John

Teaching Experience: 10 years

Courses: IELTS preparation, Business English, General English

Education: TOEFL, BA in Slavonic Studies at the University of Nottingham

I was educated at the University of Nottingham, England, an honours degree course in Slavonic Studies, which included Russian history, literature and some Russian language.

I qualified as a teacher in 1980. More recently, I earned an additional certificate in TOEFL and spent five years in Moscow as a teacher of English. For the last six years I have been working from home in England, online using Skype and Viber.

I have traveled around many parts of Europe, to China and to 11 countries in Africa (10 of them by bicycle, from Cairo to Cape Town).

I spend some time each year in Prague and will be living there from early 2017. While I am there I can teach in person and continue to work on Skype with students in other countries.

My students are
— professionals, learning Business English for their work
— students who need to pass English exams: I specialise in IELTS preparation
— people learning General English so they can study, work or go to live in an English-speaking country
— anyone who wants to improve their English by talking to an English person

I concentrate on teaching structured courses using course books, though lessons include conversation about the topics involved and other things of interest to you and me. For IELTS, I have been glad to help students achieve the bands 6, 7 and 8 that they need.

I always try to ensure that my students get a lot from the lessons and enjoy learning — this is very important for effective learning — and I enjoy the work too. Your success is my job satisfaction.