Life Changing
Experiences
Life-long
Friends
Quality
Education
Responsible
Travel
Our Mission
Your English teaching adventure made simple. There’s no two ways about it, we love teaching English abroad! Passion for what we do at Premier TEFL is in abundance. Every. Single. Day.
TEFL & Travel Experts
Nikki Foley
TEFL & Travel Specialist
Nikki’s experience teaching in Barcelona means she’s walked in your shoes and is full of advice. This TEFL-qualified, Applied Languages graduate also cooks up a
storm, making traditional, local dishes from her travels.
Top Travel Spot: Berlin, Germany
Favorite Food: Lasagne (Di Carne o Vegetariana)
Best Part of Travel: Experiencing a new culture, especially the food, while broadening your own horizons
Would Love to Visit: Argentina (or anywhere in South America)
Walter Cullinan
TEFL & Travel Specialist
Walter is our TEFL and Travel Specialist. He has travelled to most countires in Europe and spent over 3 years teaching English in Ireland, Poland and Italy as well as online. He’s passionate about online education and what doors it can open for people down the line
Top Travel Spot: Budapest
Favourite Food: Italian food (pasta carbonara in particular)
Best Part of Travel: Opening your mind and making new friends
Would Love to Visit: The Phillipines
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Academic Team
Jacob Thomas
Academic Director
DELTA trained Jacob’s international career has taken him across Thailand, Germany and Spain teaching English. His specialist teaching experience includes Cambridge assessment as well as IELTS preparation and online teaching.
Top Travel Spot: Koh Phangan, Thailand and Miedzyzdroje, Poland (his partner’s hometown)
Favorite Food: Thai street food – moo da deow (fried pork) & guy phet met ma muang (fried chicken with cashew nuts)!
Best Part of Travel: Having experiences that take your breath away!
Would Love to Visit: Australia, Fiji, Cook Islands and the Southern Pacific Islands…
Rachel Hammond
Academic Team Leader
DELTA trained Rachel has worked in many countries across Europe: Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Romania to name a few! Her teaching experience includes online teaching, exam preparation classes and running her own teaching business. Rachel has been to 35 countries and has no intention of stopping yet!
Top Travel Spots: Jordan, Switzerland and the Balkans
Favorite Food: Anything Peruvian, Lebanese and tacos!
Best Part of Travel: Meeting like-minded people who share their travel tips with you
Would Love to Visit: Argentina, South Korea and Egypt
Luke O'Dea
Academic Assessor
CELTA trained Luke is on the path to a Masters in Education & foreign language teaching. This soccer fan teaches English (and German) in Argentina and Ireland. Our favorite saxophonist is passionate about diversity and is also an avid reader.
Top Travel Spot: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Favorite Food: Medium-rare steak with a glass (or two) of Malbec
Best Part of Travel: Experiencing the diverse riches of other cultures; acquiring lifelong memories with expats and locals alike
Would Love to Visit: New York (I’m half American) and Cuba
Jenny O'Sullivan
Academic Assessor
Jenny has over 15 years of experience as an English teacher, and is a specialist in Cambridge and Oxford assessment. When she finished her degree in Dublin City University at 21 years old, she set off for Spain on a one-year TEFL placement and never looked back!
Top Travel Spot: Galicia, Spain
Favorite Food: You can’t beat a good pizza and a cold beer!
Best Part of Travel: Exploring the different specialties from different countries.
Would Love to Visit: Japan and Thailand – for the food above all!
Laura Graham
Academic Assessor
Laura has been an English teacher since 2009 and worked as a TEFL teacher while traveling South America and China before settling down permanently in southern Spain. This has given her a wealth of experience in all ages and levels, class sizes, teaching methods as well as having designed courses for individual, private students
Top Travel Spot: Ecuador, it’s an amazing country on every level – food, people, scenery, everything blew my mind when I was there!
Favorite Food: The famous Xi’an lamb and cumin noodles, slurpy deliciousness!!!
Best Part of Travel: Pushing my own limits and putting myself in new situations
Would Love to Visit: I would love to visit Georgia or the Kingdom of Bhutan
Philippa Stones
Academic Assessor
Beginning her English teaching career in 1994, Philippa has built a wide range of teaching and travelling experience. From Japan to Bangkok and now Spain, she has enjoyed exploring the outdoors and relaxing with a good book in countries all around the world.
Top Travel Spot: Stuck between Queenstown (NZ) and Fiji
Favorite Food: Anything Thai, especially Larb Moo
Best Part of Travel: Experiencing different foods, cultures, languages and just exploring!
Would Love to Visit: The rural life of Mongolia and Svalbard in Norway to see the polar bears
Anya Shaw
Academic Assessor
DELTA trained Anya has been working in English language teaching for 17 years as a teacher, trainer and assessor. She loves traveling and has been lucky enough to live and work in Spain, Brazil, Argentina and Sri Lanka.
Top Travel Spot: Buenos Aires
Favorite Food: All things curry-related
Best Part of Travel: Exploring new cultures
Would Love to Visit: Japan
Michelle Benson
Teacher Trainer
Michelle’s TEFL career spans over 20 years. After graduating with a BA Degree in English, a Post Graduate Diploma in Education, and a TEFL qualification, she decided to teach English abroad for six years both in Botswana Africa and Tel Aviv Israel. Since then Michelle has been teaching English to adults in Limerick City. Her students come from over 30 different countries from Afghanistan to Brazil.
