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Alex
- Hourly rate £25
- Response Time 24h
£25/hr
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- ESOL
- Business English
- IELTS
- Cambridge First Certificate FCE
IELTS, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Teacher Cambridge, Ely, Huntingdon, Newmarket
Lesson location
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At Alex's house: Cambridge
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at your home or in a public place : will travel up to 20 km from Cambridge
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About Alex
- What kind of experience do you have?
I am an EFL and EAP teacher with nearly 10 years' experience. I started teaching immediately after graduating with a BA (Hons) in History. My work abroad, especially in Korea, with students of English of all age groups led me to undertake postgraduate study in Linguistics and TESOL. I therefore have extensive academic and practical experience of the area in which I specialise. I am an inspiring teacher and able to develop the best in my students through creating an environment conducive to learning. Furthermore, I have worked as a social director for over 2 years, which has given me much insight into how to make my lessons engaging. Throughout my career I have always felt it was important to develop as a teacher by attending and giving workshops, as shown below. I have had a wide variety of students from different backgrounds and with differing needs, some with a basic level of English in need of an IELTS score of 5.5, some with a higher level of English in need of an IELTs 8, some looking to study for the PET/FCE/ or CAE and even a number of students that have been aiming to pass English proficiency exams such as CPE. A very high percentage of these students have been successful under my guidance, a specific example of this was one of the highlights of my teaching career, when one my former students increased his IELTS writing score from 5.5 to 7.5 in a period of 3 weeks.
- Do you have an up-to-date DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service, formerly CRB) Certificate?
I have an up-to-date CRB from my previous employer which is still valid and can be asked for if needed.
- Where and with whom did you train?
I studied for my BA at the University of Sheffield and obtained my MA at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge.
I am currently in the process of completing an online DELTA with Bell Language school
Training and CPD (Continual Professional Development)
Workshops Attended:
Motivating the Unmotivated, Ken Wilson, Bell School, Cambridge, 07/09/12
Developing the Teacher as a Manager, Kate O'Toole, Select English, Cambridge, 15/10/12
Teaching Grammar and Vocabulary in the IELTS Classroom, Jo Tomlinson, English UK Teachers' Conference 2012, London, 10/11/12
The Power of Image, Paul Dummet, English UK Teachers' Conference 2012, London, 10/11/12
Understanding and Using the Phonemic Chart.
Adrian Underhill, English UK Teachers' Conference 2012, London, 10/11/12
A Beginners Guide to Mobile Learning in ELT, Amy Lightfoot, Bell School, Cambridge, 14/11/12
Learner Autonomy through Tutorials, Kate O'Toole, Select English, Cambridge, 22/11/12
- Tell me about some of your current students.
Right now I'm involved in a wide range of classes: these classes have a heavy emphasis on reading and writing workshops, as well as conversation and debating. My students come from all over the world and their ages vary from 16-60. For example, I am currently teaching an Italian and Spanish couple, where the teaching emphasis is on improving their academic English writing skills, and increasing their knowledge of advanced vocabulary, collocation forks and prepositional phrases, this is for the purpose of increasing both of their IELTS writing score by a band or two.
I keep classes as student-centred as possible and tailor all teaching specifically to a student's personal needs. In my opinion it is important to try to create an environment in which students feel free to express themselves. I strongly encourage students, to ask questions, offer criticisms, and develop a more fluent and confident use of English that can be used in day-to-day, academic, and professional situations.
In my teaching I emphasise the importance of pronunciation and the use of the phonemic chart. All my students begin with phonetics at a pre-intermediate level, this can be especially important for listening and comprehension, especially when taking an English oral exam such as the IELTS or FCE, in which you only have a short amount of time to impress the examiner. I believe error correction is essential to the improvement of a student's pronunciation and all other aspects of a learners English.
This is evident from my IELTS intermediate class. Students can struggle with comprehension outside of the classroom: when interacting with people on the street, in social settings and on public transport. In my experience lessons focused on colloquial English turn out to be of great benefit to the students, helping them become focused in class as well as confident in all areas of communication.
In terms of learning it is essential the students take ownership for their own work and realize that essentially their progress in English is ultimately up to them. Students 'get out, what they put in'. Once this has been established, we explore many genres, forms of literature and conversational topics, so that students are able to choose for themselves that which makes learning more enjoyable. Indeed I find that students can learn more if they themselves can pick the topic of class and even with academic English, this is possible.
