Information About Jeff - Carshalton teacher -
(38 reviews)

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This is how 2 referees rated Jeff:

Reliability

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Languages Taught

English	Price Guide
Beginner	£40.00
Intermediate	£40.00
Advanced	£40.00
Expert	£40.00
Spanish	Price Guide
Beginner	£40.00
Intermediate	£40.00
Advanced	£40.00
Expert	£40.00
Russian	Price Guide
Beginner	£40.00

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Personal Description:

I am a fully qualified teacher with almost 30 years of experience. I regard myself as a friendly and approachable tutor, as well as honest and conscientious, and I pride myself on being able to communicate with students of all ages, from pre-teen to pensioner.

My hobbies are limited to reading these days, as there seems to be no time for much else, and I am particularly fond of English Literature. Dickens and Hardy are two of my favourites, but I am also keen on modern and less serious writers, such as Tom Sharpe and the two Rankins - Robert and Ian.

I have formerly worked full-time in the field of Further Education, teaching English (GCSE, GCE, and IGCSE), EFL/ESOL, and Spanish, plus Study Skills, Academic English, and IELTS for international students at college and university. I am now available full-time for tutoring in the borough of Sutton, although I am prepared to consider other areas (Morden, Banstead, for example) if travelling time is allowed for.

Teaching Experience:

I have taught and tutored English (including EFL and IELTS) and Spanish for the past 30 years or so, in the UK and abroad. I have worked in Spain, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Abu Dhabi, and also for many years in the UK of course. I have worked as a private tutor ever since I started teaching, as I realised that the existing state and private education providers could not meet the demand for high-quality intensive tuition.

I currently offer personal home-based teaching for English and Spanish for people who wish to improve their general abilities in the language. In addition, I tutor Spanish and English for academic exams, such as IELTS, GCSE and A-level.

Although I can offer elementary tuition in Russian, it is my wife who is the expert, being a native speaker.

Teaching Approach:

I endorse the humanist approach, and try to make my tutorials as interesting and relevant as possible. With every tutee I carry out an initial assessment of their needs and abilities, and my teaching begins from there. This approach appears to be successful, and I can provide references.

I would say that my personal style is open and honest, and I encourage my students to learn from their mistakes, rather than chastising them. However, in order to make real progress the tutee has to do her/his homework to reinforce this, and I make this a clear condition of my tutoring.

Tutor Resources: (free to download)

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Native Language: English (British)
Additional Languages: Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
Availability: Weekends / Weekdays (all times)
References Available: Yes (✔ On File)

Qualifications:

Sheffield Hallam University (1997) - Trinity Diploma in TESOL (Professional) (✘ Not On File)
University of Wolverhampton (1993) - English & Spanish (PGCE) (✘ Not On File)
Institute of Linguists (1991) - Translation Diploma (Professional) (✘ Not On File)
Kingston Poly (1989) - Spanish and Political Science (Bachelors) (✘ Not On File)

Jeff's Feedback

Total Amount Of Feedback:	38
Total Positive Feedback:	38 Av. 4.66/5.00

From Kelvin (4/5): Jeff is a good teacher. However, having three lessons with my child and after assessing Jeff, I personally think he is not the right person for my child at this moment. I might consider him in future.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks for the backhanded compliment. After three lessons, I had to inform you that your boy was not suitable for 11 plus preparation. If you had told me at first that he was only ‘working towards expectations’ in his school report, I would not have considered him for the 11 plus, suggested focusing on his SATs instead, and we would not have wasted each other’s time.

From Vanya (5/5): Jeff has been my daughter’s tutor since October last year. He is preparing her for her upcoming GCSE exams. I have seen a massive improvement as before my daughter was working at a grade 6 and now is working towards a grade 8. I highly recommend him for GCSE English Language and Literature tuition.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much. I am sure that Nicolette will get the highest grade and go on to do English at A level, as she wishes. She is hardworking and quick to absorb new information.

From Adam (5/5): Jeff tutored our daughter for a short period in the lead up to her mock gcse and for a while after. He managed to get through a lot of groundwork in a short space of time giving her more confidence in lessons and in her exam. Her school teacher saw an improvement in her work and her grade came in better than projected.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much. I have enjoyed tutoring Lara, and am happy that her teachers have noticed her improvements.

