Teacher

I am an intelligent, fun and imaginative English teacher with over 9 years of experience in English language tuition, educational programme management and curriculum design.

Wow! That’s a lot of experience! Where have you worked for the last 9 years, Jay?

I have taught English in Russia, China and in summer schools in the UK. In Russia I mainly taught 1-to-1 with Children aged between 3-9 years old but I started my teaching career in a school. In China I was a Director of Studies for a language centre of over 1000 students aged between 3-16 and I trained teachers how to work with this age group. For the past year in the UK I have worked in management and operations of two large summer schools in Oxford, helping to create an awesome learning adventure for teenagers traveling to the UK!

What is your secret as a teacher?

My goal is to get children to speak, sound and THINK like a native speaker. My lessons are carefully structured and well planned so that the student can enjoy my lessons and learn effectively. This is achieved through games, sports, activities and songs using repetition of language and development of practical vocabulary. I use well-known techniques and the best resources in the business. I’m a fun, active and creative teacher, but most importantly I enjoy working with children and seeing genuine progress!

Can you teach online?

Yes! I have taught 1-to-1 and classes online using Zoom and Skype for many years. I have even trained schools on how to work with the software. The trick is to keep students engaged in the lesson. You need to be fast, have many different resources prepared and vary the activities so that students don’t get bored. It’s a challenge but I love it!

Can you teach Phonics?

Absolutely! Learning to read is an important step in a child’s learning as it encourages independent learning from a young age. This is SO important. Learning phonics allows learners to understand how letters make sounds – we start with individual sounds and move to blends, CVC words (small words) and develop gradually to bigger words and sentences. Phonics has become much more popular is recent years and I have personally helped students as young as 3 years old to start reading as well as trained many teachers on how to better their skills.

What about older children?

Most of my work in Russia was in British school preparation and having successfully prepared many children to pass British common entrance exams, I am fully competent in Key Stage 1 and 2 Literacy, Mathematics and Science, GCSE in English, Literature and Arts with a strong awareness of the requirements for British primary and secondary school curriculum. I can also help students prepare for Cambridge English Exams such as KET, PET, FCE, CAE, CPE and IELTS.

What qualifications do you hold?

I hold an undergraduate degree from the UK in arts, a CELTA qualification and a several Cambridge TKT certificates, all of which I passed at band 4 (the highest grade).