Recording date: December 16, 2020

Guest: Joy MacFarland, Boston

Synopsis: Need a shot of hope and inspiration? Well, you’re in luck because this episode has both, thanks to our amazing guest, Joy MacFarland. A former English Language Teacher, Joy now works in ELT publishing and promotes collaboration within the ESL industry (even with, gasp, competitors!) through her love of conferences! We discuss the impending challenge of enticing qualified teachers back to the classroom after getting “real jobs” because of Covid-19.  And we talk about how Language Learning can change the world, one student at a time. We also get a chance to hear Joy use one of our favorite new quotes, “We’re a huggy industry.”

Links:

https://www.englishusa.org/

https://www.matsol.org/

https://eltngl.com/

Recording date: December 16, 2020

Guests: Jo McVey, London and Julie Butters, Cork

Synopsis: It’s double the fun as we talk with veteran English Language Teachers Jo McVey and Julie Butters. We discuss their different career paths in English Language Teaching. We explore the delayed emotional toll many teachers faced after the rapid transition to online teaching and the road back to Wellness during the continued lockdowns.  We also chat about the good and bad of academic language training and the future of the English Language Teaching industry.

Links: 

https://englishusapdc2021.org/

Produced by Melanie Johnson and Amy Swanson for BounceEnglish

Edited by Amy Swanson

Theme Song “Let’s Keep in Touched” by John Swanson (Amy’s big brother!)

Recording date: January 28, 2021

Guest: Amanda Bradford, Kunshan

Synopsis: Looking for some light at the end of this Covid tunnel? Well, Amanda Bradford is the person to talk to! Join us for this wonderful conversation with Amanda about her experiences teaching at a Chinese university when, just one year ago, the Covid-19 hit. She shares her thoughts on how online learning will change in the future and about how, now that she is back teaching in the classroom, she and her students have come to appreciate the value of face to face classes. We also discuss how the future of international travel may change. Join us for this first person account of getting back to “normal” and her hope for the future in the West.

Links: 

Produced by Melanie Johnson and Amy Swanson for BounceEnglish

Edited by Amy Swanson

Theme Song “Let’s Keep in Touched” by John Swanson (Amy’s big brother!)

Recording date: December 22, 2020

Guest: Caroline McKinnon, New York City

Synopsis: We are so excited to talk with Caroline McKinnon, an incredible person and an incredible teacher, who is universally ADORED by her students and colleagues. Caroline has travelled and worked all over the world, and put together a phenomenal career. She's currently the Director of Courses at Rennert International in New York City, and Director of FeLTNYC, an all volunteer organization founded to help asylum seekers in New York City learn English in a very challenging time for immigrants to the United States. In this episode, Caroline has lots of interesting things to say about how FeLTNYC grew during the pandemic and the future of English Language Teaching.

Links:

https://www.feltnyc.org/

https://www.rennert.com/

https://www.englishusa.org/page/2021PDC

Recording date: December 9, 2020

Guest: John Laing, Sydney

Synopsis: John Laing is a veteran English language teacher whose career has taken him from Australia, to Japan to the Middle East and back home to Oz. He has a reputation for being a source of positivity and fun in the classroom and a beloved teacher by his many students. Join us as we talk with John about life in Australia during Covid, its impact on the English Language Training industry in that country and his thoughts on the future of English Language Industry in Australia.

Produced by Melanie Johnson and Amy Swanson for BounceEnglish

Edited by Amy Swanson

Theme Song “Let’s Keep in Touched” by John Swanson (Amy’s big brother!)

Recording date: December 6, 2020.

Guest: Chris Griffiths, Dubai

Synopsis: In this episode, we talk with the wonderful Chris Griffiths about living and working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), language localization for English training materials in the Middle East and his experiences living in Dubai during the time of Covid.

Produced by Melanie Johnson and Amy Swanson for BounceEnglish

Edited by Amy Swanson

Theme Song “Let’s Keep in Touched” by John Swanson (Amy’s big brother!)

Recording date: December 2, 2020

Guest:  Anne Crutchfield, Los Angeles

Synopsis: In this episode, we talk with Dr. Anne Cruchfield about her experiences starting her own English Language Teaching business based in Los Angeles. We discuss entrepreneurship in this English Language industry, the transition to teaching English online and her thoughts on the future of English Language Teaching in a post-Covid world. Oh - and how Anne is living her dream by taking the leap to start her own business! 

Episode correction: the name of Anne’s business is LA English Tutor.

Links:

https://www.laenglishtutor.com/

Produced by Melanie Johnson and Amy Swanson for BounceEnglish

Edited by Amy Swanson

Theme Song “Let’s Keep in Touch” by John Swanson (Amy’s big brother!)

In this season, we talk with guests about the impact of Covid-19 and new technology on the future of teaching, education and learning. And our first season is all about ESL, Baby! That’s English as a Second Language for the uninitiated. Or third language or forth language!