Top Travel Spot: Italy
Favorite Food: Lebanese
Best Part of Travel: Having adventures into the unknown
Would Love to Visit: India
Michelle Kauffman
Teacher Trainer
Meet your personal tutor, Michelle! She’s excited to share her years of international TEFL experience as she teaches your course. Michelle spent 15 years working, living, and traveling overseas.
Top Travel Spot: Istanbul, Turkey, where she lived for 1.5 years
Favorite Food: The vegan restaurants of Ubud, Bali. These places specialize in taking the freshest ingredients and making them into exquisitely delicious dinners
Best Part of Travel: Adventure. Meeting new people, experience their day-to-day lives
Would Love to Visit: Brazil and Russia
Emos Scappatura-Proust
TEFL Jobs Coaching
Emos is a highly experienced TEFL teacher with over 15 years of teaching experience. He holds an MA in TESOL and Applied Linguistics and is a specialist in exam preparation. Emos has a wealth of experience in online teaching and is DELTA trained. In addition to teaching, Emos is also a TEFL job coach, helping new teachers navigate the job market and find the right position to suit their skills and experience.
Top Travel Spot: Italy
Favorite Food: Pasta (All kinds)
Best Part of Travel: Making unforgettable memories
Would Love to Visit: Japan
Partnerships & Development
Rosie Mansfield
Managing Director
Rosie has an impressive business career spanning 15+ years in the ESL training field. Always her favorite subject, she studied for an English degree in Scotland. Her passion for travel and exploration is infectious, and her expertise is second to none.
Top Travel Spot: Vietnam – all of it!
Favorite Food: Anything spicy, extra spicy
Best Part of Travel: Diversity… of food, culture, people
Would Love to Visit: Japan
Ian O'Sullivan
Co-Founder
Ian’s educational travel career spans almost 25 years. In his opinion, travel is one of the most valuable educations you’ll ever get. This adventure loving, dog-owning fitness enthusiast has a passion for living life to the fullest. Make every day count.
Top Travel Spot: Peru (and Greece)
Favorite Food: a Vindaloo!
Best Part of Travel: The unexpected
Would Love to Visit: Everywhere, I’m 1/2 way there at 100 countries
Deidre Bounds
Co-Founder
Deirdre’s inspirational TEFL journey saw her teach abroad in Japan, China, Australia and Greece. On returning home she began work to share the knowledge she’d gained from her time teaching English abroad, developing the world’s first online TEFL course in the 1990s.
Top Travel Spot: Greece
Favorite Food: Yakitori
Best Part of Travel: The surprise
Would Love to Visit: Bali
Digital Team
Przemysław Solan
Web Developer
Chess-addict Przemek is our Web Developer. This movie buff enjoys Lord of the Rings and The Shawshank Redemption but they’re not the only classics he loves. Przemek also has a keen interest in literature and ancient manuscripts. #checkmate
Top Travel Spot: Kraków
Favorite Food: Chicken Tikka Masala
Best Part of Travel: Exploring new places
Would Love to Visit: Rome
Darragh Mangan
Lead Designer
#VisCom specialist Darragh is responsible for making sure our website looks on point. This guitar owning rock music fan also loves a good soccer match. He’s the office comedian and has absolutely no guitar-playing skills.
Top Travel Spot: Rome, Italy
Favorite Food: Beef bourguignon
Best Part of Travel: Meeting cool people that you can have a good laugh/beer with
Would Love to Visit: New York
Madelyn Osborne
Digital Content Creator
Hailing from Vancouver, Canada, Madelyn is a globe-trotter torn between her camera and a good book. Having lived in Scotland, Wales, Germany, and South Korea, she’s explored 15+ countries. She was a professional theatre director before catching the travel bug. Madelyn is always ready to dish her best travel tips, so make sure you ask!
Top Travel Spot: Vietnam or South Korea
Favorite Food: Noodles of any kind!
Best Part of Travel: Creating core memories with strangers turned friends
Would Love to Visit: Japan and South Africa
PREMIER TEFL
Why are we the best choice?
Good question! It’s something we ask all new customers… we’re loved for our 4.7 star reviews, course quality and value for money. On top of that, we’re proud of our 14-day money back guarantee, award-winning government regulated training and Premier TEFL Pledge: pass your course or your money back!
Say Hi, Chat to Us
Our Story
So, what’s our history? Well, since you ask, it all began more than 25 years ago when one of our founders, Deirdre, landed back in the UK after four years abroad teaching in Japan, China, Australia and finally the mountains of Greece.
Her life had changed so profoundly that she wanted to pass her knowledge and ideas to others. And so, she did. With passion and determination, she founded a TEFL company that was to change the concept of teaching abroad for hundreds of thousands of people. She set about creating the first online TEFL course and worked with thousands of volunteers from all over the world.
She still has that same passion and knowledge today, but perhaps more importantly, empathy with fellow hopeful travelers as she has been exactly where you are now… standing at the beginning of something truly life-changing!
Careers at Premier TEFL
It takes top-notch people to produce industry-leading work. If you’re a smart, ambitious person with that can-do spirit,
a penchant for working with awesome people, and chock full of talent, we should talk.
