“Follow Your Dreams” by Dave Sperling (at the 2014 LA Regional CATESOL Conference)
“Follow your dreams” was the message from Dave Sperling (Daves ESL Cafe) at 2014 LA Regional CATESOL conference. Dr. Ciancio discusses her experience meeting Dave at the conference on Saturday. Hear what else Dr. Julie Ciancio had to say after meeting him.
“I attended the plenary session by Dave Sperling, creator of Dave’s ESL Café website. It was very inspiring and interesting to hear him speak. He was appealing because he was so personable and authentic, which I think is why his website has been an icon for the TESOL industry since its inception in the 1980s. He is a genuine and passionate professional who has traveled the world teaching English as a Second Language. He followed his heart to explore the world and used teaching ESL as a vehicle to be able to do this, which gave him the opportunity to get to know a great variety of places and cultures on this planet.
His website initially became popular because it provided one of the first TESOL forums where teachers could exchange notes and experiences about living, traveling, and teaching abroad. It helped teachers to be able to network and learn from each other’s experiences by relying on colleagues for true accounts of their experiences abroad. His website was also one of the first places where ESL teachers could post content and share lesson plans, etc. This is impressive to imagine when nowadays there are hundreds of thousands of such websites. Finally, his website is famous for its job board. It is still one of the best places to go to look for leads for schools that are recruiting for ESL instructors to teach around the globe. Dave’s main message was to follow your dreams, regardless of what everyone else says. It was a great reminder of why so many people become interested in teaching English as a Second language in the first place. It was an inspiration to see him speak and the highlight of the conference.”
-Dr. Julie Ciancio, Associate Dean for the College of Education
(Dave Sperling, Dave’s ESL Cafe, Dr. Julie Ciancio, Associate Dean for College of Education, and April Vuong, Director of TESOL)