Preply Online Teaching Conference 2024

Author, teacher trainer, teacher Scott Thornbury has taught and trained in Egypt, UK, Spain, and in his native New Zealand. Until recently, he taught on an online MA TESOL program for The New School in New York. His writing credits include several award-winning books for teachers on language and methodology, including About Language (Cambridge) and The New A-Z of ELT (Macmillan). His latest books are 30 Language Teaching Methods,101 Grammar Questions, and 66 Essentials of Lesson Design (all Cambridge). He is also the series editor for the Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers. His website is www.scottthornbury.com

John Hughes is an award-winning ELT author with over thirty years’ experience of teaching and teacher training. He has worked with learners and teachers from all over the world both face-to-face and online. He published his first book in 2003 and since then has authored over eighty titles including course book series such as Life (National Geographic Learning) and Business Result (Oxford University Press). He was the originator and series editor of the ETpedia Teacher resource series (Pavilion ELT). He has lectured in materials writing at Oxford University and now runs courses for teachers in writing their own materials at www.writingeltmaterials.com.

Laura Wilkes is a video and podcast producer who helps educators record engaging content to build stronger connections and grow their community. Before becoming a producer and setting up Communicating for Impact, Laura taught English, trained teachers, and led academic teams in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Lucerne for fifteen years. Laura is also the co-founder of the TESOL Pop podcast, which provides bite-sized episodes on teaching tips, trends, and careers for English Language teachers.

Jamie Keddie is a renowned teacher, trainer and storyteller who has inspired educators across more than 40 countries. He is well-known for his innovative story-based lesson plans, featured on his platform LessonStream. Jamie is the author of ‘Images’ and ‘Bringing Online Video into the Classroom’ (both with Oxford University Press), as well as ‘Videotelling: YouTube Stories for the Classroom’ (LessonStream Books, 2017). He is also an affiliate trainer at Norwich Institute for Language Education (NILE) in the UK.

I'm Ola Kowalska and I’m a business coach for language teachers and coaches who care. As a hyperactive, energetic extrovert who loves public speaking (really), I know that what works for MY business probably won’t work for yours.That’s why I’ll never give you a cookie-cutter strategy. Or sell you my ‘secrets’ to success (because that’s a load of BS). I’ll work with you to create a bespoke business and marketing strategy that suits your personality, students and lifestyle - and brings your vision to life. If you’re looking for a quick way to make silly figures, you’re in the wrong place. But if you’re a passionate teacher ready to put in the work and take action? We’ll make the perfect team! I combine 15 years of experience as a teacher, CELTA trainer, a manager and a school owner with my passion for helping others thrive in order to help them distill their talents into teaching businesses that are profitable, sustainable and fun to run

Kirill Bigai is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Preply, the largest online language learning marketplace in the world.

Preply connects over 40,000 tutors teaching over 50 languages to hundreds of thousands of learners in 180 countries worldwide. From its inception in 2012, Kirill has grown the team from a company of three to over 600 employees of 60 different nationalities across 30 countries worldwide. Under his leadership, Preply has become a dominant player in online language tutoring with a mission to unlock human potential through learning.

Kirill hails from Ukraine where he obtained a master’s degree in Business Management from Kyiv National Economic University. Prior to launching Preply, Kirill held several roles in the Telecoms industry, working as an Implementation Consultant at Creatio as well as an Intelligent Network Engineer at both MTS Group and Nokia Siemens Networks.

Francine is the Senior Director of Supply Operations at Preply, which encompasses customer support, tutor acquisition, development, performance, profile content, communications and more. Her extensive experience managing teams at major international marketplaces, together with her leadership and dedication, have made a significant contribution to tutors' and learners' experience at Preply for the past 2 years.

Rubens Heredia holds an MA in Professional Development for Language Education from NILE and has been working as a CELTA tutor and teacher trainer for over 12 years. He is currently based in Barcelona, where he is a part of the Oxford TEFL team. He is also a blogger for Pavilion ELT and one of the creators of the website "What is ELT?"

Andréia Zakime is a teacher trainer based in Barcelona. She started her career as a teacher in São Paulo, Brazil, and has since worked with teaching, teacher education, materials writing and assessment. She is an experienced CELTA and Trinity Diploma trainer, and she holds an MA in Publishing with a focus on Digital Learning technologies. She is currently the Trinity DipTESOL Course Director at Oxford TEFL.

Martina is a language teacher with over 4,000 hours of teaching experience, having worked with 1,000+ students across more than 10 institutions worldwide. She has helped professionals from companies like Iberdrola, Roche, and IBM improve their communication skills. With a background in Mathematics and a degree in Business Administration, Martina’s true passion lies in language and people. She is currently studying a degree in Psychology. Since 2020, she has collaborated with Oxford TEFL in various roles, including teaching, content creation and managing Spanish teacher training courses. She describes herself as a “full-time learner".