Keith

I am a Cambridge graduate, recently moved to Norwich, who is looking to find students, of any age, hoping to improve (or make a start with) their command of a language. I have lived in Germany (while at university), Hong Kong (after graduation), Japan (for five years) and, most recently, China, where I taught English at a university. In all of these places, as well as here in the UK, I have been involved in teaching in one way or another. I am now trying to learn Welsh!!
I graduated in Modern Languages (mainly German), have a Certificate in teaching English (Prep Cert - with pass grade A), have an M.A. in Advanced Japanese Studies, and am a qualified teacher (PGCE).

Tutoring Experience

I was head of Japanese at a grammar school in Slough from 2000-2111, teaching the language at all levels from beginner to A level. I am an examiner for AS Japanese and am also now one of the Principal Examiners for GCSE Japanese.
I also taught German for 3 years at the same school, again covering all levels.
As far as English is concerned, I have taught this in Germany, Hong Kong, China and Japan. I have a wealth of experience, having taught many students of different ages from many different countries.
Most recently I have started teaching Chinese (Mandarin) and spent four years teaching part-time at a school in London. My focus for Chinese is beginners and GCSE learners. I am a Principal Examiner for Chinese for one of the exam boards.

Tutoring Approach

Having learnt a lot of languages myself, I feel that I have a good idea of what works in a classroom (and what doesn't!). To me, it is essential to USE a language, not just to learn lists of words. A language learner wants to feel able to do something with what he/she has learnt, for which a good understanding of the structures of a language are essential. Although this might sound a bit off-putting, I should say that I always put students at their ease, always ready to show a student how much progress has been made, how effective their communication has been. Being involved quite closely with Japanese and Chinese exams, I am also very aware of what needs to be done to achieve a good grade at GCSE!