IATEFL BESIG Committee

My name is Julia Waldner and I originally come from the land of song and rain (Wales). I moved to Germany in 1991 and have been working here as an EFL teacher ever since. I do mainly in-company courses and, like most of you, I suspect, I love the job -the variety of the work, the people and the different industries. I joined my local ELTA (ELTAF in Frankfurt) way back when and soon become involved in committee work, initially as the inter-ELTA liaison. As the name implies, my role was to liaise with the other ELTAs in Germany to exchange ideas and find out what each was doing. For the past 10 years I've been the editor of the ELTAF Newsletter, which comes out on a quarterly basis. As with any editing work, this involves contacting publishers for review books for our members, following up on contributors, liaising with the proof-reader, graphic designer, mailing team and printer and, last but not least, editing submissions. Last year at the BESIG conference, the very first ELT person I saw just happened to be JoAnn (in the breakfast room on the Saturday morning, as I had driven through snow and arrived too late to attend the Friday night opening ceremony) and when we got talking, she told me that the editorial position for BESIG would be open for applications in 2009. I decided to apply. I believe that with these skills hopefully leavened with a little humour will help the committee in functioning fully and I can support and assist the events team in their work too.

You can contact Julia by email at: julia.waldner@besig.org

In 1988 I graduated from the English Department of Poznan University with an M.A. in English. In October 1988 I started work as a teacher of English at Poznan University. I became interested in teaching ESP, specifically Business English, very early on. In 1992 I became Coordinator of the newly formed BESIG of IATEFL Poland. In 1994 I was one of the organizers of a very successful BESIG conference in Poznan, the first international event of this kind in Poland. In my work as BESIG Poland Coordinator I was instrumental in organizing various seminars and workshops on teaching Business English, and often acted as presenter myself. Together with my wife Ania I have been running an English language training centre – INTERSECTION - in Poznan since 1995. Over the years we have managed to create a professional teaching and training institution. In 2002 INTERSECTION became British Council and Cambridge ESOL Examination Centre for the region. In my capacity as Director, Training I coordinate and supervise all aspects of Business English / in-company language training at INTERSECTION.

You can contact Andrzej by email at: andrzej.stesik@besig.org

Helen Strong is a business skills trainer, teacher trainer and materials writer based in Ingolstadt, Germany. She has many years' experience in both corporate and academic training environments and she has trained teachers in Germany, Austria and the UK. Helen served on the Committee of the IATEFL-affiliated Munich English Language Teachers Association from 2010 to 2016 in various roles such as Chair, Events Coordinator and Web Administrator. She regularly gives talks and workshops at international conferences. For more details see www.helenstrong.de. 

You can contact Helen by email at: helen.strong@besig.org

In 1996 I was working for an IT consulting company based in Washington DC and, just for something different, asked for a one-year project in Europe. Little did I know that 20 years later I'd still be here! My technical career led me from development to systems design to project management, then, again for something different, I got involved in internal training and development. And discovered I loved it! In 2010 I obtained my CELTA and in 2011 made the move from Lisbon, Portugal to Nürnberg, Germany, providing business communications skills training and team development coaching full time to electronics, IT, distribution, automotive and insurance companies in the region ever since. My first BESIG conference (Bonn 2014) hooked me with its learning space and networking opportunities and subsequent conferences have been equally rewarding. Now, for something different(!), I'm looking forward to supporting IATEFL BESIG as Treasurer, hoping to give back a little bit to the organization that has come to mean so much to me.

You can contact Steve by email at: steve.miller@besig.org

I came late to English teaching, arriving at ELT via being an art editor at a well-known educational publisher, a lecturer in art and art history at a teachers training college in Nigeria and a long child-rearing break necessitated by ending up in Germany with very small children and unable to speak the language. I was soon asked to tutor private students in English and eventually obtained a CELTA and upgraded to ‘real’ lessons in companies and private language schools. This led in turn to discovering ELTAS, my local ELTA in Stuttgart, and their excellent workshops, and finally attending my first BESIG Conference when it was held there in 2012. I immediately felt like part of a community and have enjoyed both conferences since then. I’m currently studying for the CertIBET to continue my ongoing education in ELT. In being involved with the newsletter and returning to editing, I seem to have come full circle!

You can contact Chris by email at: chris.stanzer@besig.org

Pete Rutherford is a business English and communication trainer from Cape Town, South Africa, and now based in Düsseldorf, Germany. He works for Marcus Evans Linguarama, where his primary responsibility is the delivery of personalised courses and workshops to individuals and small groups, both in person and online. He also conducts in-service teacher training, and is involved in various projects. Pete has worked in South Africa, Spain and Germany, and has experience working with professionals in diverse fields, including financial services, retail, wholesale, aeronautics, manufacturing, publishing, broadcasting, marketing, energy, and tertiary education. His professional interests include learning technologies, English and communication skills for HR professionals, corpus linguistics, and learning to learn.

You can contact Pete by email at: pete.rutherford@besig.org