Joe has been teaching Business English in Asia for 8 years. He has had the opportunity to work with companies and government bodies such as Nestle, Marui Sum, 7/11, Hutch 3, Thai Tourist Police, UNICEF to name but a few.

Education Overview

  • Bachelor Degree of English Literature Study (3.5 Hons)
  • TEFL Certificate by Text & Talk Academy
  • Teacher Excellence Certificate by Wall Street Institute

Key Skills

  • Business English Workshops
  • Presentation Training
  • IETLS and TOEFL preparation workshops
  • University Preparation Program
  • Charity Program Coordinator

Insights – with Joe

What kind of teaching technique do you think the most effective way to motivate students skill in speaking?

The easiest way to motivate maximum speaking in English is to get students to discuss what they are interested in. I usually start my lessons with a series of questions that will illicit topics I can target for the rest of the lesson. No two students are identical and so it is natural that the topics
that will be discussed from class to class and even from student to student will be very different.

What are the obstacles that you often face while you are teaching English?

What I have noticed is that all obstacles stem from either a student being very shy (usually a fear of looking or sounding silly) or a student having had a negative experience learning English in the past.
The most disinterested student, the most unruly character in the classroom is usually someone who has been made to feel uncomfortable and who still carries the fear of that experience to the present. I have found that the best way to change such a character is to provide reassurance, praise and most of all to build confidence. I have yet to see this technique fail. In Thailand I taught at a high school specialized in troubled teenagers (problems with the law and/or substance abuse) and I have seen students change from troubled and angry to interested and confident.

What do you like about your students?

For me it is an honour to be accepted as a teacher. I have a lot of respect for teaching as a profession and I feel it is my duty to give my students the very best I can. Their acceptance of me as their guide through this complicated and crazy thing called English ensures my complete commitment to each and all of them. I don’t have favourite students, instead I prefer to connect with each and every personality that sits in front of me and accepts me as their teacher. I have yet to encounter a student I did not like.

What do you do to stimulate students creativity while they’re having an English class?

People learn in different ways and the biggest mistake made in traditional teaching is that it assumes that all students learn the same way. Some people are creative while others are logical, some people respond better to individual work while others love being part of a team. My aim in the classroom is to leave nobody out and I do this by giving students interesting challenges to complete, role plays centred around real topics, fun games that fire up their competitive spirit and even drawing (yes drawing) to get that right-side of the brain also involved in the learning process.