Staff Profile – Steve Bolton

Steve first came to Indonesia in 1993 to study Balinese music at what was then STSI Denpasar. He returned and settled in Bali in 1996 and began working at IALF in 1997. Steve trained as a teacher in Egypt (CertTEFLA), Spain (DELTA), and distance through Manchester University (MEd).

The focus of Steve’s Master’s degree was educational technology and language learning. He designed and maintained IALF Bali’s Intranet, and he continues to develop web-based educational tools using PHP and Javascript, including materials now being used online in Canvas. However, despite this technical background, Steve is a great believer in the whiteboard and marker as teaching tools.

During his time at IALF Steve has worked on a wide range of academic and non-academic programs, both in-house and as a technical adviser on IALF projects in other countries. His work at IALF has included General English, Young Learners, Business English, translation and interpreting, intranet-based online learning environment (OLE) design, resource database design, resource centre design, video production, teacher training (CertTESOL), international English language test examining, and program management (IASTP). Currently, Steve is teaching on IALF’s academic programs and also developing courses for delivery online. He is particularly interested in how students’ thinking styles and culture influence their spoken and written English, in particular when it comes to expressing opinions.