My Lessons
More than just Teaching
The most enjoyable part of my job is getting to know my students, making sure that their learning experience is personalised, engaging, stimulating and fun. So I usually start by finding out a little about you, what your goals and interests are, your learning style and your motivations for learning English. My lessons are not about reading, memorising, analysing grammar rules or using text books, but about learning practical English that you can use in the real world in your particular situation, that will help you connect with people and communicate what you want to say and relates to your goals.
It’s important to remember that there is no one way or ‘right’ way to study English. I want to give you the confidence to experiment with English, take a few risks and, importantly, discover what works best for you as an individual. I like to place an emphasis on how you learn, as well as what you learn. Everybody learns differently. One of the advantages of one-to-one lessons is that the focus is on you.
My lessons are
- Personalised, focussing on you and your needs
- Positive, supportive, friendly and fun
- Flexible, online or in person
- Structured in a way that will help you communicate with confidence out there in the real world.
- About providing you with speaking practice.
They are not boring, lecture-style classes. I encourage you to use English outside of the lesson in your daily life. Initially we aim for progress not perfection.
How much are my lessons and what do they include?
- Individual lessons are £20. For this price you get:
- A free 30 minute consultation
- An individual lesson plan tailored to your needs
- A one hour lesson face to face or online
- Homework assignments + homework corrections
- Speaking & writing corrections
- Audio mp3 / M4A recordings of my voice to help you with your pronunciation
- Some lesson notes
- Book and website recommendations that I think will help you to improve
- I plan the lessons for you. I use Word documents that we can share online.
- I send you an audio recording of the correct pronunciation of the words we have learned.
- I can give you an assignment or homework for the week ahead to do in your own time to help you improve your English. Its up to you.
- I will answer your questions anytime during the lesson or you may send me a text message or e-mail if you think of a question later.
- I can signpost you and recommend resources from websites that will help you. There is so much out there.
- The focus is on you. Its your lesson and its personalised to suit you.
I also now do pure conversational lessons which are £15 per hour. I will correct any mistakes you make during the lesson and you can ask me specific questions about aspects of English that you are struggling with. It is your responsibilty to bring a pen and paper to make any notes if you wish. I usually send my students a few key notes too.
Where and When
I teach from my home during the day, which is 4 miles from Leeds city centre ( about 25 minutes by bus).
If distance and time are issues for you then taking lessons online can be better. See my Online Tutoring Page.
Learning to speak and understand spoken English is a challenge. It requires lots of practice. But learning English is a useful thing. One day you may need it but it won’t be possible to learn it in a few hours or even days. Language learning can be expensive but the expenses are worth it. Don’t look at learning English as an expense but as an investment. The return on your investment will always be more than you paid up front.
I like to draw on my previous career experience in management and social-care so endeavour to help you in more meaningful ways, by looking at your personal development and what will give you the motivation and confidence you need to improve your English. Sometimes you need more than just a teacher or tutor. You need someone who can inspire you, stimulate your thinking and believing positively to help you reach your full potential.
I tutor mainly intermediate-level learners. But if you are a beginner or at elementary stage, then feel free to contact me and I will help you if I can.
I like receiving feedback and e-mails, so please do contact me.
Yoshihei, Japan
Cancellations
Please be considerate of my schedule and availability to other students. It is only fair that you give me notice if you need to cancel your lesson. It is very frustrating for me when people cancel at the last minute.
If you are unable to attend or need to cancel a lesson I ask that you let me know by e-mail or text 24 hours before your lesson is due to start. I will do my best to re-arrange the lesson for you. If I need to cancel a lesson, we can re-arrange it or I will give you a full refund.