About EBC

Faculty and Staff

EBC TEFL course trainers

John Magne-Erlandsen

John has over 20 years of EFL teaching experience, is a state certified high school teacher and was a university teacher training professor for 10 years.

He holds two Bachelors Degree in Languages (English, German and the Nordic languages) from the University of Tromsoe in Norway. His degrees focus on the foundations of language namely: grammar, literature and history. He has a Masters Degree in Pedagogy from the University of Oslo in Norway where he concentrated on pedagogical theories, current concepts and means of information dissemination in the media. He also has a Masters Degree in the Didactics of Teaching Languages from The Teachers Training School of Oslo where the "communicative competence" theory was analysed in detail, giving light to how different nationalities can adapt most effectively to foreign language learning.

He has been actively giving teacher training lectures and has been running UNICEF summer camps for 11 year olds from all over the world. He has traveled extensively in Western Europe, the USA, Mexico, China and Egypt giving him that all-important sense of cultural understanding, a vital asset in the world of EFL teaching.

Olga McLean

Olga has been teaching English as a foreign language for over 16 years. She graduated from the University of Ulster with a Degree in Fine Arts and then completed her TEFL certificate before traveling around Europe doing various part-time teaching jobs.

After having worked in a number of private schools in Crete, she and her business partner Anna Tsoumeni opened a language centre in 2002.

She has accumulated a great deal of experience in teaching English at all levels for general, business, exam preparation and University entry . Aside from teaching English, she regularly runs art workshops and student exchange programmes.

Michael Denigan

Michael is the main trainer for the EBC course in Phuket. He is originally from England,and has spent the last 10 years as principal of an IT and English Language School in New Zealand and an English Language School in Thailand. He has extensive experience in school administration and curriculum development.

His main areas of specialisation are developing and running English Language programmes in schools, delivering Business English and Educating Primary School and High School Children in English and Mathematics. He has a degree in Psychology and Linguistics, and has spent the last four years setting up a school in Phuket Thailand.

Andrew Moore

Andrew's background has always been in the learning, teaching and studying of the English language. His background is in English literature and he holds a joint honours degree in renaissance literature and English language from the University of Wales, Bangor.

He has studied the development and use of the English language from medieval times to post-modern times.

Andrew has lived in the United Kingdom, Spain and Argentina and he has had experience both in TEFL training and language teaching in the corporate and private sectors. Andrew is himself an EBC graduate so he is able to tell you exactly what is required during the course and exactly what your employers will be looking for in a teacher.

Unable to get away from the international calling of his job as a TEFL trainer, home is now between the UK, Spain and Argentina.

Louanne Piccolo

Louanne leads the Modane, France training team. She is from South Africa and has 14 years of experience in EFL teaching in private language schools, government schools and language associations in South Africa, France and the UK.

She has a Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in English, Zulu and Psychology, as well as a Higher Diploma of Education with TESOL/TEFL modules for African languages from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa. After university she took a TEFL certificate in Cape Town before travelling to London and working as a teacher.

She travelled around Europe and the USA before settling down in France and working as an English teacher and translator. She is the president of the association "The Language Café des Langues" which is a French and English immersion language school for children and adults in the Alps. She also does volunteer EFL community teaching for the association.

Barbara Simpson

Barbara has been a teacher for more years than she'd like to admit, but those years have given Barbara a wide range and depth of teaching experience and skills.

Barbara ran an in-house English programme for Japanese exchange students in Canada.

In addition to teaching, Barbara has also worked in the private sector. This experience has given her a solid foundation of knowledge for Business English training.

Barbara has excellent interpersonal skills, she is a good communicator and a good listener. She works hard and pays attention to detail, she expects the same from her students. Barbara also has a strong interest in other cultures and countries and will do everything she can to help her students reach their goals.

Gladys Sanchez

Gladys has been in the EFL sector for the last 10 years. She has a BA in teaching and is a state certified primary school teacher. As well as being a TEFL trainer, Gladys is also in charge of training English teachers for corporate management courses run by our sister company, EBC y Asociados Idiomas.

Her main areas of specialisation are : Corporate Training , Business English and Educating Primary School Children in English. Gladys has been teaching corporate clients of EBC in diverse sectors ranging from : Banking, Finance, Logistics, Engineering, Retail, Marketing, Advertising and Education.

In relation to her EFL career, Gladys has lived, worked and traveled in Argentina, Spain, the United States and Europe. Gladys brings to the EBC TEFL Certificate programme her in-depth understanding of learning practices gained from years of EFL teaching all over the world.