What are the major challenges facing EL teachers in your country?
I would say in my country Jordan and in Egypt where I live and work the large class size is a challenge. However, we find that motivated students make up for the large number of students we have to deal with. With class size comes another problem which is dealing with multi-level classes. No matter how accurate your screening and placement tools are there will be individual differences in abilities and skills among students in the same level class.

How well resourced are teachers in your country?
Very well resourced and the internet with websites such as teaching English and others do an excellent job in keeping us all informed. 

What technology do you use with your students?
At the American University in Cairo, we have all the possible resources in each class. We have a data show, a document camera, and a podium with a computer and internet connection. We also use Blackboard 6.0 for our couses.

What have you found most useful on the teaching English website?
The tips and lesson plans are simply the best. These are very topical and informative, especially useful for the busy teacher who needs quick, new but practical and workable ideas.

What classes do you teach? (age, level class size)
I teach undergraduate students in an intensive language program at the American University in Cairo (Age 18-21). I also teach graduate level intensive courses to candidates starting their MA courses (adults). Our class size has a cap of 18 students.

What aspects of your teaching are you most interested in developing?
I am working on test development and assessment in general and am doing research and extensive reading in this field to familiarize myself more with this very interesting area of language teaching.

Why did you decide to become an English language teacher?
To tell you the truth I cannot remember when it all started. It was such a long time ago. It must have been when I was fifteen or so. I have always wanted to be only one thing, a teacher.

What is the status of teachers in your country? Are they generally valued and well paid?
In our culture, teachers in general are respected and looked up to as the givers of knowledge and even wisdom. This puts great responsibility on us to rise to the challenge and to excel. English language teachers are also particularly highly respected.

What is the status of English in your country? Is it widely spoken to a good level?
Speaking English is a status marker, and it is a sure way to get a very good job; hence, both young and older students seek to study English and become fluent in it.

What have you learned from being a teacher?
I have learned many things over the years. I have been teaching for twenty-five years.  The most important thing I learnt is to be patient and to listen well. By the way, I continue to learn more and more every day, and I learn a great deal from my students.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of becoming an English teacher?
You must really love teaching and enjoy it. It is not simply a job. It is a great responsibility and a lot of hard work.

Which writer /researcher has had the most influence over the way you understand learning and teaching?
Jeremy Harmer, Mario Rinvolucri, and Marianne Celce-Murcia

What most interests you about ELT at the moment?
The interplay between new technology and teaching English is interesting, and I would like to see how technology will positively impact our teaching.