About Me

Educator, Language Coach for IELTS, CPE and Professionals

I’ve Language has been the thread running through my entire life. My initial curiosity turned into a career. After graduating from Christ Church Oxford with a degree in French and German, followed not long after by a Diploma in TEFL and an M.Ed from the University of Exeter (both with Distinction) a few years later, I’ve spent the last four decades, living and working across three continents, teaching, training, translating, and writing – and always relishing the doors language has opened into people`s lives and cultures. I’ve lived long-term in Germany, China, Turkey, Eritrea, Czechia, Slovakia, Bangladesh, France and Spain, and visited dozens of other countries from India to Somalia and from Hong Kong to Libya, under the auspices of the British Council, VSO, Trinity College London and Cambridge Education Consultants, amongst many others.

Successful language learning is a subtle combination of competence, commitment and consistency, and that’s why I’ve chosen to focus on advanced students – who have already demonstrated those qualities in abundance. But even Usain Bolt needs a coach, and even the most advanced language learners can benefit from extra polish, guidance, exam preparation, or general coaching around the way they use language at work.

Working with advanced students is where I feel most useful and fulfilled. By the time someone has reached C1 or C2, the challenge is rarely grammar – it’s nuance: knowing which word carries the right weight, the exact register to adopt, how to argue a point in English the way you would in your own language without losing precision or personality. That’s the level I find most rewarding to teach, because it’s less about correction and more about collaboration – helping someone sound fully, unmistakably like themselves in a language that isn’t their first.

Let’s talk about your project

I’d be delighted to hear you outline your goals, offer some choice tips, and help you craft your message. Reach out today!

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Testimonials

What my readers say

“Your writing makes me want to stop, read, and engage. It is witty, deeply observant, humane, and strangely magnetic – like listening to a well-travelled, mischievous, wise little boy whose curious way of presenting life around him simply cannot be ignored.” (Arif Hafiz, Dhaka, Bangladesh)

“Me encanta cómo escribes porque tus juegos de palabras añaden humor, muchísimo ingenio y un muy necesario aspecto lúdico a la realidad cotidiana que destripas para nosotros sin ninguna piedad. I love your writing because your puns add humor, a lot of wit and a much-needed playful aspect to the everyday reality that you dissect for us without any mercy.” (Marga Rubio Soto. Barcelona. Spain)

“Fluent, riverine narratives; entered and navigated via the unexpected. Continuity guaranteed: from one-liners to sentences that build and build. Punch lines that hit the spot. And, in between, nothing purple. Humour and self-deprecation guaranteed.” (Tony Wright, Ivybridge, England)