Gary Walker
Bio:
Engaging, fun, simple but effective 90/10 student/teacher ratio when it comes to speaking.On-the-spot corrections (only major errors). Actively listening and needs analysis so that material can be adapted to student's needs. Materials will be shareable. I also offer Café: Virtual English chat. Mix levels, diverse groups, 30-minute sessions. Focus: fluency, confidence. Materials, and prompts for engaging convos. Max 6.
My teaching methodology:
- Flipped classroom (increase student engagement and learning by having pupils complete readings at home, and work on live problem-solving during class time)-materials will be provided by myself.
- Session-based lessons (The focus is determined by students and varies between sessions. What you teach and how you teach in each session are modified to meet the specific needs of the student for that particular session)-materials will be provided by myself.
- Café: Virtual English chat like a coffee shop setting. Mix levels, diverse groups. 30-minute sessions focus on fluency—Max 6 per group, casual, fun topics. Materials & prompts support learning—a big hit with students.
- IELTS: The ultimate prepping guide to get a high score (7+). Bite-sized mastery of all 4 sections. Your passport to IELTS success. No other guide is needed! Materials provided.
My teaching background:
My teaching career started in 2011 and it was purely serendipitous. I was unemployed after being retrenched (I have a banking background) so one day I saw an ad for online teaching (online teaching was in its infancy). I just enrolled at the university to study English Literature and Linguistics so I had no qualifications nor a TEFL certification. I was lucky enough to secure the online teaching position and from day one I fell in love with teaching and have never looked back. The students who I have taught over the years included university students but mostly adult professional learners from various professional backgrounds. Their levels ranged from A1 to C2 i.e. pre-beginner to advance. One of my current students has dyslexia which is unique because the teaching method is different from the usual teaching approaches.
My background outside of teaching:
My background is in banking so I worked for several years in retail banking and held some management positions (branch manager, team leader etc). I have also worked in the insurance and financial Services Industry – identifying individuals within their requested space (where they worked and whom they reported to), Market Mapping - mapping organizational charts within international banks and investment companies. Profiling – telephonic and face-to-face interviews with executives and professionals. I worked for a data and analytics company that specialized in financial market intelligence for Sell-side/Buy-side Banks, Asset Managers and Hedge funds firms. In later years, I began specialising in preparing students for English job interviews, English presentations, English for HR professionals, English for IT professionals and accent reduction.
