KARATASOS Vocational Lyceum (also known as 1o EPAL = 1st Vocational Lyceum) is an Upper Secondary School for 15- to 18-year-old pupils or adults wishing to attend professional classes and obtain a diploma in a speciality along with their Certificate of Secondary Education.  It is named after Tasos or Gero-Karatasos (AD 1764-1830), a hero of the Greek Revolution against the Turks (1821-1829).  It is situated in the city of Beroea/Berrhoea (pronounced "Veria" in Greek) (at a 75 kilometres / 47 miles' distance from the port city of Thessalonica).   If you would like to see a detailed study guide of our school in English, please feel free to ask for one from me at 
demetrios.hadjinicolaou@gmail.com.  Last but not least, you are cordially invited to visit my English and History subjects portal on the Hellenic School Net special web platform.  Also, you might like to visit the Etwinning portal for the current school year that an Italian colleague and I have created on http://sicilia-and-emathia.ning.com/ .

DEMETRIOS HADJINICOLAOU

Teacher of English

Thank you for visiting this website. I hope you will find the information you have been seeking. Let me introduce myself visually and verbally (See below.) first.

Curriculum Vitae

I was born on 9th November 1975 in Berrhoea, Macedonia proper, Greece, where I received my general education.  Shortly after finishing Secondary School, I was admitted to the Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Philosophy, Aristotle University of Thessalonica (1993), Greece.  During my studies, I gave private lessons to participants in   English examinations such as the ones for the First Certificate in English and the Certificate of Proficiency in English held by the then UCLES (University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate).  In parallel, I have been a Sunday school teacher to teenagers at the Holy Metropolis of Berrhoea, three times a group leader and once a chief of the Orthodox Christian summer camp situated on Bermion Mount.  Since 1993 I have been a subscriber to the ELT (English Language Teaching) News, an Athens-based monthly journal, too.  I graduated from university in July 1997, my general mark being 7.73 (grade very good).

            I was mobilised to the Hellenic Army in January 1998 and completed my military service in July 1999.

            Since my demobilisation, I have worked as a teacher of English in both private and state schools teaching adults and minors alike in Paramythia, Cosane, Siatista, and Berrhoea.  Since 2002, I have been an oral examiner at the English Language Exams organised by the Greek Ministry of Education.  From 2005 to 2008 I was detached to the Department of Technology Management, which is based in the town of Naousa, University of Macedonia (www.uom.gr), Greece, teaching English for Academic/Specific Purposes (EAP/ESP).  Currently, my regular post as a teacher is at the "Karatasos" Vocational Lyceum of Beroea in the prefecture of Emathia, North Greece.  Besides, I have translated certain articles from journals along with short stories from English into Greek and vice versa.  By the way, I am highly interested in effective TEFL (Teaching of English as a Foreign Language) through the use of modern means like satellite TV, video, drama, film subtitling, computing etc.  See, for example, a video-recorded skit  my pupils and I mounted at school in May 2010, at http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xeghep_shooting-a-film_school .  Also, I have often delved into translation of special texts on various subjects, such as architecture, for instance.  From 2006 until 2008 I was the chairman of the local English teachers' union in Berrhoea; in this capacity, I have developed and maintained the Union's web site - see www.ekadei.blogspot.com .

            After all, my special kind of personality, consisting of juvenility combined with maturity, has enabled me to empathise with both adolescent learners and peers/adults.  Added to that, I tend to be humorous and easy-going; as a result, I am usually on good terms with my pupils. Finally, I am admittedly hard-working and most accommodating.  In particular, I am distinctly apt at conceiving new, efficient ideas with regard to the business sector whereas I have an inclination to deal with public relations. Recently, I have been an active member of the Patriotic Hellenic League, a club that focuses on national and social issues pertaining to Greece._