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About the lesson
- Primary
- Secondary
- GCSE
- +19
levels :
Primary
Secondary
GCSE
AS Level
A Level
BTEC
Adult
Undergraduate
Masters
Diploma
Doctorate
A1
A2
B1
B2
C1
C2
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Professional
Kids
- English
All languages in which the lesson is available :
English
I hope that studying with me will drastically improve your English as my teaching methods successfully promote learning and encourage the development of all my students.
- Which subject(s) do you teach?
- KET (Key English Test)
- PET (Preliminary English Test)
- FCE (First Certificate in English)
- CAE (Certificate in Advanced English)
- CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English)
- IELTS (International English Language Testing System)
- BEC - Preliminary, Vantage, Higher (Business English Certificate)
- BULATS (Business Language Testing Service)
- General English (EFL/ESL) for students wishing to improve their level (CEFR) - from A1 through to C2, focusing on all areas of language from pronunciation to writing.
- Tell me about your qualifications.
- MA Applied linguistics and TESOL
-CELTA
- DELTA (In process)
-- BA Hons History
- How much do you charge?
The first class for any purpose is free and lasts for 1 hr 30 mins. This is the most important time as it gives the student (or students) a chance to make sure they are comfortable with the classes. It also allows me to assess language ability within all the areas such as reading, writing, grammar, fluency, talk about the study habits you have, make suggestions. and allow you to ask any questions. More importantly it will also help me to advise how many classes you will most likely to need in order to achieve your goal.
- £20.00/hour for general English classes.
- £25.00/hour for exam-focused classes such as IELTS, FCE, CAE and CPE.
- up to £25.00 for more specific language areas such for business and sciences as the resources I provide are more.
- For proofreading, please contact me as there are two ways to charge, either based on words (for smaller projects) and per hour (for much larger projects).
The rates shown here are for one-to-one classes but for group classes, this price will be much lower. The price includes all the teaching materials you will need and also the opportunity to contact me out of class time with any questions or other advice you may need. If you need my help then I will do my best to provide it! Classes should always booked a week in advance if possible to allow me chance to prepare the materials specifically for your needs. Classes can be cancelled up to 2 hours before they are supposed to begin. If a cancellation is asked for after this point, it has to be on a case-by-case basis.
It's recommended to study for at least 2 sessions a week for areas such as IELTS, FCE, CAE and CPE - which would be a minimum of 3 hours (each class: 1hr 30 mins). It is strongly recommended that classes are 2 hours long as the first 20-30 mins will be spent reviewing previously set homework and answering any questions you may have. Many of the students and classes I currently run are for 6 hours each week as this provides a nice balance between time with teacher and time away from the class to practice the lesson's objectives.
- Where do you teach?
If you live within the Cambridge area (CB1 to CB5) then I can travel to your home, however, there are a number of warm, safe and convenient locations within Cambridge city centre that are also popular with my current students. Think about where's best for you to study classes such as IELTS, FCE, CAE and CPE, and where you feel most comfortable without too many distractions!
For business language classes, I can provide access to office space and other areas if needed for larger classes.
- When are you available?
I am available from 9.00am to 9.30pm, Monday to Saturday. My Schedule is very flexible but it's good to ask as soon as possible as I can be very busy at certain times of the year. However, I will always try to fit in any student that asks for my help.
- Which ages and levels do you teach?
Over 16's and all language levels - from A1 to C2 (CEFR)
- Which qualifications do you prepare your students for?
* IELTS (both General and Academic modules) - for students entering Higher Education in the UK, Australia and some colleges in the USA.
* FCE, CAE and CPE - for students that want to reach a certain level of general English or for use in Europe.
* BEC/BULATS - for those who require internationally recognised business English qualifications.
* PET/KET - for those who have just begun to study English.
- Do you have a personal message for students?
Whether you want to Study FCE, IELTS, CAE or just general English, with my guidance and instruction you will have the best chance of achieving your goals. I will help develop a course for you that is not only effective in the classroom, but one that can also help you consolidate learning outside of the classroom.
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Rates
Hourly rate
- £25
Pack prices
- 5h: £125
- 10h: £250
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