A fresh, new look for The Farm!
You will have noticed that our home page looks a bit different these days. It now includes blog posts, discussion articles, previous news posts, idioms and speaking test questions with model answers. Take a few moments to look around the new page and discover all the materials you can find as soon as you log on!
Fresh new faces—Welcome, Ben & Robert! and Welcome back, Louisa!
We have two new teachers—Ben and Robert—and one returnee, Louisa, this month! Let me introduce them.
Ben, originally from the U.K., now lives in Madrid, Spain. He has many years' experience teaching English and is a Cambridge English examiner. Before becoming a teacher, he worked in various management positions. Ben's main hobby right now is training his Border collie, Laia, to do sports such as Agility. Go, Laia! Go, Ben!
Robert, also originally from the U.K., has lived in Greece for almost 30 years. With 10 years of business and 20 years of coaching, training, and consulting experience (including over 10,000 lessons taught online with clients from around the world), he's a perfect fit for TEF! When he's not working or teaching, Robert likes to walk, read, act, and see his friends.
Some of you may remember our colleague, Louisa. We're glad to say she's back after taking some time off to study for a degree in corporate law. When she's not working, she loves to go snow skiing in the mountains of her home, New Zealand, in the winter and water skiing in the summer. Welcome back, Louisa!
Ilia helps Montrealers in need
Our Employee of the Month for October goes to a teacher who must never sleep given how much he does here at The English Farm—Ilia! Ilia is always there to lend a helping hand to teachers, he contributes content (both a Discussion topic and a blog post), and he even created and led a staff training workshop where he taught us Russian to give TEF teachers an inside look at what it means to be a language learner. His students love him, his colleagues love him, and he never stops looking for new ways to contribute, both as a teacher and a staff member. Поздравляю*, Ilia!
Ilia has chosen to donate his prize money to the Welcome Hall Mission in Montreal, Canada, which gives aid to people in need, including the homeless, hungry, jobless, and those at risk. In Ilia's words:
The Welcome Hall Mission is an invaluable charity that gives respite to marginalized and at-risk people during the harsh Canadian winter months. It provides nutritious meals and bedding to vulnerable Montrealers.
Thank you for being part of our team, Ilia! We are so much better because of you.
Warm regards,
Di
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* "Congratulations" in Russian