I am an experienced English tutor who specialises in teaching online using various messaging systems, but mainly Skype. In the recent past I have specialised in IELTS preparation and in PTE Academic Test of English Preparation. I am a native English speaker and am currently living in England. One of the things I enjoy most about teaching English online is that I get to meet students from all around the world and it is very satisfying to help them improve their English.

In addition to having ESL qualifications I am a graduate of Queen's University Belfast and of The Open University. My qualifications are listed below. I currently teach ESL for a couple of organisations. I teach corporate clients who have relocated and want to work on their English. I teach IELTS preparation and have helped many students obtain a band 7 and above. I have also designed a Pearson Academic Test of English. I have helped students prepare for the PTE Academic Test of English and Ive taught online, using mainly Skype. My experience of teaching ESL dates back to the 1980s when I began teaching mainly native Hindi speakers in Preston, Lancashire, England. In addition to teaching English I am a senior member of the examinations team for the International Baccalaureate organisation and have extensive experience of teaching in further and higher education with, for example, The Open University.

Present Employment

Oct. 2010-present:

-one to one English teaching with corporate clients who have relocated

-preparing students for the Pearson Test of English Academic

March 2013-present, International Baccalaureate Organisation (UK) Ltd.

-senior member of the examinations team for the IBO diploma

January 2017-present:

-teaching students worldwide using online communications systems such as Skype

-PTE B2 tutor and IELTS tutor

January 1997-present: Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance

-tutor, second level coordinator and dissertation supervisor for the opera studies online degree

Relevant past employment

May 2012: Bronzefield Women’s Prison

-adult literacy tutor

1986–2010: The Open University

-tutor, undergraduate music and arts courses

2009-10: the Workers’ Educational Association, Wilder Court, Bristol

-ESL tutor, teaching mainly students from Somalia

Education

1991-2000 BA (Hons) (Open) (1:1) The Open University

1980-1982 M.A. (Music, composition) The Queen`s University of Belfast

1976-1980 B. Mus. (2:1) The Queen`s University of Belfast

ESL Teacher Training Courses

2005: Cert (ES) TESOL (Distinction), Certificate of Educational Studies in The Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages. INTESOL International TESOL Training.

2019: Certificate in English Language Teaching, Lexis & Phonology (Distinction). Teflexpress/ACCREDITAT.

I take a student centred approach to teaching English which means that I place great importance on analysing the level that students have reached and what is required for them to progress. I also place great importance on learning what students want to achieve when learning English, and this can vary greatly. Some students are not interested in the more formal aspects of the language and want to focus on speaking and listening, while others may only be interested in how English is used in a business context: writing emails, giving presentations, understanding texts that are written in a formal style. Of course, there can also be a mixture of these needs. In order to provide students with the solutions they need to progress while studying with an online tutor I use a wide variety of sources. These include online exercises for listening, reading and writing and speaking practice during the lesson, as well as online resources designed to improve grammatical knowledge and use. I also recommend books that are suitable for the student and as a result of this no two students ever get the same programme of lessons.

For IELTS preparation I believe it is crucial that in order to achieve a band 7 and above, students need to understand what exactly the examiners are looking for and develop strategies accordingly for the four parts of the test. IELTS preparation does not need to be long or elaborate: many candidates fail to get a band 7 because of a lack of understanding of what exactly is being tested. Focusing on improving details of grammar will not necessarily lead to a score in a high band as while grammatical accuracy is important in the IELTS test, it is possible to score and band 7 or 8 without complete grammatical accuracy. Focused preparation is the key.