Ashley Bednar was the only English teacher for an entire class of young adults in Czechia this summer—14 classes, plus test prep, lesson planning, one-on-one tutoring and feedback, with no second teacher to share the load. It was intimidating, she admits, especially at first.
Bednar was one of several BYU-Idaho students who traveled across the world this summer to teach English through the university’s Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program, teaching at Cumorah Academy. Long before they finish a degree, TESOL students take on the kind of leadership a real classroom demands, and Bednar traces the confidence to walk into hers alone back to a habit she built on campus: showing up to office hours.
“At BYUI, I [developed] a pattern of creating relationships with mentors like Don Hansen,” Bednar said. “I would go to his office hours, we would talk about things, and he [even] helped me with my application.”
Hansen, the BYU-Idaho Department Chair who oversees the TESOL program, was one of the faculty members Bednar credited with helping her get accepted. When she faced challenges in Czechia, Bednar reached for that same habit and turned to her Cumorah Academy supervisor for help.
“Being able to have [a] mentor was incredible,” Bednar said. “I knew that asking somebody to mentor me wasn’t going to create an unnecessary burden on them because I knew I could also bring things to the table.... BYU-Idaho prepared me to not be afraid to ask for help.”
Throughout the summer, Bednar and her supervisor built a system of lesson planning and feedback. Putting her own ideas and decisions into practice week after week helped her gain confidence in both her decisions and her teaching. That impact became clear as she continued to hear from former students in Czechia.
“About half of them have reached out to me and told me that they have better jobs now because of their English,” Bednar said. “Some of them have taken English certification tests through Cambridge … and they’ve passed!”
The experience was equally impactful and educational for Elise Jensen, an elementary education major who first heard about the opportunity almost by accident.
“I was at my apartment, done with homework, and got an email [about an] opportunity to teach English in Taiwan,” she said.
“I was like, ‘you know what? What harm is going to come from applying for this?’” she added.
Jensen taught in Taiwan in 2023 and in 2026 returned to Asia to teach in Japan, where she saw firsthand how students’ confidence grew alongside their language skills.
“It was just amazing to see how… [they not only progressed] in their English proficiency, but their confidence in themselves and their abilities as well,” she said. “Watching that growth in them was amazing.”
Both Bednar and Jensen say while going off to a foreign country and teaching English on your own may sound intimidating, BYU-Idaho faculty will prepare participants to teach and lead. “It’s so worth it,” Jensen said. “You’re not going to know everything, but you do know enough.”
Before sending students abroad, Hansen and his team carefully vet each site to ensure safety and proximity to a temple so students can live their faith. Establishing these international partnerships relies heavily on word of mouth, conferences, and organic connections—a rigorous process well worth the effort for the unique leadership opportunities and growth it offers students.
“I see them leading a classroom,” Hansen said. “They’re doing it. And the sense of accomplishment they get from that is really, really rewarding.”
Hansen remarked on the benefits of the program, not just for the students teaching English, but for those learning it as well.
“This is the ultimate win, win, win,” Hansen said. “It’s good for my students, it’s good for their students, and I think it’s good for the world for people to really get to see each other up close.”
For more information about BYU-Idaho's TESOL program visit https://www.byui.edu/languages-international-studies/tesol