The CIEE TEFL Instructor Team

CIEE TEFL courses are led by highly qualified instructors with years of experience training new TEFL teachers like you.  The CIEE TEFL Instructors lead weekly live tutorial sessions, facilitate class discussion, provide individual feedback on assignments, and are always available to answer your questions.

All CIEE TEFL Instructors:

• Hold a DELTA or Masters in TEFL/TESOL, Applied Linguistics, or an equivalent field of study.
• Have at least five years of experience teaching EFL in a range of different environments.

Learn more about the importance of choosing a TEFL course with highly qualified TEFL instructors.

Meet the CIEE TEFL Instructor Team

Lynn Zimmerman

• Master's in TESOL
• PhD in Curriculum & Teaching

About Me
I have been involved in English teaching and English teacher training for about 30 years. I started in secondary TEFL as a Peace Corps volunteer in Poland. Since then, I’ve been a Fulbright Scholar in Poland, Belarus and Moldova.

Why I enjoy teaching CIEE TEFL Courses
I think that teaching English in other countries is one of the most rewarding jobs that someone can have. I enjoy helping teachers-in-training embark on their own journey as teachers of English.

Mina Gavell

• Master's in TESOL
• Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature

About Me
I took my first English teaching position in South Korea in 2009. Having found my calling, I returned to the United States and taught academic English from 2010-2018. In 2018, I became an English Language Fellow and was posted in Urgench, Uzbekistan where I taught reading and writing at the state university.

Why I enjoy teaching CIEE TEFL Courses
As someone who is kind of a nerd when it comes to pedagogy and methodology, I'd have to say I enjoy getting to discuss such matters with the students during the tutorials.

Kim Perkins

• Master’s in TEAP (Teaching Academic English)
• The Cambridge DELTA
• TEFL certificate

About Me
Originally from the UK, I’m currently in Cape Town, South Africa, teaching General English and EAP. Prior to moving here, I taught EAP, Business English, and Writing for Mass Communication at Boston University.

Why I enjoy teaching CIEE TEFL Courses
I enjoy making a real connection with my trainees, and I find it helps them too as they feel more a part of their online community too.

Alix Slayton

• Master's in TESOL
• Bachelor’s degree in English: American and British Literature

About Me
I have been in the exciting field of TEFL for more than a decade. My career has afforded me the opportunity to teach in diverse contexts all around the world, including Kazakhstan (Peace Corps), Poland, Russia, Thailand, and Taiwan.

Why I enjoy teaching CIEE TEFL Courses:
What I love most about teaching the CIEE TEFL course is providing trainees with guidance and encouragement to nurture the teacher within, and to develop essential knowledge and skills to feel confident and ready for success in the classroom.

Lynn Nakazawa

• Master's in TESOL

About Me
I am an English language teacher and teacher trainer with work experience in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, and Malaysia.

Why I enjoy teaching CIEE TEFL Courses
My favorite aspect of CIEE TEFL is the strong sense of community within each cohort. We provide our trainees with ongoing support and equip them with the skills they need to feel confident as language teachers.
 

Colby Toussaint

• Master's in TESOL

About Me
I currently work as an online ESL instructor to students all over the world. I've had the pleasure of working as an English teacher since 1998.

Why I enjoy teaching CIEE TEFL Courses
I love preparing people for the adventure of teaching English abroad. I like that the CIEE TEFL course not only provides technical information about how to teach English but also allows participants to consider the cultural implications of working in other countries or with multi-cultural students at home.
 

Jamie Cardwell

• Master's in TESOL
• PhD in Education: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

About Me
I have been teaching various classes in ESL/EFL, curriculum methods (instruction/assessment), and teacher education for the past 20 years. My experience ranges from children to adults in multilingual, diverse contexts in the U.S. Uganda, Turkey and the UAE.

Why I enjoy teaching CIEE TEFL Courses
My favorite thing about teaching the CIEE TEFL courses is the excitement and anticipation of the trainees as they go through the course. They learn so much within 10 weeks and I enjoy witnessing the changes in their own teaching practice on a weekly basis.
 

Leann Keefe Holland

• MA TESOL courses
• TESOL Certification
• PhD in Slavic Languages and Literature with a focus on Second Language Acquisition and dissertation on teaching reading comprehension

About Me
I have over 15 years of classroom and online experience teaching Russian and English as a Foreign Language to young learners, young adults and adults from all over the world.

Why I enjoy teaching CIEE TEFL Courses:
In the CIEE TEFL course, students acquire many tools that they will bring into their future global classrooms. I’m always excited to see their growth as they progress through the course, and I’m happy to share in their enthusiasm about their upcoming adventures.