Chants and whistles rang out on Camden High Street as TEFL Workers’ Union members made noise and showed their solidarity with Emek. Today saw the launch of the TEFL Workers’ Union public campaign to support Emek, a Turkish teacher who alleges she was unfairly dismissed as a result of “native speakerism” at the TopUp Learning … Read more
Teachers at Meridian English have gone months without payment – and without communication from CEO Neil Pick. Here the teachers tell their story. The first the teachers knew about it, it was because their pay didn’t arrive. Then, through vague, sporadic, and often conflicting messages from Meridian CEO Neil Pick, the teachers learned that the … Read more
Emek worked at TopUp Learning / TTI English school in Camden in London, a dedicated teacher who was well-liked by students and workmates alike. But her employment recently came to an end, something she believes is due to the fact her first language is Turkish. Below she lays out her allegations about how she was … Read more
Why native-speakerism in language teaching has had its day. Native-speakerism – the idea that those who can claim to have a language as their mother tongue are automatically better at teaching it and more legitimate models of what counts as good language use – has been around in English language teaching for a long time. … Read more
We’re proud to be hosting one of our periodic union meet-ups on 14th March. Bring your workmates! 2026 is already proving to be a tumultuous year for the ELT industry. We’ve supported members through yet more redundancy processes and challenged greedy bosses who tried to shortchange their staff. But being in a union isn’t only … Read more
Raffaele Misceo’s Escape Campus: The “AI Pioneer” Built on Buzzwords, Self-Employed Teachers, and Convenient Corporate Rebirths Forbes Italy recently profiled Raffaelle Misceo, describing his company Escape Campus as a visionary, AI-driven “global platform reshaping the future of English learning.” A flattering piece — provided one doesn’t look too closely at how the organisation actually operates. … Read more