From Kesha (5/5):

From Narasimhan (5/5): We contacted Jeff to help my daughter with her English GCSE in the last minute. Jeff has been very supportive and professional. He was flexible and worked with my daughter by helping her improve her confidence in both Literature and Language.
I am quite pleased with him overall and would definitely recommend him.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much for your kind comments. i have enjoyed tutoring your elder daughter, and feel that she is now much better prepared for her final English exams. Now that I am tutoring your youngest daughter for the 11 plus, I believe that she is now able to make the very best of her talents and get the pass that she deserves!

From Satty (5/5): Jeff has been tutoring my son Devan for a few months now. I have always found Jeff to be calm, patient and proffessional in his approach. We have also appreciated the effort he has put into adapting his lessons to include what Devan is studying at school and supporting him with his analytical writing. Devan has become more confident in using a broader range of vocabulary both verbally and in his writing.

Thank you Jeff for the time, energy and humour you bring to the lessons. Satty

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks so much. We have been making some progress together over the past few months, and I am confident that he will reach a higher level soon.

From Richard (5/5): Jeff us been assisting my son with the run up to his GCSE English exams. He has provided invaluable help and has made a real difference. He has been excellent at identifying areas of concern and delivers the lessons in a calm and structured way. Highly recommended.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much! I have enjoyed tutoring Ricardo, and feel sure that he is now able to get the grades that he deserves.

From Maryam (2/5): We’re not happy with Jeff because of his Highly disappointing behaviour & attitude.

Reply from: Jeff: To be frank, I was very disappointed with your attitude too, and I am surprised that you have even had the audacity to leave a comment, as WE NEVER EVEN HAD A LESSON!
This was because, after extensive communication about your son’s needs, during which I bought special materials because your boy is doing the Cambridge GCSE syllabus, you then dropped me a text informing me that you were having second thoughts, and that you would let me know if you decided to go ahead.
How kind of you!
So naturally I told you that you were no longer top of my list, to put it mildly, and should refrain from wasting my time in future.
In short, I find both your behaviour and attiitude extremely disappointing .

From Julia (5/5): Jeff is tutoring our 8 years old son. We are very impressed with Jeff’s ability to adapt/tune his style to best benefit our son. Although Jeff’s style might seem casual (probably to encourage our son) – we can see that there is a lot of structuring, experience and strategy behind this appearance. In only 3 months since we’ve started tutoring, we can see our son’s progress and also a boost in his confidence and his ability to focus. We would recommend Jeff to anyone looking for an experienced tutor who is also able to inspire his students to go beyond their limits

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much! I have needed to make a few changes to my teaching style in order to accommodate your boy, but I too feel that it represents the best way for us to progress towards the 11+.

From SHaron (4/5): We are really pleased with Jeff.

My daughter responds well to his
teaching style and she finds the sessions really useful.

I would definitely recommend him.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much. I am enjoying the sessions too, and feel sure that she will pass with a top grade next year.

From Magdalena (5/5):

From Rohit (4/5): Jeff is helping my son for 11+ and I am quite pleased with him overall. He is punctual, flexible and understands the pace at which my son has to learn which is keeping his interest high and increasing his confidence to learn more. Hoping for my son to reach a good level by11+ exam time.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks Rohit. Your boy is hard-working and conscientious, and I fully expect him to pass - as long as he keeps his head down right until the end! Jeff

From Joy (5/5):

From Catherine (5/5): Jeff has been tutoring our son for Eng Lit A level for 2+ months and has helped improve his work, build his confidence and clarify what the examiner is looking for. He has shown patience and understanding with a sometimes reluctant, student and kept him focussed on what he needs to do to improve his grade. Thank you Jeff for working with our son.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much. Your son has been a bit of a challenge, but I have tried to focus on making the most of his visible skills. I feel sure that he will have made the required improvements by exam day!

From Nikki (4/5): Jeff has been supporting our son with GCSE English revision and we have been pleased with the progress made which has been evidenced by his improved grades at school.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks Nikki. James has been making steady progress and should now be able to meet the grade requirements without a problem. Well done, James!

From Louise (5/5): Jeff has been working with my son for a couple of months now, focusing on developing his language, literature and reasoning skills, in time for the 11+. He’s providing my son with the tools to enable him to write descriptively whilst also making use of a number of different grammatical options. He’s also helping him how to properly understand what a question is asking before tackling the answer!

My son has definitely increased in confidence since Jeff has been working with him, and his school have also noticed a continual improvement in his work.

Thanks Jeff!

