At Home

Mike

Language Tutor Mike lives and breathes languages and he has been studying languages since the age of 7.  He started with French, and then Spanish, and then took up Arabic as a teenager.  He now teaches full-time online and in-person English and Spanish to adults and children. Here are some of the reasons why he is so passionate about sharing his love of languages:  Learning languages makes your brain bigger ;   it makes travel more fun ; it’s a great way of making friends and ;  it’s fun to figure out why in English a dog says “woof”, in Spanish, “guau” and in Arabic “nubaaH”  What’s the right word?, I hear you asking.  The dogs aren’t saying. Mike also hosts a Podcast for Advance English learners called The English Waffle and Co-hosts The L&E Podcast.

Susie P

Language Tutor

1. How did you get into teaching languages? My love of languages and literature were first combined when I worked as a volunteer at a school in Colombia where I taught English as a foreign language for children and literacy for adults. This rewarding first experience as a young teacher led me to complete my CELTA training in 2014 and I have been working as a teacher ever since.
2. Experience in teaching languages? I have taught all levels, from absolute beginners to proficiency level students, and worked in primary and secondary schools, English academies, and summer camps. Working mainly with young children and teens, I have had experience of leading conversation classes, activity workshops in English and exam preparation classes.
3. Why do you like being a language teacher? I like being a language teacher for the variety that each day can bring, the opportunities to be creative in the classroom and for the surprising and entertaining conversations that often come up.
4. Style of teaching? As a teacher, my main aim is always to get the students talking as much as possible, using games, videos, articles and projects to help students use English in real-world contexts to talk about topics that interest them.
5. Fun Fact: I love animals and spend my free time volunteering at a dog shelter.

Owain W

Language Tutor How did you get in to Teaching Languages? Owain discovered his love of languages as an adult. He enjoyed French at school but didn’t quite see the point of it. He started Spanish at the age of 15 and later became fluent after living for 15 years in Spain. He has also studied German and Chinese, and likes to try out languages wherever he goes. Experience in teaching languages? Since 2005 he has taught English to students of all ages, both face to face and online. He’s currently teaching 16-18 year olds at Leicester College in the UK and has online students from Spain, Russia and Germany. Style of teaching? For him, teaching should be holistic and learner-centred. More than other subjects, languages are about human interaction and connection. You learn when you’re feeling motivated and relaxed. You learn to communicate when you want to say something and someone responds. Just filling your head with facts about the language won’t help you develop your fluency. Creating a fun, safe and inspiring environment for his learners to try, fail, and then try again is how he helps his students become confident language users. Fun fact! He used to be a choir boy and sang a solo in the song Ave Maria at the wedding of a musician called Gordon Sumner – otherwise known as Sting!

Desta

Language Tutor Desta has over 15 years of international experience as a language teacher, professional musician and intercultural trainer. She makes learning fun, creative & inclusive.  

Harriet T-B

Language Tutor

1. What did you want to be when you grew up? When I was little I dreamed of being a vet – I’ve always loved animals!
2. Favourite L&E activity? It has to be Monday evening icebreakers. It does what it says on the tin, gets everyone being silly together and is where new friendships begin to form.
3. Favourite L&E memory? This is a tough one, there are so many! One that stands out for me is when one of our lovely campers, Greta, got up the courage to sing and play piano in front of the whole camp – there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Moments like that are magical and are proof that children can and do blossom at L&E.
4. Best thing about L&E? I love how it feels like one big family. We wake up together, eat together, do all kinds of activities together and as a result by the end of the week it feels like we’ve known each other for years.
5. Fun fact about yourself! I converted my minivan into a camper called Otis and we often go adventuring together.