Hi Guys!
Thanks for stopping by. My name’s Tim James and welcome to ESLfreeway.com.
Originally from the UK, I am currently teaching TEFL/ESL in Thailand and have previously taught in the UK and Japan through a combination of government schools, language institutes, universities and international schools.
After nearly twenty years of classroom based TEFL and ESL teaching I felt I had enough knowledge in the tank to be able to write some useful articles for fellow teachers.
I had intended putting a site together some years ago but never got round to it. However, with the recent lockdowns I had a bit of time to put something together and finally published the first article in October 2020.
My intention is simply to write a bunch of helpful articles for other teachers. I enjoy writing and with the world going online I thought it was about time I did something, better late than never I guess!
From the day I first started teaching English back in 2003 in Cambodia I knew teaching was for me. I could see the light bulbs going off in the kids heads that I was teaching and it just seemed such a worthwhile, almost magical experience being able to help people for a living.
I kicked on from that and have done a few qualifications over the years. Here are a few of them just to give you an idea of where I am at:
The Cambridge DELTA, PGCE in Secondary English Teaching, TEMC: Teaching in English in multilingual classrooms , TESOL Strategies: Supporting ESL Students in Mainstream Classrooms, Practical strategies for teaching international pupils in the mainstream classroom
Honestly, though, I’m not big into academia and tend to write based on my experience rather than from research-driven papers. I guess I feel that good teaching comes from a teacher with a genuine interest in helping students and from their individual personalities, ideas, and strategies.
In my current teaching role, I am responsible for teaching teachers who have just arrived in Thailand from their home countries, usually the UK and the US, how to teach their subjects in a way that is accessible for second language learners.
It is something I enjoy doing and I like to emphasize that it is often the simple things that make a difference in the classroom and it is those simple ideas and strategies I intend to write about.
I am also an IELTS examiner and I examine the speaking aspect of the test. It’s pretty boring at times but with two little boys to think about it helps put the bread on the table and has given me more valuable experience.
Anyway, I hope you stick around and read some of the articles. If it’s useful, bookmark us and come back in the future and if you have any questions then please use the form below, many thanks and…
Happy teaching guys!
Feel free to contact me on the form below, or via e-mail: ieltsfreeway@gmail.com