Graduate Story: Zoe Zymanczyk

Zoe completed her TEFL certification in August 2014 at Oxford TEFL, Barcelona. After finishing the course she spent 3 years teaching in Spain, Colombia and South Korea. Zoe returned home to London in April 2018 and is currently working in ELT publishing alongside colleagues who helped create many of the textbooks she used to teach from!  In this blog post she tells us how her TEFL course with us has helped her throughout her career in ELT.   

When did you do you Trinity CertTESOL?

I completed my TEFL certification in August 2014, in Barcelona. I had just finished my degree in History at university in the UK and knew that I wanted to teach and live abroad. I thought Barcelona would be a far more exciting place to start my adventure than London, and so found myself at Oxford TEFL, alongside about 15 others, eagerly waiting to learn how to teach English.

How did you find the course?

The course was invaluable in preparing me for what to expect in the classroom. From learning the ins and outs of the grammar behind the wonderful English language, to the very memorable teaching practice opportunities, the course and tutors ensured that after a month I felt happy to step into a classroom on my own.

What did you do after the course?

Stepping into the classroom alone was exactly what I did. After my time in Barcelona, I was determined to learn Spanish and moved to Madrid to start teaching in an academy there. Over the year and a half I spent in the city I taught a range of students from young learners to adults, exam preparation classes to private classes and everything in between. I was continuously learning and developing as I taught, but everything I learnt in the course was certainly put into practice and provided me with very strong foundations upon which I could build my own teaching style.

Have you been teaching for a minimum of 2 years?

If you would like to develop your teaching skills and advance your career in ELT, the Trinity DipTESOL course could be for you.