After studying English at university, I worked for five years in customer service for a small company, where I learned a lot about all sides of business.

However, I wanted to see more of the world and to develop my interest in languages, so did the Trinity TESOL certificate and went to work for IH in Katowice, Poland. I was there for 3 years and during that time I learned a lot about… well, everything. I learned how to implement the basics of teaching which I’d been introduced to on the teaching course. I learned how to exploit coursebooks to make them more interesting for teenagers. I learned how to improvise when you realize you’ve brought the wrong cassette into the lesson. I also learned how hard it is to learn a language completely from scratch as an adult.

I did my Delta course online, one other person on the course was Jennifer Burkhart, and after doing my DELTA, I was ready for my next challenge and wanted to use my experience in business. I ended up working at Linguarama Düsseldorf thanks to Jennifer recommending the school. From the start, I loved the practical nature of teaching business English; of teaching people skills which will help them do their jobs better. There is no better reward for a business English teacher than the look of delight on a business person’s face when they have just attended a meeting in English and could understand what was happening, comment on it and be taken seriously. I also love the unique opportunity to spend quality time talking to business people from all levels of responsibility and in all industries. Learning in business English is a two-way process and my interest in and knowledge about the business world grows every day.

In the school where I was working I also started getting involved in mentoring and training. In 2006 I wrote a series of seven articles in English Teaching Professional about teaching business skills with my colleagues Jennifer Burkart and Debbie Barton. In 2008, we decided to expand those original ideas into a book, still with a focus on practical ideas but with more space to consider teachers’ professional development as well. During the 2 years it has taken to write the book, our lives have changed a lot. I am now DoS at my school, Debbie is back in the UK and Jennifer is working for Münster University.