Bruce Jones, 51, who grew up in Oak Park, has traveled to 50 countries. Wanting to help other people travel abroad and experience other cultures, he founded the International TEFL Academy; TEFL stands for teach English as a foreign language.
The International TEFL Academy is holding its first Teach Abroad Film Festival on April 4 at The Davis Theater in Chicago. It’s open to the public, and tickets are $15. Twelve short films made by ITA alumni will be screened at the event; three grand prize winners will be chosen and receive prize money. The International TEFL Academy certifies 6,000 people each year to teach English around the world.
Jones, who now lives in Chicago, answered a few questions for the Oak Leaves on March 14.
Q: Tell me about ITA.
A: In this industry, there’s a lot of fly-by-night companies as well as real, reputable schools. We’re one of the largest TEFL certification schools in the world. We have more people teaching abroad in a year than the Peace Corps has abroad in a year. We have a very large alumni engagement, with more than 25,000 alumni.
Q: How did the idea for the film festival come about?
A: We had a lot of people turn in little films. I’ve wanted to have a film festival the last several years, I had thought virtually. The marketing team thought I meant in person. … [laughed] This works great, too. We put together prizes. We had 49 submissions. They’re four to eight minutes in length. The theme is our motto: Teach, travel, explore. The jury viewed them and narrowed it to a dozen that made it to the actual festival. It’s like a first international showing of their films, and it’s also a contest at the same time. We’ll have a red carpet at the event. It’s quite exciting. It’s really to showcase people’s talent and show their experience. … Over the years, we’ve been encouraging graduates to tell their stories. … We’ve just gotten a lot more into the video aspect, and we wanted to give a creative outlet in a structured format. We’ve gotten some really great footage and our students love to hear real stories out in the world. For some, this is their first film. Some, they look like film school graduates.
Q: Why do you feel world travel is important?
A: It’s a very, very foreign concept to live and work in another country. To pursue a dream, be in front of a classroom making a difference. … You become really connected with other people in a different country and culture. … People are people everywhere, and there are far more commonalities than there are differences. You then have more empathy and understanding for others.
