I am a UK-based ELT consultant providing consultancy and training services to a range of clients around the world.
Improving the learning experience
The view from Hong Kong University - one of the loveliest places I’ve worked.
I am an ELT consultant, trainer, author and speaker, UK-based but operating globally. My goal is to help educational organisations to facilitate the most effective learning environment they can, within their local setting. This local setting provides the backdrop to many of my projects. I work in a range of locations around the world, especially fragile environments - that is conflict or post-conflict zones – and the scope of my work is often determined by very challenging on-ground circumstances.
I have a diverse client base including government organisations such as the British Council and ministries of education, educational publishers and private language schools. I have been involved in projects in over 30 countries and have worked in this field since 1981.
The context I work in
ELT is a global enterprise and it’s no exaggeration to say that there are people learning English everywhere, all the time. A global, but not a standardised enterprise. Learners of English can find themselves in settings as diverse as hi-tech, well-funded universities in South East Asia to village schools in West Africa with no resources beyond a blackboard.
The days of the ‘one size fits all’ approach to consultancy are, I hope, behind us. A successful consultancy project is able to respond to a variety of needs, challenges, budgets and feasibilities. In order to meet the needs of my clients, all my projects are based on listening carefully to them. Discussions will almost always begin with pre-conceived ideas from all parties, but open and frank exchanges lead to achievable solutions.
What services do I offer?
To help clients meet the goal of facilitating the most effective learning environment, my support services fall under three categories; teacher development, materials writing and conference speaking. These headings are really only useful to make navigating this website easier as many of the services I offer are non -standard and may fall into none or all of the categories.
The design of what I finally deliver to clients encompasses their achievable outcomes with time-frames, local circumstances embedded and an agreed budget. My watchword throughout my projects is sustainability. A mechanism needs to be built into the project design so that one of the objectives is for my place to be taken by home-grown talent, local colleagues who, after all, will have a far greater understanding of the context than I will ever have.
What can you find on the website?
In reality, not that much! My view is that life is too short to navigate text-heavy websites.
However you will find more about me and the services I offer, some case studies and a list of organisations that I’ve worked with. You will also find some quotations across the website. These are all authentic and unsolicited testimonials. The photographs on the website are from projects that I have been involved with, and from places that I have enjoyed working in. All the photos are my own except for the ones that I am in!
“We’re delighted with how well the talk and topic were received, and I thought I’d share a few comments from the initial (and overwhelmingly positive) feedback that has come through:
· ”Summed up brilliantly my own convictions and visions of teaching!”
· “The clear presentation was really thought-provoking.”
· ”A way of thinking about this topic again and motivating to carry on addressing these issues in class.”.
”