Hello! My name is Chris - I'm a highly experienced and passionate English teacher from the UK. I specialise in helping higher level students to take their English to the next level.
I'll provide the support you need to meet your specific goals, whether you need to improve your spoken fluency and confidence, elevate your vocabulary, learn more idiomatic language such as phrasal verbs and expressions, identify and fix your grammar problems, improve your pronunciation or prepare for an English exam.
I am a highly qualified and experienced teacher. I have now been teaching English for 12 years, and I continue to find it a hugely enjoyable, constantly challenging and deeply rewarding profession. I love my job, and I think you'll find that this comes across in my teaching!
I obtained the Cambridge CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) from International House Buenos Aires in 2010, and the Cambridge DELTA (Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults) from British Study Centres in Oxford in 2013. I constantly seek to develop and improve my teaching.
I studied Philosophy at Cardiff University, graduating with a First in 2007. I then studied for a Masters Degree in Latin American Development at the University of London, achieving a Merit in 2009.
My teaching experience has encompassed a wide range of levels from intermediate (B1) to advanced (C1) and proficiency (C2).
I have taught both General and Business English, both in groups and on a 1-to-1 basis. I have also helped many students to pass the Cambridge First (FCE), Advanced (CAE) and Proficiency (CPE) exams, as well as the IELTS exam.
I'm originally from North Devon (definitely the most beautiful part of the UK!) but over the years I have lived and worked in places as diverse as Oxford, Buenos Aires and Bogota.
I enjoy doing lots of things, especially cooking, reading, learning Spanish, walking and running. More recently, I have been spending a lot of time looking after my young daughters! I also love meeting and getting to know new people - this is a big reason why I enjoy my job so much.
Our trial class will first and foremost be an opportunity for us to meet each other and introduce ourselves.
You can then describe your needs, and I'll explain my approach to give you an idea of what form our classes will take.
You'll also have the opportunity to ask me any questions you have if you'd like to know more about my background, my experience, or anything else you're curious about!
If you have any doubts, please feel free to contact me before booking a trial. Thanks!
I love learning with Chris. He is a committed teacher, always looking for meaningful and real learning, which lasts longer in my memory. He helps a lot with accent, vocabulary, grammar and gives me options to other uses. He is very patient, polite and friendly! What else do you need to improve?
Chris is a really competent teacher. In his lessons he covers all aspects of the English language: speaking, listening and reading. After each lesson, I feel that I have learned something new and that I can speak a bit better in English.
I've had 8 lessons with Chris, and he has really exceeded my expectations. I'm preparing for the Cambridge exam CAE. I was working on the test with another teacher. She is a really professional and qualified teacher, but she doesn't do lessons for the listening part. That is why I started to have lessons with Chris.
His lessons are awesome! Before I took his lessons, my score on listening test was disaster. I got the right answers less than 20% of the time. However, after I had several lessons with him, my score got higher immediately - around 50% to 70%.
This is because he taught me solid approaches and strategies to assess the test. That made huge differences. I think all people who want to take the exam can benefit from his tips. I cannot imagine that there is a teacher who can teach the listening part better than him.
Another thing that I love about his lessons is his way of using English. In the beginning of our lessons, we have a free conversation. I can feel he deliberately uses high level vocabulary that is useful for the test. In that conversation, I can learn a lot of colorful vocabulary.
In the conversation, we also talk about my English studying progress. Since he has a lot of experience with the Cambridge exam, he always gives me useful advice according to my situation. His advice is really clear. Sometime he can even tell me exactly how many practices I need to pass the test. That helps me a lot when I'm worried if I'm on the right track.
I'm really happy to have found such a fantastic teacher to coach me on how to pass the Cambridge exam CAE!