Hi, I’m David Weller. Nice to meet you!
The Barefoot TEFL Teacher is a newsletter I publish twice a month for language teachers, trainers and managers.
Barefoot doctors in China used to wander between villages giving help and advice. I want to do the same - but instead of me wandering, the newsletter will come to you.
My goal is to help 100,000 teachers improve their professional practice regularly.
Two Principles
There are two principles I follow in every newsletter:
Teaching focus. I talk about educational issues, not politics or the latest news headlines.
Actionable advice. In every newsletter, I will try to give at least one practical suggestion to try in your next lesson.
Topics include:
Teaching
Lesson planning
Classroom and online activities
Learning theory
Technology and edtech
Mindset
Teacher training
School management
TEFL and education sectors
Book and tool reviews
Jobs and career guidance
Stay up-to-date
Every new edition of the newsletter goes directly to your inbox.
Free subscribers receive a newsletter every two weeks.
Old editions are available in the archive.
Who is the Barefoot TEFL Teacher?
My name’s David Weller, and I've been a language educator since 2003.
I have a diploma and a master's degree in teaching English (TESOL).
I’ve been a teacher, senior teacher, director of studies, an area manager (for 24 schools), an IELTS examiner, a CertTESOL & DipTESOL trainer and course director, and a CertTESOL moderator and DipTESOL examiner with Trinity College London.
I also consult with schools for their academic programs, and their marketing. Most recently, I’ve helped an ed-tech company grow the number of young learners using their language learning apps.
I’ve also written five books for sale on Amazon:
It’s nice to ‘meet’ you here, and I wish you all the best on your teaching journey!
Media
Webinars
2023-04-19 Trinity College London - How to Integrate AI into Language Teaching & Learning
2020-12-03 IATEFL YLTSIG - 100 Years of Learning Through Play
2020-10-08 Studycat - But Really, Why Lesson Plan?
2020-11-05 Studycat - Task-Based Language Teaching
Podcasts
2023-04-23 - How to Use Stories in Class
2022-08-22 - How to Promote Your Writing
2022-04-18 - Do Coursebooks Stop Teachers Developing?
2021-07-05 - Classroom Interaction Patterns
2021-01-04 - How to Plan Lessons Aims and Why
2020-03-16 - Challenge, Conflict and Cooperation in Online Education
2020-01-13 - Ethics of English Education
2019-10-07 - The Best Way to Learn a Language
2019-08-12 - Why Students Don’t Like Language Class
2019-07-15 - What Have You Changed Your Mind About?
2019-07-01 - Principles for Designing Better Tasks
2019-04-15 - How to Challenge Yourself as a Teacher or Trainer
2019-04-08 - Highlights from IATEFL 2019
2018-12-10 - Learning from Theory, Learning from Practice
2018-04-13 - Highlights from IATEFL 2018 (Pt1)
2018-04-23 - Highlights from IATEFL 2018 (Pt2)
2018-02-26 - The Native / Non-Native English Teacher Debate
2017-04-17 - Highlights from IATEFL 2017
2016-10-31 - How Much of What We Know is Wrong?
Other Podcasts
2021-01-12 TESOL POP podcast - S2E5: Cognitive Load
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