My name is Roy and I have a vision to create a TEFL community website by the TEFL community for the TEFL community.

I know I know, a lot of websites say something like this, it's a catchy slogan. But I actually mean it. I want to find and engage 101 TEFL community members, together we create the website, decide exactly what goes onto it... and eventually one day, split any profits equally 101 ways.

TEFL is unregulated and pretty daunting for people on the outside looking in, hell it's tough sometimes when you've been doing it a while. There are some great experiences and some terrible experiences out there, it would be good to share our experiences all in one place and help others avoid some of the pitfalls.

There are some really cool TEFL/ESL related hangouts, this being one of them. But I want to create a 1 stop shop for everything TEFL related. Here are just some of things our website will cover

Explaining TEFL - TEFL guides
Explaining the different TEFL courses available
Directory of TEFL courses
Review of TEFL courses
TEFL jobs
TEFL interview / visa advice per country
Recruitment directory
Recruiter review
Lesson plan bank
Directory of schools
Social media platform just for TEFL
TEFL Blacklist - to warn other TEFLers of scams etc
TEFL blogs

I want people considering TEFL to be able to find objective and accurate information on the types of ways to get into TEFL and which course provider they should consider based feedback from genuine graduates of that course.

I want teachers looking for a school in China, for example, to be able to find ex teachers of the school and ask them about their experience at the school, or to have up to date information of any changes to Visa rules. Lesson planning is such a huge part of what we do, there are so many tools and resources out there, some of us have found some real gems, others spend hours search through the rubbish to find something worthwhile. Lets share that knowledge.

I want all the information to be free, Up to date and delivered by real TEFL people part of the community with no agenda than to help.

I think the only way to create such a site and have such a meeting place, that is the real deal is to ask the TEFL community to create it and run it themselves. I am a lot of experience in TEFL but I've never lived in China or graduated a TEFL course in Prague, it would be wrong for me to offer advice of things I don't know about. For this to be real it needs to come for the community as a whole.

l will provide the designers, programmers and 2-3 people to help run the day to day administration of the website once it's running. Myself, one administrator for customer service issues and another for technical issues.

The TEFL community will discuss and vote of every single issue from logo to content. The TEFL community together, represented by the 101, will be responsible for everything. It's to be your website I am just responsible for making your ideas happen. For example, we'll need a name, you guys will decide it by asking for ideas then voting on your ideas. Then we'll need a logo. I will have 20-30 logos created and you guys will vote.

I have been in TEFL for 10 years. I recently had a TEFL course that I developed and sold because as much as I love TEFL, I am not probably the best businessman in the world, that's why I had to sell my course, but I have a genuine desire to create something that helps the TEFL community. This way I don't need to be a businessman, I can do something I enjoy and eventually who knows, earn a little bit of money.

How would we earn money? It's essential that everything we offer is free. But eventually, if we were popular enough we could sell advertising on the website, ask for a fee for TEFL job postings and create a Newsletters and offer advertising space on it. It's up to you because it would be your decision as part of the TEFL community, not mine. But these are some the ways other TEFL sites make money. All the money we make is split evenly between the 101 community members. We do the work together, make the decisions together and share any rewards.

So, are you interested in representing the TEFL community? Giving a few hours a week, maybe badgering your TEFL friends to write reviews of their TEFL course experiences or writing about your experience on working in Bangkok? Most of all, we need people who want to give something back to TEFL. You'll never be asked to contribute financially, just your experience and skills in TEFL.

I would love to know your thoughts, comments and ideally find people who'd be interested in joining the community.

Roy