About me
My name’s Ian James and I’m a teacher of English as a foreign language. Originally from Cardiff, I now work at the Foreign Language Service of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. I have also taught English at International House and the British Council. I arrived in Barcelona in 1988 after graduating in Political Science at Leicester University.
Self-taught in HTML, CSS, Dreamweaver, Photoshop and Flash, I flirted with web design in the late nineties and early noughties. However, I threw in the towel when it became clear that everybody else had become a web designer too. Apart from things techie, my other interests include music (Ron Sexsmith, Rufus Wainwright, The Divine Comedy, Sufjan Stevens etc), photography, collecting thimbles and pricking balloons. I also have a weekend retreat (known as The Ruin) deep in the Catalan Pre-Pyrenees where I enjoy chopping wood, hugging trees and drinking wine on the terrace in front of the house.
I hope you find the blog useful,
Ian James
31/01/2010
Karenne Sylvester
February 2, 2010
Hugging trees?
Are there only 2 schools in Barcelona? You all seem to hail from IH or British Council :-)
Karenne
ij64
February 3, 2010
Yes, it’s a strange coincidence, Karenne. In fact, there are only 3 of us teaching in Barcelona these days. Tree hugging means getting close to nature and far from tech.
Bé
February 10, 2010
Hey Ian,
So, where were you & your great teaching ideas when I was teaching at IH Lisbon? And…how r u??
Bé from Flatland
Ian
February 11, 2010
My God! Is that LPC Bé? How many years has it been? How did you find me? How’s life treating you in Utrecht? Hope the theatre work is going well! :-) Ian
Andikona
March 25, 2010
What’s political science got to do with teaching EFL?
kierandonaghy
April 6, 2010
Hi Ian,
I really like your blog, excelent ideas. Well done and keep up the good work. Cheers, Kieran
ij64
April 7, 2010
Thanks for your kind words, Kieran!
Pascal Shaw
April 7, 2010
Great blog…….I just need to find the time to read it ,-)
Manu
April 8, 2010
Hey Ian
What an impressive blog !!! That’s what I want to do when I’m a grown-up … Good stuff, thanks for the great ideas I’ll use in my English classes … and if Laura fancies a French version, let me know !!!
bye.
ij64
April 8, 2010
Thanks Manu! I am indeed flattered! As for a French version, from what I’ve heard I think there may be a pretty big niche out there i.e. not a lot of competition!
Javier Sánchez
April 8, 2010
Estupendo blog, Ian, ya he comentado en nuestro Ning que me parece fantástico y la única pena para nosotros, los de español, es que las tareas están en inglés aunque algunas se pueden adaptar. Enhorabuena y saludos.
Javier
ij64
April 9, 2010
Gracias, Javier! La versión española saldrá pronto!
Alex Vraciu
May 4, 2010
I absolutely love your blog! Hope you don’t mind my classes becoming Ian Jamesian very soon ( no need to “steal” the famous question sheets from the photocopier anymore!!!). Keep up the good work, Ian, but don’t put all your heart into it.
philip Berman
May 28, 2010
Hello Ian
Sorry to trouble you, but I was wondering whether you would consider reviewing a new TEFL DVD I’ve made. Or maybe, even mention it on your blog?
The project was born of my wife’s frustration about the lack of good quality video materials out there. She’s a tutor at Sussex University. I am freelance BBC producer/director. Here’s a link to an excerpt from our first video.
We are really proud of it, but wanted to get some feedback.
I’ve written an article about how it was made. Let me know if you want more information
Many thanks
Philip Berman | Director | TeachTEFL
Michael Shelby
March 7, 2012
I am a former ESL teacher. Would you like to read some of my articles that may give you new creative ideas?
I have created a number of articles on mastering various aspects of English and a special list of the most important English learning aids. My articles have already been published on a number of websites but my articles may be of interest to you personally as I consider them more practical and more helpful than other articles for quicker and more effective mastering of English by foreign learners. My suggestions may be useful to you and adaptable for your purposes. You may be inspired to develop my suggestions further, or you may get new creative ideas in your English language activities.
irenecrosCros
June 10, 2012
Hi Ian,
Thought I’d add a comment to say you’re only the second tree hugger I have ‘met’ … and both worked at IH :) Jamie Duncan (ex IH Buenos Aires) is a great English language teacher who wrote a really useful activities book for teens (and some adults) called Passionfruit about 13 years ago – you can see him hugging a tree on the inside cover. Anyway, great teacher and great person, so for me tree hugging is certainly a plus in TEFL !
ij64
June 11, 2012
Tree hugging is most definitely cathartic … highly recommended … especially for IH teachers! :-) Thanks for dropping by, Irene!
IELTS Singapore
April 10, 2013
I’ve been trying to find ESL teachers in Barcelona. I have a question for you. I’m a teacher of IELTS in Singapore. I want to go to Spain and especially to Barcelona. Hablo Espanol – lo estudie por 3 anos in la universidad.
Anyway, my question is if it’s easy for an ESL teacher to make a living in Spain and Barcelona? Also, is the IELTS a popular exam and is there a demand for IELTS teachers there? This is what I specialize in.
Thanks.