My unconventional path to TEFL: Seth Knight’s story

Hello! I'm Seth, an American English teacher with a tale that's anything but linear. From ballet dancer to musician to seminarian, my creative passions unexpectedly led me into the world of teaching. 

My 9 Lives Before TEFL 

My life has been a series of explorations in various fields. After high school, I had a mini-career as a professional ballet dancer, then pursued music, earning a degree in pipe organ performance. After about a decade of working professionally in music, I felt drawn to the seminary. I spent 3 years studying to be a Roman Catholic missionary priest, an experience which gave me the chance to spend longer periods in Brazil and Bangladesh (where I also had my first attempts at English teaching). At 33, I was studying for the priesthood in Milan, Italy, but began to understand that religious life wasn’t meant for me and left. I returned to the States feeling a bit lost. 

One thing I hadn’t yet done was live abroad for an extended period. With few ties holding me back, I seized the chance for a new life and got my TEFL certificate, ready to immerse myself in a foreign culture. 

To China 

Since I was beginning what truly felt like a new life, I wanted to go somewhere completely different from my culture. So I chose Asia and found my first professional teaching gig in Suzhou, China which is outside of Shanghai . I worked for Disney English teaching young learners from 3 to 10, using methods heavily based on the multiple intelligences theory . This experience profoundly influenced my teaching style, helping me recognise each student's uniqueness. In retrospect, I see that this theory remains present in my teaching: everyone learns differently and that makes each day and each lesson amazingly varied and exciting. 

My other jobs in China were in other big-name language centres, a private bilingual middle school and finally, a state university. All of these experiences were fundamental for me, as in my 3 years in China I taught all the age groups, in formal, informal, organised and very improvised settings. I got to see what works for me and really understand what kind of a teacher I am. But most importantly, I realised that I am, indeed, a teacher. After three years in China, however, I felt a pull to return towards the West, missing music and familiar comforts of Western culture. 

Home Is Where the Heart Is 

But instead of returning to the U.S. , I went to Italy . During my seminary days, I had fallen head over heels with the culture and knew it was where I wanted to be. I’ve been living in Italy since 2016. Here, I've taught in the public school system and language centres. A pivotal moment came in 2021 when my father passed away. Unable to attend his funeral due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in place at the time, I realized the importance of freedom in my life and the need to be able to make decisions on my own. This led to me going freelance and moving online, a rewarding yet challenging venture.

Now, after seven years in Italy, I've found love and am soon to be married. Italy has become "home," and I have no intentions to leave. 

Evolving into a Digital World 

My job is now almost entirely online . I have not physically met nearly all of my students, and more than likely I will never meet them. It is a bit strange as some of them are even becoming friends. 

My teaching style which began as a sort of experiment of finding myself and meshing that with the multiple intelligences theory has blossomed into a method with such extreme flexibility and variation that I almost struggle to call it teaching. Rather, it is more of a “try by doing” or, even better, “try by failing”. I endeavour to create a safe and relaxed environment where learning is done almost exclusively through conversation and mistakes become moments to explore weaknesses in grammatical understanding which I explain as we fall across them. 

My private business has evolved over two years into mentoring and language integration. I find that many speakers today are (thankfully, in my opinion!) moving away from the idea of mastering grammar and vocabulary and simply want to feel comfortable communicating. 

My classroom has moved into Instagram as well, where people chat with me in the best way they can and some of the less-than-perfect conversations I have had rank as some of the more-than-perfect in terms of their meaningfulness and sincerity. I so appreciate the openness and willingness to share in the people I have met. In addition to students and clients, I was completely unprepared for the vast number of colleagues that I have met. I never imagined that I would call another Instagramer my colleague, but that is the only word that I can use to describe many of the wonderful teachers who inspire me and encourage me on a daily basis. 

The internet, social media, AI and the smallness of our world due to these technologies have made the teaching and learning of English even more interesting and crucial. But at the same time, it has taken the language and given it to everyone and I feel honoured to be able to help others find themselves and create new friendships through the spoken word. 

To conclude

My journey through various careers and countries has led me to a fulfilling life in TEFL. It's a path that has been about more than just teaching; it's been about cultural immersion, personal growth, and recognising that language (spoken well or poorly) is essential to building bridges and opening minds. 

Seth Knight is an American ESL teacher based in Rome, Italy. With a rich background in the arts and a diverse teaching career across several countries, he has found his calling in teaching English. Founder of his own small ESL business, Seth is passionate about cultural immersion, the arts, and connecting people through language. Say “hi” to him on his Instagram, @TalkwithSeth

There are plenty more amazing student stories on our blog! If you’re interested in telling your unique TEFL story, email euan@tefl.org today!