Theme: English Language Teaching and Climate Change

ELT Footprint UK is holding its first TEDx Countdown virtual event this October 14th 2020. We will be presenting short talks from leading thinkers on climate change and, with the help of our own local speakers, discussing and proposing ways for UK English Language Teaching to help in tackling the climate and ecological crisis. Whether rural or urban, big or small, year-round or seasonal, we hope the day will help you to prepare and position your school for the future while helping to create a safer, cleaner and fairer world.

ELTFootprintUK
18 Riverside
Winchcombe
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL54 5JP
United Kingdom

Alicja Szyszkowiak

English Language Educator with Country Cousins UK organisation

Alicja Szyszkowiak is an experienced teacher, teacher trainer and academic manager. She started as a secondary school teacher in her home town in Poland, before teaching at a teacher training college helping hundreds of students gain their qualifications as teachers of English as a Foreign Language. Alicja has participated in several programmes aimed at educational reform in Poland. In 2011 she relocated to the UK and has worked for two organisations perfecting her management skills in hectic summer school environments. She has designed, written and implemented her own teaching materials. Currently she works for Country Cousins Ltd. as director of studies during the summer season and materials developer/syllabus designer in the low season. She is a passionate advocate of innovation, believing that education needs to adapt and keep up with the rapidly changing life in the real world.

Christopher Etchells

English Language Educator and Environmental Influencer

Christopher Etchells is Co-Director of ECS – English Country Schools – a residential English Language and activity summer school organisation in the UK for children and teenagers. He has long had an interest in environmental education and related issues and recently founded ELT Footprint UK aiming to facilitate and encourage environmental responsibility in UK English Language teaching.

Christopher Graham

English Language Educator and Environmental Influencer

Christopher Graham holds a degree in Politics from Warwick university and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is a freelance English language teaching consultant, teacher educator and writer based in the UK. He has worked in the field since 1981 in over 30 countries, with a particular focus on low-resource and post-conflict environments. Recently, he has been working on approaches to digital provision of ELT during Covid-19 in fragile locations. He is one of the founders of ELTFootprint.org

Elen Evans

Environmental English Language Educator

Elen Evans completed her BSc (Hons) in Natural Sciences in 2017, focussing primarily on Environmental Science and Oceanography. She is also a DELTA qualified English teacher and, after living in different countries, teaching English with the British Council, International House, and other academies, she now combines language teaching and science instruction. Originally from Aberystwyth in Wales, Elen was already familiar with the value of a bilingual education and, as her awareness of the environmental catastrophe became sharper, she decided to set up her project: STEM Ginger Education and the Environmental Warriors. The aim of the project is to bridge the gap between language and subject learning and, above all, to ignite a real passion for and curiosity in the natural world.

Jonathan Dykes

English Language Educator and Environmental Auditor

Jonathan Dykes started as an English teacher and has spent most of his professional life working in language school management, including more than 20 years as CEO of the IHLS Group of schools. Jonathan also started several new schools including IH Belfast, IH Bogota, IH Medellin and IH Riviera Maya. He was the founder of Net Languages, one of the world’s first Web-based language schools, and he was also a pioneer in environmental sustainability in the language teaching industry, registering IH Barcelona on the EU’s Eco-Management Audit Scheme way back in 2008. Since leaving the IHLS Group in 2018 he has been working on a number of new projects including one that is developing VR materials for language students, and another – Green Standard Schools – that aims to guide language schools everywhere towards a greener future.

Martha Mari Malin

Sustainable Practices Advocate

Aware of the threats posed by environmental issues, Martha wanted to bring real solutions for change and found opportunities to do so in the field of Industrial Design. In 2017 she undertook an entrepreneurial challenge, creating an EcoAPP for the promotion of sustainable practices among languages students. In 2019 she took a Master’s Degree in Sustainable Development at the University of Sussex. This experience put her closer to achieving her purpose in life – to boost the regeneration of the planet and its peoples. Currently, Martha promotes circular economy strategies, systems change initiatives, and transformative innovation policies. She also works alongside Colombian entrepreneurs and is the Cofounder of an NGO called Bioinspiración. She also collaborates with international NGOs, sharing knowledge and creating innovative solutions for change. Green Standard Schools is one of the organisations she is proud to be working with.

Matthew Knott

News Editor of Study Travel Magazine

Matthew Knott has been the News Editor of Study Travel Magazine, the specialist website and monthly print publication covering all aspects of the international education industry, for eight years, publishing news stories, features, interviews and statistical research on the sector. StudyTravel Magazine has been trusted by agencies for 30 years, and sister products include the StudyTravel Alphe Conferences and the StudyTravel Star Awards, celebrating excellence in service in the industry. He previously worked as a freelance writer for several titles and as an English language teacher in the UK, Spain and Japan.