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much, Louise. I am enjoying tutoring Charlie, and am glad that his progress has been noted at school.

From Judith (5/5): Jeff has been a great tutor for my daughter, inspiring her with the confidence that she clearly lacked. Her predicted grade has now risen from a C to an A, all in the space of one term. Thanks very much indeed, Jeff!

Reply from: Jeff: Many thanks, Judith. I am enjoying tutoring Ursula, and feel that she can go even higher still. Keep up the hard work!

From Jay (1/5): Apologies for this feedback it is important to make use of feedback system. I have hired this tutor to help my son to teach English subject from Oct’18. The class went on for weeks and I realised and expressed my concern that bring the printout and making him to do and marking the papers with red pen is not going to help him. Because there are plenty of study material available online which we our self can do so I have informed the tutor that our expectation from him is to teach the technique and gave some example as what our expectation is, unsure whether he liked it or not. Which is fine it is my responsibility to tell me view. Couple of weeks moved forward, every week end of the class the feedback is kind of neutral. “doing okay needs more work to” and recent last class got the same feedback but very next day got a text mentioning “time has come to realise he is not suitable for grammar school, slow learner … etc… ” and all sudden he decided himself to stop the session. Indeed, I have responded not to worry about the result, but we haven’t received a go
ny further response. Understand through different parents that time slot is being offered to different student. It is fine it is his business. As a parent this created very mush distress and boy doesn’t understand what’s happening around him even. My whole purpose this feedback is to mention “Success or failure is not decided by individual, it is time which decides.” We are very upset with this lack of professionalism, he just gained fees and we gained distress and non-motivation. Still my sincere thanks to him.

******
Thanks for comments: again such a motivational message. Believe it or not we haven't gave this feedback because of frustrating that's wrong imagination. we are not concerned about the end result. It is all about the way you informed about your decision. if you are so much concerned about the student why you didn't discussed with us, just sent a text and quit. That shows how a tutor shouldn't do. You made your own decision and stopped without speaking or informing us the real situation.

I am not going to give comment each of your comments. (but I can if required). All my prayers and best wishes other 18 children and future successors. God bless and good luck.

Reply from: Jeff: I imagine that It is always frustrating to be told that your child is not suitable for grammar school, but most people accept it. It can be a humbling moment, but in this case the parent thinks that she knows my job better than I do and proceeds to blame me for her (and her own son’s) shortcomings. This shows great immaturity, in my view, and her muddled and inaccurate remarks do her few favours either.
I did my best for her child, the same as I do for the other 18 children that I currently tutor for 11 plus, and the hundreds that I have taught in the past. I gave regular homework tasks, provided feedback, and embarked on a programme of extended reading and vocabulary development. Yet after three months it was clear that it was not working, and the boy would not make the grade. So I decided that enough was enough, for his sake as well as mine.
In doing so I have saved his parents much unnecessary cost, saved the boy a lot of unnecessary stress, and stopped wasting my own time. However, I imagine that this parent will force her poor son to do endless more hours of tutoring, subject him to endless numbers of practice papers, and generally squeeze the life out of the poor soul until he fails the exam and collapses in shame and exhaustion.
Yet the burden of shame here should lie squarely on the misguided parents’ shoulders, and not on the unfortunate child’s.

From Lucy (5/5): Jeff started teaching our son since September this year. He is helping my son to build his writing skills with his assignments and to prepare him to get the highest grade for his GSCE exam. We are very happy with the way he teaches our son and we already see some improvement. Every week Filip is looking forward to have a lesson with Jeff. I would definitely recommend Jeff as an English teacher.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much Lucy. I am enjoying the sessions with Filip too, and am confident that he is able to get one of the highest grades in English. Jeff

From Amy (5/5): Jeff tutored my son for a number of weeks, helping his confidence grow at school.

He is patient and keen to get the best from his students.

Jeff was also flexible with his sessions. Something that was really important with a busy family and changing schedules.

I'd recommend Jeff to anyone looking for a tutor.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much, and I look forward to coaching Joe again soon!

From Omalee (4/5): Jeff gave English tuition to my 11 year old son. It really improved my sons confidence , his vocabulary and his approach to comprehensions. I would highly recommend Jeff to any one seeking an English tutor.

I will soon be looking start tuition for my 9 year old daughter with Jeff.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much! I wish Haren all the best for the future.

