Cactus announces winner of 2010 IATEFL ‘Cactus to Conference’ scholarship
Monday, 23rd November 2009

We are thrilled to announce that Fiona James has won the first ever IATEFL ‘Cactus to Conference’ scholarship.
The scholarship, created for newly-qualified TEFLers with less than three years experience, enables one lucky EFL teacher to become a member of IATEFL (the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language), and to attend the IATEFL annual conference, with £400 provided towards accommodation and travel costs . The scholarship also gives the successful applicants the coveted opportunity to be published in IATEFL publications and on the Cactus website.
Fiona has extensive teaching experience throughout Europe, and is currently working as a freelace teacher in Cordoba, Spain. She was very excited to have been selected as the winner, and said:
“I feel very honoured to have been given this opportunity. Whilst all EFL teachers are eligible for IATEFL membership, in reality it is not often something that a newly qualified teacher can really afford, even more so when faced with the added financial strain of attending the event itself, when living in another country. I am therefore really looking forward to taking every opportunity to explore, learn from and share my experiences with my future students and colleagues.”
Jenny Johnson, Academic Director at Cactus Language Training, commented:
“We are especially proud to have Fiona as our first ‘Cactus to Conference’ award winner. By being awarded the Cactus scholarship, Fiona will gain a truly sought-after opportunity to learn about and keep up to date with the most recent developments within the EFL industry. Fiona will also have access to teacher development opportunities that might not usually be available to her at this stage in her career. And, more importantly, Fiona will become part of a huge, welcoming community of English teachers which will impact on her beliefs about teaching and expand her professional horizons.”
As part of her scholarship, Fiona will be delivering a workshop at the IATEFL conference on Friday 9 April. The talk will consider choices in the classroom:
Every day we have to make choices. Everyday our students have to make choices. But how much choice do we give our students in the classroom?
Do we need choice in the classroom?
Is it always effective?
Is it always viable?
If you feel that these dilemmas are important to you, why don’t you choose to come along?
For more information on the upcoming conference, and on next year’s scholarship, please visit the IATEFL website.
Tags: conference, teaching, iatefl, efl, language, cactus, tefl, english
Posted by Laura Lippert 2009-11 under
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