Course information
Courses and lessons are available :
- Online (Group lessons upon request)
- For homestay students staying at Heather’s home
- For those students and business professionals visiting or living in England/Oxford
Please see below for specific information on:
The lesson choice is the same for all students and detailed below
Online Lessons:
Lessons are available via Skype, Zoom or Whatsapp. The full lesson choice is detailed below and includes General, Academic (including IELTS) and Business English.
Please note bespoke English lessons for specific needs or purposes are available – for example, interviews, presentations, proofing of project work etc. Please enquire.
Group lessons are available upon request.
International students or visitors living in the UK can also book any social or cultural activity programme.
Lesson choice for all students:
General English lessons are available for ages and levels.
Heather takes a very different and creative approach to these lessons using a wide variety of wonderful resources collected during her teaching career and she selects those to suit the individual needs and interests of the student. Text books are used but not exclusively (as with typical school teaching) and learning is often made more ‘real’ and enjoyable by having lessons outside the class room and sometimes, literally in the street !
Also, if students are visiting Oxford for the first time, useful tourist information may be incorporated into the lessons to help make the student’s stay more memorable.
Academic/Examination English – IELTS and other examination
Lessons are available for the following examinations:
IELTS – Specialism
Cambridge examinations : First certificate, Advance and Proficiency
IGCSE
The intensive weekend or 3 day courses for IELTS are very much recommended for international students (including foundation students) wanting extra training or revision.
The availability of weekend courses with the option of self-catering and competitively priced homestay is ideal for those students wanting to enjoy Oxford as well as improve their English skills.
Tourist/Holiday and Everyday conversational English
A special course has been created for those wanting to revise their everyday English or even learn some basics which will help them to communicate whilst shopping, sightseeing and so on.
This course has been designed to be stress free and enjoyable with no serious testing and no homework given. It is ideal for all ages, even those who feel they maybe too old to learn a new language!
Business English
Heather had a previous corporate career working in Marketing and Public Relations in a variety of industries including manufacturing (cookware, small electrical kitchen appliances and washing machines), travel, tourism and leisure, specialist food and drinks (oils and vinegars for cooking and wines and spirits) and even international auctioneering – where she was marketing of some of the world’s most beautiful and unique antiques in the world!
Consequently, Heather understands the complexity and intricacies of the business world and can offer much added value to the teaching of Business English which has led her to teach in international companies such as Pfizer pharmaceuticals. She has also worked for local trade organisations such as Chambers of commerce and even for an exclusive private Business college in Germany, delivering a course on sponsorship and marketing of festival events.
Click to see typical business course topics
Negotiations
Interviews
Presentations
Report writing
Telephone work
Meetings
Exhibition work
Business vocabulary
Analytical reports
Small talk
Finally, bespoke Business lessons are also available (see English lessons for specific purposes section). These are ideal if business professionals wish to actually focus on their own work or projects during lessons – for example, a special presentation needs to be formulated in English for delivery to an international audience. ( Heather has previously worked with Business directors and leading academics giving important company presentations or presenting at an international conference.)
British cultural lessons– for intermediate plus
These lessons are particularly relevant for students intending to study long term in England or may even be in the process of relocating to live in England……or simply, those students that just love England and want to know more! These lessons still allow English language learning but the content is focussed solely on British culture.
British cultural lessons may be mixed with any one of the other English language courses.
English for specific needs or purpose
The content of these lessons is dictated by the specific needs of the student and consequently, they are unique and vary considerably. However, the following topics are popular and often requested by students or Business professionals:
- Interviews
- Formulation and delivery of presentations in English
- CV writing
- Special project work
In-person lessons and courses for homestay students and others in Oxford/England:
All course timetables :
On weekly courses (7 night stays), students must take a minimum of 15 hours tuition and this is usually 3 hours tuition per day (Monday to Friday).
Over shortbreaks (4 to 6 night stays) or weekend courses (3 night stays) – the minimum number of teaching hours is 3 hours per day but the timetabling of these hours can be flexible to fit with any planned excursions or social/cultural activities.
The usual timetable is that teaching starts at 9am and the lessons are one and a half hours long with a 15 minute break. The morning session of 3 hours teaching will end at 12.15pm for an hour lunch, and lessons will recommence at 1.15pm.
Social and cultural activities and course timetables:
Full day excursions are usually taken at the weekends and half day excursions are organised in the week. Special cultural activities are sometimes organised for the evenings, particularly for those students on a short stay or students studying intensively but not wanting to miss out on the social aspects of the course.
Course teaching hours for specific courses are as follows:
General English and Holiday/Everyday English – 3 hours tuition per studying day is usual with weekends devoted to excursions and social activities.
Academic/Examination English – up to 5 hours tuition per day is available and students’ choice of hours is dependent upon how intensive they wish the course to be.
Business English – tuition can vary from 3-5 hours per day dependent upon specific needs.