I’ve been “teaching the world” since changing careers from broadcasting to teaching English to adults in the early 2000’s. The in-person courses with lively, colourful Venezuelan engineers and studious, shy Chinese students moved online in 2012 and I’ve never looked back. Sharing my knowledge to help motivated adults open up their world, continues to be one of the most satisfying and stimulating jobs imaginable.
The change of career required dedication and concentration to complete the necessary TESOL training, from Certificate to Diploma to Masters level. It was demanding but taught me two very useful lessons. Firstly, how it feels to learn as an adult, and secondly, the importance of aiming for, and achieving, realistic goals, one step at a time – invaluable experience when it comes to training other adults.
The buzz of those early university courses for South American, European and Asian students has now spread to the wider online world of coaching global business professionals today. I love helping them enrich their lives, and careers, by passing on the skills, strategies and knowledge of global English I’ve learned from my years of training.
If you would like to work with me, contact me here.
Core Values
To give you a little more insight about who I am and how I work, these are three of the most important values that I hold:
Curiosity is key I think to continuous learning and respect, both for trainee and trainer. That desire to find out more about the world (and its language) helps to keep both sides interested and enquiring, never being complacent, whether working or socialising with others (and both aspects are present in the best coaching/training).
Patience is vital for learner and trainer in the learning process, to ensure an open mind that doesn’t shut down in frustration or anger when faced with challenges. The steps to learning so essential in language learning, often involve building on what is already known to create bridges to new connections and knowledge.
Trust has to be mutual between learner and trainer: you can feel very exposed speaking to another adult in a “foreign” language. What we say is so tied up with our own identity that we can feel embarrassed and awkward, stupid even, when we struggle to express ourselves in new ways and words. Learners have to feel safe with their trainer, and trust that they know how to help and encourage them, what is or is not important to learn. On the other side, trainers have to be able to trust that learners are serious about their learning and will commit to the tasks set. Everyone’s time is precious.
Article on LinkedIn: Mythbusters #1 Learner Styles: fact or myth?
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7125614635776405505-JZTk?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop