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ITA Teach Abroad Film Festival highlights joys of teaching English as foreign language

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Above Photo / Bruce Jones, Founder and President of International TEFL Academy, is sandwiched between Jeff Penick (2001 Graduate, Waubonsie Valley High School) and Paige Lee (2004 Graduate, Naperville Central High School) after the first juried ITA Teach Abroad Film Festival held April 4, 2019, at the Davis Theater in Chicago.

In a “small world after all” note, both Penick and Lee experienced teaching English abroad before joining International TEFL Academy (ITA). Though they grew up within a couple miles of each other not far from downtown Naperville, the former Naperville residents met at ITA in Chicago where they serve on the same team as ITA Admissions Advisors.


FYI Post, March 7, 2020 / Chicago-based International TEFL Academy will host its 2nd Annual Teach Abroad Film Festival on Thursday, April 2, 2020, at the historic Davis Theater in Lincoln Square in support of local charitable organization, Leap Innovations. Held at the 276-seat Davis Theater to showcase a world way beyond its Midwest boundaries, the short films will highlight the work of incredible people teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) to non-native speakers around the world. Tickets are $15 each and available to purchase with a click here.

The event will feature six finalist films of 2-8 minutes and will include entries from Vietnam, Japan, China, South Korea, Thailand and other nations across the globe.

Each film demonstrates the benefits of teaching English abroad through personal testimony, stunning footage, and scenes from inside the classroom. An esteemed jury of 12 professionals from the international education, travel and film industries (including representatives from Northwestern, DePaul, Columbia College, Chicago Public Schools, and Univision Chicago) will select the three winners before an audience of 200-plus people.

More information on the 6 Film Festival finalists can be seen here.


Original Post, April 5, 2019 / The Inaugural International TEFL Academy’s Teach Abroad Film Festival held April 4, 2019, introduced a large audience at the 276-seat Davis Theater in Chicago to a world way beyond its Midwest boundaries.

“Tonight we invite you to experience living and teaching English abroad through the eyes of our creative, passionate and globetrotting alumni,” said Bruce Jones, Founder and President of International TEFL Academy (ITA). “Each one has a unique story to tell, and we’re thrilled to showcase our 12 finalists as they share their adventures overseas.”

Twelve ITA alumni finalists produced truly inspiring videos for the juried show. In the end, judges representing a variety of professionals from the teach-abroad, travel, education, and film industries selected the works of Allyson D’Amico (Grand Prize Winner, $2,500), Tim Unaegbu (2nd Prize Winner, $1,500), and Jack Ross (3rd Prize Winner, $750) for the top prizes. 

ITA alumna Allyson D’Amico from Cheshire, Connecticut, accepted first place honors from Shay Ames at the inaugural film festival. Her compelling, honest and engaging story of teaching English to children in Vietnam is titled, “The Other Side.” Today D’Amico lives in Ubud, Bali, where she teaches English online.

Their stories as well as all of the 49 submissions are available to watch at www.internationalteflacademy.com.

One hundred percent of ticket proceeds will be donated to The Foundation for Learning & Youth Travel Education (FLYTE), noted emcee Shay Ames.

International TEFL Academy’s Teach Abroad Film Festival

International TEFL Academy’s Teach Abroad Film Festival is the first film festival that focuses on teachers teaching English abroad. The short films took the audience around the world, following the dreams of English teachers to the smiles of youngsters in a places such as Peru, Portugal, South Korea, Spain and Vietnam. 

The films provide a colorful travelogue of information, shedding light and human interest on the fact that most Americans likely take the much-valued English language for granted. Internationally, about 1.7 billion people are eager to learn English. Approximately 250,000 native English speakers are working as ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers in more than 40,000 schools overseas.

The ITA Teach Abroad Film Festival, available now online, celebrates the work of remarkable English teachers abroad, acquainting viewers with the world through their eyes on fascinating adventures of international education and cultural exchange.

For this inaugural event, ITA invited its alumni network of 20,000-plus individuals to share their unique stories through the power of film by drawing on the ITA slogan for inspiration: Teach. Travel. Explore.

The 2019 film festival sponsors included GoAbroad, VIP Kid, World Nomads, STA Travel and Diversity Abroad.

Film Festival Benefits FLYTE

ITA partnered with The Foundation for Learning and Youth Travel Education (FLYTE) for the event and 100 percent of proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to this cause in order to strengthen international education and support youth empowerment in under-served communities within the USA.

Volunteers from the Rotary Club of Chicago Lakeview, an international service club, lent their time to benefit FLYTE.

Other featured film festival partners were Rotary Club of Chicago Lakeview, Chicago Film Critics Association and the Davis Theater. (FYI: Built in 1916, the Davis Theater, located at 4614 N. Lincoln Ave., is a historic landmark and the longest continually operated theater in Chicago.)

International TEFL Academy (ITA) Certification

Headquartered in Chicago with 25 locations worldwide, ITA is among the most renowned TEFL (Teach English as a Foreign Language) certification schools in the world.

Every year the organization certifies 6,000 individuals to teach English abroad. Currently, the alumni network is more than 20,000.

In 2018, ITA was awarded the GoAbroad.com People’s Choice Award for Best International Education Organization and just made Inc. Magazine’s list of 5,000 Fastest-Growing Companies for 2018.

For more information, visit www.internationalteflacademy.com.

News of the film festival was provided by Jeff Penick for International TEFL Academy. (PN Photos. Yes. Jeff Penick is your PN publisher’s son.)

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