Burcu Akyol's Blog

March 2, 2013
by burcuakyol
9 Comments

SPREAD YOUR ENTHUSIASM – “Teachers Can Do It!” by Zeynep Cihan

This is the story of three lovely English teachers and entrepreneurs in Istanbul, Turkey. If you like to meet them, they will be at ISTEK ELT 2013 Exhibition Area waiting for you at their wonderful stand:)

As ESL teachers who have been working at many different language schools and private schools, my partners Gizem Altunyuva Korkmaz, Ipek Cihan and I ( Zeynep Cihan) wanted to open our own language school. The reason that we decided to do so, was not being satisfied with the current ESL education system at many private language schools. As teachers who are a part of the system, we observed that neither students, nor teachers were happy and satisfied. However, language schools were pleased, because they could make money out of it. Unfortunately, education has been led on commercial basis, that we wanted to change everything about it! Sure, it was difficult to change the mentality, but we believed that if we could give a good start, it might inspire people, and make a difference at the end.

Using the opportunity of being experienced teachers in ESL field, we identified every missing point in ELT system at language schools and what students really need, and shaped the vision of Queen English Language School’s education system. We created a new brand, a new vision to teach English according to students’ needs, and built a cozy butique school atmosphere to make them feel comfortable. We are aware of our students busy lifestyles, that’s why our school is all designed according to their needs ; when they come, they can have their coffee or tea at our terrace, and watch the islands view, enjoy their lessons with our effective teaching system and feel satisfied and happy during and after their course.

No one could believe the before and after of our school. The first time when we had our place, there was nothing in it. An open office without floors, nothing… We drew the project of it, chose and customized the furniture according to ‘’Queen’s place’’ like a palace, and decorated. We were with the constructers everyday during the construction, learnt a lot about it! Found our web designer, graphic designer, created our brand and logo, chose books one by one for each level and program, created our curriculum; in short, we did every step head to toe by ourselves. Thanks to our families and friends support, we never lost our courage, belief and strength.

So far, it looks like we have achieved what we dreamt of; at least the first few steps… Recently, we opened our new school Queen TESOL Centre, where we offer the first and original TESOL Certificate in Turkey. As ESL teachers and founders of a language school, where education takes the first place, it has always been our dream to train English teachers who are eager to improve themselves, deliver modern classes, be aware of what is going on in ESL field around the World, and make themselves ‘’international ESL teachers’’.

Due to our affiliation with King George International Business College, we offer TESOL to ESL teachers, with a Canadian Certification. This means teachers get their TESOL Certificate as if they studied in Canada , which gives them the privilege to hold a diploma from an English speaking country. Besides, we offer International Education Consultancy and English Experience Programs to our ESL students.

The happiness of our students and their being reference for us are the things that feed us, make us more enthusiastic, and willing to do more. We started a journey and we have a lot of destinations, hope we will do it altogether with our students and teachers and staff. Last but not least, we also would like to thank Burcu Akyol, who believes in us and supports everybody in ELT field. We are the teachers who create generations, so why not change the mistakes?

WE CAN DO IT!

Zeynep Cihan
ESL Teacher & Founder
Queen English Language School & Queen TESOL Centre

OUR SCHOOL: QUEEN ENGLISH LANGUAGE SCHOOL & QUEEN TESOL CENTRE

Before

After

 

Before

After

 

February 24, 2013
by burcuakyol
5 Comments

Going To IATEFL For The First Time? Here Is Some Advice For You From My PLN

Having been the source of inspiration of ISTEK ELT, IATEFL Conference is the most important ELT event of the year for me. This year, I am very happy to be presenting with Luke Meddings and looking forward to meeting the ELT professionals and friends from all around the world.

I have been invited to do a ‘how to get the most from conferences’ session at the British Council Pre-IATEFL Event that will take place on 9th March in Ankara. While preparing for my talk, I wanted to ask my PLN as well and posted this question on Facebook:

What advice would you give to a teacher who is going to the IATEFL conference for the first time?

I was amazed to see the great answers and wanted to share some of them here on my blog.

Begum Kut Be calm. Concentrate on your session, make friends and learn as much as you can:)

Beyza Yilmaz Be ready for the unexpected. Have a back up plan. Stay calm.

Vicky Saumell Allow yourself to miss a few sessions and stay outside chatting and networking with colleagues from around the world!

Adam Simpson Have fun. Don’t go to every single session. Go to the social events. Get on twitter. Take pics and post them here.

Mürüvvet Tutkun Çelik Exhibition hall is also a place to discover and keep up the date.

Laura Woodward Enjoy it!

