Paul L.
Welcome to English With Paul!
I have learnt and I am still learning 8 languages. I think that this is what makes me a good teacher.
And this is what will help me help you pass that citizenship test, get a place at that top university and get that dream job.
This is the kind of thing I’ve done myself while working as a journalist for Reuters and the New York Times in the London and Moscow and studying in top universities in Russia, France, and the UK..
This experience makes me comfortable that I can use the right language whether I’m interviewing a prime minister, a fund manager, a scientist or a stock broker.
I want to give you the same confidence that you can find the right words no matter how important the person you're speaking to is.
Let me tell you briefly about my experience as a teacher.
I qualified as a Cambridge English Language Teacher of Adults in 2006 and I was the director of English Studies at a college in London after my time as a journalist. I also worked as a private tutor for elite tutoring agencies in London for several years.
All of this was done in multiple countries and in multiple languages.
After about my fifth language, I realised that I had developed a system for learning and teaching.
I want you to understand how I teach, so I’ve broken it down into six core principles:
Asking questions!
You keep speaking and keep asking questions when you don't know a word or a grammatical formulation. This is the best way to learn a language.
It should be as much led by you as possible.
Learner Anticipation!
I get you to anticipate the answer before I give you the answer, so you're ready to learn!
Everything in context
!
All new vocab and grammar is taught in a real life scenario, so you remember it. For instance, let's imagine we're in a job interview.
Contextual repetition
Once I’ve taught you something, I will manufacture a conversation to make you repeat this target language at least 5 times.
Language structure (aka grammar)
Grammar gives you the keys to open the doors to the whole language. I use a Michel Thomas style technique to explain grammar in a way that actually makes sense. Logical explanations last a lifetime.
‘Feel’, ‘hear’ and ‘see’ pronunciation
What am I doing with my mouth when I say mouth? Mouf or mouth? Once you’ve worked that out, I’ll give you a phoneme symbol to represent this sound.
Written style and flow
Writing clearly is easy. You tell people what they are going to read and make it sound interesting. You then structure what you are writing in 3 paragraphs, and then you tell people what you've just told them. You sew that all together by maintaining a thread through the whole essay.
Journalists do that.
Academics should do that.
And you should do that when applying for a job or writing anything.
The most important thing I want you to know is that my teaching is student oriented. You are more important than me, and it’s my job to adapt to your needs. I look forward to hearing from you.
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