I am a native English speaker, currently living and working in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, north-east England.
From 2007 to 2008 I did my CELTA (Certificate in English Teaching to Adults) part-time at Durham University Language Centre during my final year of university.
From 2008 to 2011 I worked at International House Brno as an EFL teacher September-June and for Kaplan / WELS International Centres (formerly owned by IH) at their Ardingly Centre in the UK for a few weeks each July and August. I am now working for International House Newcastle (since July 2011).
I am passionate about teaching, and am constantly trying to develop professionally. To that end, I am a member of twitter (@sandymillin) where I follow many interesting educators who constantly provide useful tips – highly recommended. I have attended local conferences in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and international conferences in Paris (2011) and Glasgow (2012). I am a member of both TESOL France and IATEFL. I have also completed the following additional teaching certificates:
- IH BET (Business English Certificate, 2008-2009)
- IHCYL (Young Learners Certificate, 2009-2010)
- IH CAM (Certificate in Advanced Methodology, 2010-2011)
- IH COLT (Certificate in Online Tutoring, Oct-Nov 2011)
In my free time, I love reading, Bookcrossing (@sandyundead), films and travelling. However, my main addiction is learning languages. I currently speak English, French, German, Spanish, some Czech and a very little Modern Greek. If you would like to practice any of these languages with me, please let me know!
Please note: all views expressed on this blog are my own.
Comments on: "About" (14)
[...] few weeks ago, I got involved in a twitter conversation with Sandy Millin about cuisenaire rods and how and why we use them in class. We both thought it’d be worth [...]
[...] Posted on July 11, 2011 by Ceri Jones I am delighted to be able to welcome back Sandy Millin as a guest blogger to Close Up. I met Sandy through Twitter and we’ve worked on a couple of [...]
[...] hope you’ve enjoyed the first in the series of the PLN Fun Finder posts (by me). If you’d like to contribute, please let me know. Anything and everything is accepted! Find [...]
Hi Sandy,
Thank you!
Can’t believe it’s taken me until today to discover your blog. It’s fabulous! I love it
Kylie Malinowska
Thanks Kylie! Glad you like it
Lovely blog Sandy. How do you find the time to keep it though? Sue (COLT course)
Glad you like it
Most posts only take about fifteen to twenty minutes to write. If it’s longer, then I write when I have time! Don’t think I’ll be writing much this week though!
Sandy
Hi Sandy,
I work for an education technology start-up in London, and our team regularly visit your blog for thought-leadership. I found your post on ‘Useful FCE Websites’ particularly interesting as it provides a great insight in to the technology resources that an EFL teacher uses to help her students revise.
Not sure if you’ve heard about us (Wordia.com), but I’d value any thoughts you have on what we’re trying to do (we’re trying to map the K-12 – all of the vocabulary that students need to learn… raising literacy and subject vocab levels, through video and games-based learning).
Originally, Wordia was built as a ‘living video dictionary’, but under the advisement of 100s of educators – we’ve pivoted to something that I’m really excited to be sharing with you!
The new-look Wordia has just launched – with some smart technology that lets educators build their own word games and hold school tournaments! We’d love you to have a look, and tell us what you think. Indeed – we’re running a t-shirt competition – and I’d love to send a school you know, some free Wordia t-shirts (a thank you – for helping us with the R&D efforts!).
It’s early days, but your feedback would be most welcome!
Thanks again.
Rob
Director of Play
(Research & Development)
Dear Rob,
Thank you very much for telling me about Wordia. I hadn’t heard of it before.
I’ve just been over to the site and had a look. Visually, it’s very impressive. Even as a touch-typing adult, I found the Space Exploration game very challenging, though that could motivate the kids to try to get better, which is definitely a good thing. The word muddle algorithm needs a little work, since my first board had no vowels at all, so I couldn’t make any words! But I was motivated enough to go back and try again.
I had a go at creating a game, which seemed pretty easy. It would be great to have English as two categories – one for native speakers and one for EFL/ESL/ELL students.
Thanks for letting me know about the site. I look forward to seeing how it develops.
Sandy
[...] That’s what Sandy says about herself on Twitter – there’s more about her on her blog here [...]
Looks like you have a real passion for languages and teaching!
–Stez
Thank you Sandy for being so inspirational!. I have just read what the BC published on FB. What you explain and tell us in your blog is exactly what I want to do and now I have a better idea of all the possibilities we have. Thank you again for sharing your knowledge!. Fabiana Casella, Buenos Aires, Argentina
[...] you, Sandy Millin for bringing this to my attention in your blog post on Jim Scrivener’s presentation at IATEFL [...]
[...] Meet Sandy Millin [...]