From Lorenzo (5/5): Excellent level of tuition in Spanish for my A-level preparation, Jeff is an experienced tutor and is helping me focus on the areas where I need to improve.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much, Lorenzo. I'm also enjoying our tutorials too!

From Sebastian (5/5): After just five intensive lessons Jeff was able raise my brother in law's IELTS score a whole band, which he had been trying to do (unsuccessfully) for the previous year. Thanks a million, Jeff!

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks, Sebastian - it has been a pleasure tutoring Alphonse, as he is so smart and hardworking.

From PAtricia (5/5): Jeff has been a great help to my daughter, who was feeling extremely worried about her forthcoming mock exams. She is now much more confident about her abilities, and Jeff has helped her to improve her study skills too. We shall continue with Jeff until the exams in June, and wholly recommend him for his patient and persistent tutoring skills.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much. I'm sure she will do very well in the final exam, as boosting her knowledge and confidence is all that she needs.

From John (4/5): Jeff has made a good bond with our son and is inspiring him to engage in his learning. Jeff is spending a lot of time communicating with our sons school for consistency and for the best outcome for our son

We would recommend Jeff.

Reply from: Jeff: Josh is progressing surely, and should be able to get a good grade in his exams next year.

From Chitra (5/5): Jeff has been my daughter's tutor since year 9. She said he is very helpful with her english work at school and very good at teaching her how to write good essays and produce good work using different methods. She feels there is an improvement in her english assessments at school. Thank you Jeff.

Chitra

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much. Dilak works hard, and I am glad that she is feeling more confident.

From Yanjiaoxu (5/5): Jeff has been tutoring my son since April, and we are very happy with the progress. He is always on time and flexible in his approach. We would recommend him to anyone who is looking for a professional tutor.

Reply from: Jeff: Thank you. I am glad that you are happy with my approach and his progress.

From Sarla (5/5): Jeff has been teaching my son for nearly 2 months now and I can honestly say the improvement in my son's English literature feedback from school has given me hope that Jeff has already instilled understanding and confidence in my son's attitude to his studies. I am extremely happy and grateful to have found Jeff and if needed will continue to get his help with my son's A Levels. I would also like to thank him with the help he has given my son with his verbal Spanish. I would recommend Jeff as a tutor for you son/daughter as he has a great ability to engage at their level without resorting to the classroom attitude. My son loves his lessons and looks forward to them each week. Thank you Jeff.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much, I am enjoying our lessons too, and his improvement is gratifying.

From Jeffery (5/5): Jeff has worked wonders on my son in just a few weeks. He now feels much more confident about writing essays and answers for GCSE English, and his school teachers have noticed his improved performance. I would therefore recommend him fully to any other anxious parent!

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much. I'm also enjoying the tutorials too!

From Poonah (5/5): Jeff has been wonderful, he took one look at my dissertation and was immediately able to tell me where and how I could improve it. Thanks to him I have been able to perform 'major surgery' and rescue my work! He has also started tutoring my son for 11+, and the first results have been very positive. I therefore would not hesitate to recommend him highly.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much, I have enjoyed our writing workshops and am enjoying the tutoring with Jamie.

From Sarah (5/5): Jeff has been tutoring my son in English for several months. We have noticed an improvement in his ability to expand his creative writing. Jeff explains the work clearly and his approach is calm and encouraging which is just the right approach with my son. I would highly recommend him.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks Sarah, I enjoy working through the classics with Louie, and am able to see progress in his work.

From Helen (5/5): Jeff has been helping my son with primary level writing and grammar.
The sessions have gone really well and my son is enjoying his time with Jeff.
He sets weekly homework which my son has enjoyed doing. Really pleased with how it's going so far.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much! I enjoy tutoring Reuben too.

From Helen (5/5): Jeff is tutoring my son and daughter in English literature and both really appreciate the assistance he is giving them. My son who is grappling with gothic texts at A level says Jeff is managing to 'teach him by stealth' so he is learning skills in a painless way. My daughter who is studying GCSE was delighted that after a few weeks with Jeff her English grade moved from D to B. Overall I'm extremely pleased at the way Jeff is tutoring them.

Reply from: Jeff: Thanks very much, Helen. I am enjoying tutoring your children very much, and will be sad when they finish their exams!

From Lewis (5/5): Jeff has been great at boosting my daughter's ability and confidence in speaking Spanish, and making an all-round improvement in her understanding of the language. He's friendly, conscientious and I would warmly recommend him.