentation will draw on David’s 30+ years of edupreneurship and will allow time for plenty of questions. You’ll also learn more about the ELT Buzz Lesson Library and how to access materials.

Room A

10 - 11am Eastern US time

Ana Jereb

“The Teaching Life You Don’t Need to Recover From”

Running your own teaching business feels like freedom… and it's such a great feeling! But what happens when worry, anxiety and fear show up? Whether it’s the fear of not earning enough, not doing enough or that everyone else knows something you don’t… it happens to so many of us and it's not a great feeling. This workshop is an invitation to a better way. Not an easier one, mind you, but a fuller, calmer, more sustainable one. Join Ana to explore three radical mindset pivots that can transform how you live and work: letting go of control and learning to trust the process, acting from your values instead of fear, and building a sense of community instead of isolation. You’ll leave with a clearer sense of what “enough” looks like for you, simple practices to reduce the mental noise of running a business, and the courage to approach your teaching life as something to be lived and enjoyed fully.

Room B

10 - 11am Eastern US time

Emily Bryson

“Powerful Visual Thinking Strategies for TEFLpreneurial Success”

As TEFLpreneurs, having a clear idea of goals and how we plan to achieve them is crucial. Visual Thinking can help entrepreneurs to map out their dreams, define what ‘success’ means to them, and reflect on their wins so far. This session will share tried and tested ways to do this. Using innovative visual metaphors and super-simple doodles, participants will be guided to explore their current eco-system and make a visual plan for their future. These powerful strategies focus on the communicative aspects of hand-drawn visuals; no drawing skills are required, just a desire to visualise success and use it to succeed!

Room A

11:30am - 12:30pm Eastern US time

Tim Bolen

“Losing Your Fear of Content Creation”

Does the idea of creating social media content to grow your English teaching business intimidate or scare you? Do you think you need to have a million different skills to build a following on social media? Do you think that building a social media presence is IMPOSSIBLE for you and always will be? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, join Tim (@yourenglishcheerleader), an ESL content creator who grew his social media following from 0 to almost 400k in three years, for a fun, uplifting session where he’ll explain how he built his following and tell you everything he would have liked to know when he started out on Instagram with zero followers and a dream back in July of 2022. Learn what you need to get started with content creation (which is a lot less than you think!), how to build a loyal following of people who actually care about YOU and trust your expertise enough to become paying customers, and what you should avoid to stay sane throughout the process. If you’re looking for a more optimistic, hopeful perspective on content creation, this session is for you!

Room B

11:30am - 12:30pm Eastern US time

Boelo Van Der Pool

“Dyslexia... Problem or Opportunity? (Hint: it's the latter!)”

OMG. Another student with dyslexia. What should you do? Ignore him? Send him somewhere else? NO!!! Teach him! Treasure him! Make this your opportunity to gain new and more students. Get into a niche market that represents 10-15% of the population. In this workshop, Boelo will guide you through looking at what dyslexia is and what you can do to offer dyslexia-friendly language classes. And how you can make this an opportunity.

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