I found my passion for teaching nearly 20 years ago when, at the beginning of my career, I started to become aware of the importance of play while observing the way in which my students were using the English language while practising their English in groups. 

I graduated from the Faculty of Letters and Sciences and then completed my master’s studies in Intercultural Communication and Linguistic Studies. I consider myself one of the lucky students who, before finishing my studies, had the opportunity to engage my students in real communication situations, an experience that encouraged me to learn more about teaching methods and techniques that could help my students learn more, but at the same time in an enjoyable way.

 Participating in various seminars, courses, conferences, and workshops proved to be very useful for me as I felt a new world of possibilities was opening in front of my eyes. However, I felt that I could do more to become a better teacher. In 2008, I obtained my first international teaching certificate (TKT), and later, in 2010, I obtained the CELTA international certification (pass A), an experience that helped me better understand the learning process beyond the classroom. 

I continued to work with students and children of different ages and levels, and later I became a teacher in the UK, where I worked with children from various cultures. During that time, I obtained the Qualified Teacher status, an important qualification recognized by the British authorities. 

After that, I decided to start a new adventure – obtaining the CELT YL qualification in Barcelona, which gave me international recognition in teaching young learners. This course helped me adapt my teaching techniques and also to better understand that children are curious, enjoy being involved in games, and are always ready for new challenges. 

I like to think of myself as a curious person who always wants to try new strategies to make teaching and learning relevant for the future, but also enjoyable. 

This is the main reason why I enjoy participating in various education-related events, some of which include: Innovate ELT conferences in Barcelona (2016, 2017, 2019), the Cooperative Teaching and Learning Strategies course offered by CPD International, the Active Learning and Assessment for Learning workshop offered by Cambridge International Examinations, the Common Ground Collaborative workshop on writing modules through Inquiry, courses on Teaching through Guided Inquiry, as well as the most recent courses and conferences (Creating Cultures of Thinking, Introduction to Teaching CLIL, Navigating the Changing Demography of International Schools- a deep dive into EAL, Project Zero Sparks conference). 

As an Avenorian, I continued to develop my teaching skills by familiarizing myself with the Jolly Phonics program, an approach I had the opportunity to include in working with young children. Avenor College is now part of the Common Ground Collaborative, which means that I can learn more about visible learning, guided learning, assessment for learning, and thinking routines. Because this is one of my passions, I want to learn as much as possible and share the things I discover with my colleagues to help children be better prepared for the future. 

Therefore, my mission as an English Curriculum Leader is to continue to support my colleagues in the process of integrating an interdisciplinary vision of the learning process through the development and enrichment of the Cambridge curriculum through extracurricular projects as well as modern teaching strategies (Inquiry, CLIL).

 In addition to this, since of my aims is to observe children’s communication skills (both verbal and written) in other disciplines, I have organized sessions for fellow teachers around the topics of ‘Literacy across the Curriculum’ and ‘Introduction to teaching CLIL’. 

I am currently leading the ‘Teachers for Teachers’ project, which aims to support talented teachers at the beginning of their careers, a project in which the help of the Avenor team is essential. 

In addition to this project, I am part of a team whose mission is to define the profile of the Avenor teacher with the help of the Teacher Capabilities Roadmap tool, which aims to help teachers reflect on their own learning journey. 

These two initiatives are joining the third one related to Avenor School’s participation in the OECD initiative focusing on the level of cognitive challenge in the classroom. 

Last but not least, I will continue to help children develop their own mechanisms for thinking independently and taking responsibility for the learning process.