I understand that learning a new language can be quite daunting as it is a personal as well as a financial investment that you are making and so you want to make sure that you find ‘the right teacher’ to help you on your journey.
You might want to know more about my experience or my background. You may want to find out about my students’ results or even know what type of accent I have and you will be learning with. I have therefore compiled some frequently asked questions for you so that you can know more about me and my style of teaching in order to benefit you.
What were you doing before you started teaching English?
Before I moved to France, I lived in London and worked in the financial industry. I also have experience working in sales and customer service, which has helped me to build relationships with people and made me more empathic and a better communicator, which is needed when teaching people as we all have unique personalities and traits.
I also love travelling and did two working holiday’s in Australia as well as visiting over 40 countries around the world. This has helped me learn to communicate with non-native English speakers, develop patience and also understand different dialects and accents. Travelling also makes you more open minded and gives you a taste of different cultures. This has helped me to learn to adapt my speed and level of communication in order for conversations to flow smoother, which helps with building rapport with people from all different backgrounds.
Why did you move to France?
To cut a long story short, I met my French wife when she was living in London in 2013. She had moved to London from Annecy to ironically learn English and to experience living in a new city. Annecy is a very beautiful town and during the years that I visited, more and more could see myself living there. So, when my work contract expired at the beginning of 2018, I decided to start a new life in her home town as I also wanted to live in a smaller, quieter place compared to London.
I now call Annecy my home and even though I sometimes miss London, especially my family and friends, I can’t see myself moving back there for now.
I then started teaching English and it has now become a passion as I am meeting new people from different backgrounds who have different goals. Seeing their progress is also rewarding as you are helping someone achieve their goals, which is a great feeling.
What have been your students’ goals?
I have students of different ages whose goals are based on whether they are studying, working or have specific goals. A lot of parents want me to teach their kids in order to help them do better at school as well as help them to speak English when they get older. From small groups to individually, the age range is between 3 and 17.
Annecy is on the border of Switzerland and a lot of people work in Geneva, which is an International city and so English is commonly used over there. That means of course that I have been helping adults of different ages improve on their communication skills to help them deal with their work as they need to accurately communicate in English, providing a good service at the same time.
Students could also need to pass exams and I have been helping them prepare for their IELTS tests as it well recognised amongst many employers who need their employees to have a good level in English.
Do you teach English or American English?
As I am from London, I teach UK English and my accent highlights this. Depending on the level and age group I am teaching though, I always try to adapt my intonation, speed and dialect to suit the individual(s) as well as the goal(s) of the student(s).
However, some of my students’ jobs have been based in the US as so I am more than able of adapting to suit that style in terms of different words and expressions used. If it’s Australian English you’re after, I have experience of that too from living there!
What if I have other questions?
Feel free to contact me via email or social media if you have any other questions or would life further information. I will get back to you as soon as I can. I look forward to hearing from you!