Beyza Yilmaz Keep in mind that you can follow Twitter and Facebook updates about the other sessions and watch some of the recordings later. Enjoy the conference.

Eva Büyüksimkesyan The app is great. Pre-plan and enjoy the sessions, networking and evening events.

James Taylor Go at your own pace. Maybe you’ll want to run and around and see as much as possible (I did!) or you’ll want to take your time. And go out in the evenings, that’s the best bit!

Sandy Millin I’d second Adam’s advice about Twitter – getting on there before you go means you have a ready-made group of people to speak to when you arrive – it made it a lot less overwhelming for my first time last year. Or she(?) could speak to people on the IATEFL Facebook group.

Julie Raikou Seconding Sandy Millin, connect earlier thro’ Twitter and Facebook so you get to share your interests & can have follow-up discussions F2F.

Sarah M Howell Bring comfortable shoes!

Nata Jo Practice, practice, practice in front of the mirror if need be.

Make use of the speakers’ quiet room. Ask IATEFL volunteers where it might be. Have somebody who loves you a lot but is professional enough observe you while practicing and ask them to come up with a list what you might be doing wrong( even gestures, posture, tone of voice , pauses, non verbal content etc). Do NOT put your handouts and flash memory in your check in luggage.

Ela Wassell I would recommend reading Sandy Millin‘s #ELTchat summary: http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/2012/03/14/how-can-we-get-the-most-from-conferences-whether-we-attend-or-not/
It’s all there! It helped me a lot!

Esra Aydin If it’s the first time you’ll be in Liverpool, you should visit the Beatles Museum It’s really amazing..and enjoy the conference.

Cecilia Lemos Don’t be afraid to interact and meet new people. It’s a fantastic opportunity to network and broaden your PLN.

Carla Arena Join the Facebook groups for IATEFL and start interacting before getting there.

Walker D Tanner Don’t fall asleep where your boss can see you. Kidding I find it useful to go to workshops for all skills instead of just the skills you most enjoy teaching.

Carol Read Lots of good ideas already mentioned – all really useful and great to hear. Be open to the experience and remember i) that the formal sessions are only one part of the conference, you don’t need to go to all of them, and ii) other people are likely to be feeling the same as you and will welcome a friendly chat and exchange any time. Above all, enjoy!

Eric Baber As Carol says, all the main points have been said already. My main suggestions would be: 1) accept that you won’t be able to see/do everything, and be selective – don’t tire yourself out on day 1, and leave energy for the evening events! 2) Select a mix of sessions to attend. Don’t *just* go to see all the big names, but choose a selection of big names and no-names, and topics you know you’re already interested in know something about and some totally left-field ones (to you at least) – something you’ve never given much thought to but sounds interesting. 3) Try to plan one or two days in advance, but be prepared to change your choices. If for example on day 1 you attend a session on something you didn’t know much about but found fascinating, you might want to attend another session on the same topic on day 2 in preference to another one you’d already chosen. 4) Try to take opportunities to chat with other delegates about what sessions they’ve been to and make a note of anything you might want to re-visit later on – e.g. watch a recorded session online afterwards if it comes highly recommended. 5) Attend the plenaries – it’s great being in one big room with all the other delegates, and are chosen to give a broad spectrum of ideas. And yes I know they’re first thing in the morning, but still I think those would be my main tips!

Bruno Andrade Never miss a plenary session! Although they are very early, they’re invaluable sessions! And do talk to people during breaks and lunches! It’s another powerful PD opportunty!

Willy C. Cardoso or – following up Bruno Andrade‘s advice – watch the plenaries online from your hotel room if you’re not an early bird.

Thank you Begüm, Beyza, Vicky, Adam, Mürüvvet, Laura, Eva, James, Sandy, Julie, Sarah, Nata, Ela, Esra, Cecilia, Carla, Walker, Carol, Eric, Bruno and Willy for your contribution:)

January 29, 2013
by burcuakyol
8 Comments

Twitter Followers Are Not Avatars, They Are Real People

This morning, I noticed that a Turkish columnist who started following me and who I followed back unfollowed me (tongue twister of the day:) Then I went to friendorfollow and saw that a couple of Turkish professors did the same. First they follow people, then people follow them back and then they unfollow people.

Is this a kind of a strategy???

If you are a public figure, I can understand that you prefer a one-way communication style (or whatever it is called) and people who are interested in what you say happily follow you without expecting to be followed back.

But I think this “follow-get followed-unfollow” strategy is so ugly.

What might be the reasons of this so-called strategy? What kind of psychology lies behind it?

Any ideas?