Teacher, IELTS Tutor and Proofreader with MA in Applied Linguistics and 31 years’ experience
Teaches
English
Native
Speaks
French
Japanese
Spanish
Teacher, IELTS Tutor and Proofreader with MA in Applied Linguistics and 31 years’ experience
About Me
Me as a Teacher
My lessons & teaching style
Resume
From United KingdomLiving in Other, France (05:36 UTC+01:00)
About Me
italki teacher since Oct 13, 2015
InterestsWritingFilms & TV SeriesSports & FitnessReadingTravel
Hi, my name’s Simon! I am British and I like travelling! I have been to around 40 countries and I lived in Japan for 20 years. Now I live in France so I can understand what people learning a language are going through as I learned Japanese and I am currently studying French and Spanish.
I like hiking, camping and bushcraft. When I was younger I spent two years backpacking in Asia so I have tramped the Annapurna Circuit twice and climbed Mount Kinabalu twice! During that journey, I came across scuba diving and yoga, two pursuits I continue to this day. I have been a scuba diving instructor since 2002.
Also, I dabble with writing, meditation, poetry, chess and other things besides.
Me as a Teacher
I have been teaching English for 31 years and I have a Certificate in TEFLA (CELTA), an Advanced Certificate in TESOL and an MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL. I was the editor of a Teacher Education journal in Japan for eight years and I taught at universities there for 15 years.
I taught pre-sessional courses at the University of Glasgow from 2015 to 2020, completing 13 in all, so I have a lot of experience in preparing students for the cultural and academic expectations in an English-speaking university setting. The goal of the pre-sessional courses was for the students to attain an IELTS-equivalent score of 6.5 or 7.
Also, I have been teaching scuba diving and first aid since 2002.
My lessons & teaching style
It is difficult to describe a specific style as each student is different and one of the greatest strengths of the Italki platform is the one-to-one nature of the classes. Consequently, I adapt my style to suit the situation and the student, and I like to use humour and fun when at all possible.
My teaching material
PDF file
Text Documents
Audio files
Video files
Flashcards
Articles and news
Quizzes
Test templates and examples
Graphs and charts
Homework Assignments
Certificates
Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics and TESOL - University of Leicester - 2002
Certificate verified
Education
1999 - 2002
Master's - Applied Linguistics and TESOLUniversity of LeicesterMA
Work Experience
2001 - 2015
TeacherKinjo Gakuin University - Nagoya, Japan
2005 - 2015
TeacherNagoya University of Foreign Studies - Nagoya, Japan
2015 - Current
TeacherUniversity of Glasgow - Glasgow, United KingdomVia Veritas Vita
4.9
Rating
748
Students
3,609
Lessons
100%
Attendance rate
100%
Response rate
4.9
Rating
748
Students
3609
Lessons
100%
Attendance rate
100%
Response rate
English Lessons
Trial Lesson
482 lessons completed
USD 5.00+
English for Studying at an English-speaking University
B1 - C2Language Essentials390 lessons completed
USD 12.00+
Package with 10% off
English Conversation with help on pronunciation and grammar
A2 - C2Conversation1,458 lessons completed
USD 12.00+
Package with 10% off
Proofreading/Essay Correction
A2 - C2Language Essentials183 lessons completed
USD 14.00+
Lesson for students who have completed more than 20 lessons!
A1 - C2Conversation260 lessons completed
USD 10.00+
Package with 11% off
Availability
Based on your timezone (UTC+00:00)
648 Reviews
山田遥斗
24 English lessons
Teacher’s pick
If you're struggling with exam preparation, such as IELTS, I highly recommend Simon. I started using this app to improve my IELTS score for my master’s program application. I chose him because of his extensive experience as an English teacher and working experience in Japan. He is very kind and always encouraging, which makes every lesson enjoyable. Over the past five months, my English skills have improved significantly, especially in writing and speaking.
He assigned me writing homework and reviewed it in detail during our lessons, which helped me learn more natural English expressions and how to write academic essays. He explains common mistakes that Japanese learners make from a Japanese perspective as well. We also practiced the speaking section as if it were a real test, which boosted my confidence and helped me encounter familiar topics during the exam. Furthermore, he also helped me with deciding which graduate university to apply to.
Sep 7, 2024
Tanya
16 English lessons
Teacher’s pick
In our lessons, we have combined both interview preparation and general conversations.
Simon is an excellent teacher and an amazing person. He is confident, intelligent, knowledgeable and capable to listen to me as a student. He has reacted to my needs, be they help, guidance or further explanation, adopting a supportive and an encouraging approach. He always gives honest feedback and challenges with (unexpected) questions that make me think. Being a linguist, he understands what intercultural communication is. Last but not least, he has a good sense of humor, which adds to the whole experience. Although I still can't articulate my thoughts in English as fluently as I would like to, I feel I've been making some progress. Thank you for that, Simon! And let me highly recommend you!
Jan 18, 2019
Joayeon
13 English lessons
Teacher’s pick
For an immigration purpose, I had to get IELTS 7.0 (each band), and looked for the qualified English teacher who has many years of experience in teaching. Now that I got my desired scores (actually higher than that - L 9, R 8.5 S&W 7), I feel so grateful that I met Simon!
He helped me a lot during my IELTS journey especially for my writing score to increase from 6.5 to 7. For the last three months, he motivated me to write more essays and gave me excellent feedbacks and estimated my possible score for every writing piece that I produced. The classes always went smooth, in an interactive and fun way, so I never got bored. I really admired his long teaching experience and ability to attend in details!
Apart from that, he has collected very useful and hands-on information about IELTS and how the scoring system work, and he never minded sharing this valuable information with me.
If you need IELTS score and find a qualified teacher, I do recommend Simon as your English teacher!!!
Sep 7, 2017
Michael Tsia
3 English lessons
My comment, although lengthy, is worth reading. I chose Simon because of his strong background in linguistics and TESOL. This makes up an ideal teacher.
For me, I am looking for support on my MA assignment. His experience as an EAP tutor is really helpful. He critiques and suggests sources, and edits my language errors.
Despite his taciturn character, he is very nice and supportive in the class. I will surely book a class with him again.
Nov 4, 2024
Cinzia
213 English lessons
Another great lesson as usual. Thanks a lot Simon!
Aug 5, 2024
Cinzia
213 English lessons
Another interesting lesson with Simon. Thanks a lot.