Philippa

Hi, nice to meet you! I'm Pippa - a native English speaking 32-year-old teacher, CELTA qualified and with a BA in English (and Philosophy!) from the University of Leeds. I love teaching! I initially started working with adults, but my career has taken me in the direction of further professional training for working with our youngest, and I am currently in the final term of a University postgraduate course which leads to Early Years Teacher status.

I spent 9 years of my life living and working in Germany, where I completed my CELTA at the Berlin School of English. Following this qualification, I worked in a number of different schools (including the wonderful 'Sprach Concept Berlin' where we worked with adult learners aiming to achieve their TOEIC qualification), and as a private tutor.

I speak fluent German (certified C1 level, DSH level 2) and have studied in German at the Humboldt University of Berlin. My journey as a German learner has given me experience of a variety of different ways of learning. I have experienced lessons taught by teachers who kept things fun, energetic and had a lot of tricks up their sleeves to keep conversation flowing; I have also attended classes where we worked very intensively learning the tenets of grammar. I know the value of both approaches in cultivating a well-rounded and elegant grasp of a language, and this understanding permeates my teaching.

Tutoring Experience

[+] CELTA qualified (taught through face-to-face sessions at the excellent Berlin School of English)
[+] Bachelor's degree in English from the University of Leeds
[+] Currently studying for Early Years Teacher status, a Department for Education course delivered by the University of Huddersfield
[+] Over three years teaching adult learners in both language schools and one-to-one tutoring
[+] Experience tutoring children aged 8 - 16
[+] Experience working with young children in the 3 - 6 age range
[+] Knowledge and experience of working with alternative educational approaches such as those of Maria Montessori

Tutoring Approach

[+] LOTS of conversation - I don't want to talk at you, I want to talk with you and my goal is to get you chattering confidently as much as possible!
[+] I am happy to work from a textbook if you have a preferred book, or to provide my own lesson material.
[+] We can focus on "Business English" or "English for Travel", or take a more rigorous grammatical approach.

My experience learning German as a second language through a variety of different courses and approaches has given me an understanding of different approaches to teaching; when I am teaching you, you can rest assured that I have had my own experience as a learner, and I know that it can sometimes be daunting - I firmly believe that the best way to overcome this is to ensure that two things are always a priority for my teaching:
Learning should be ENGAGING and it should be FUN!
Of course, those qualities mean something different for every student, and I look forward to getting to know you and working with you to tailor my teaching approach to you!