Hi. My name's Beth. I'm a highly qualified & hugely experienced English teacher & was an IElTS examiner for 10 years. Whatever your age or experience, I can help with your English needs.

Find out more about Beth

• When and why did you develop an interest in your chosen field?

  I studied Chinese at university in the UK and in China, and between my 3rd and final year I was given the opportunity to teach a group of Chinese academics at a Chinese university in Guangzhou. I had no teaching qualifications at the time, so it was quite intimidating at first, but I rose to the challenge and was warmly welcomed and appreciated by my students, even though they were twice my age at the time. I then gained experience teaching refugees and other immigrants in London (England), which I found really interesting, and completely different to the first experience. Some of my students were illiterate in their own languages, so the challenges were great, but it was very rewarding in so many ways and it was then that I realised just how important it was to be able to adapt ones teaching styles and materials to the students’ needs. This further piqued my interest in becoming a qualified teacher, leading me to train and practice as a primary school teacher and I taught in primary schools for 3 years. I then moved on to become a private tutor of English as a foreign language in both Malaysia and England (11 years), where I studied to gain a Cambridge University certificate and DELTA (Diploma in Teaching English to Adults). I then taught in language schools in Oxford (England) for a further 15 years, where I trained foreign students in university entrance skills, including the IELTS exam. For 10 of these years, I was also an IELTS examiner. Now that I am based in Canada I have moved to teaching online, and I love it!

• What makes you passionate about your subject?

  I love learning languages myself, and more especially the challenge of trying to mimic the sounds of the target language as well as mastering the grammatical rules which underpin it. I guess this is why I have been attracted to teaching languages too. I take pleasure in guiding my students towards an appreciation of the language in all its forms, not only in terms of mastering the skills of speaking and listening but also in reading and writing proficiency too.

• What do you like about tutoring? What makes you a ‘Superprof’?

  What I love about tutoring is seeing my students make progress. It is wonderful to witness a sense of achievement and see the pride of my students when they realise that they have made progress in their preparation for a challenging exam task or finally made sense of a linguistic mystery that had been bugging them for a while. In a nutshell, knowing that I can make a difference in another person’s journey towards improving their exam skills and their overall mastery of the language gives me great pleasure.

• Do you have any role models: a teacher that inspired you?

  I had an amazing history teacher at school that was clearly passionate about her subject and taught me that a committed teacher can make all the difference to a student. I admired her generosity of spirit and the fact that she was clearly knowledgeable in her subject and willing to spend time as my mentor. She would give me detailed feedback on my essays and this made me realise just how important such feedback can be from a teacher. As a result, I was always a competent essay writer at university, and this made academic success easy. Consequently, having learnt from the best, I always try to give my students as much detailed advice as I can, focusing on their strengths as well as their areas in need of improvement.

• What are your keys to success?

  As I mentioned earlier, one of the reasons why I am successful is due to the fact that I listen carefully to my students to try to understand their needs and goals, and then I adapt my lessons to suit them. No single person is the same, each with their own unique personality, skill sets and knowledge sets, and so no 2 lessons can be the same. In addition, I think that learning can be fun, and will try to ensure that students learn as much as they can in a relaxed and positive learning environment. The fact that I am also hugely experienced in so many different areas of teaching, from primary school to university level, also helps. This experience means that I am not only confident in my teaching, but have a huge array of resources from which to draw, especially for IELTS. Lastly, as I stated earlier, I am always willing to put in the extra time to prepare my lessons well and give detailed feedback where appropriate.