Teacher & Teaching

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Who is my teacher?

Stretton Taborn is a state-recognised teacher, with a B.A. in English Language and Literature, an M.A. in Applied Linguistics and a first-class teaching diploma. The author of several books and some thirty articles on teaching methodology, he has 40 years experience of teaching English as a Foreign Language in schools, colleges, universities and companies in France, Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Sweden, as well as in the U.K.

What teaching methods do you use?

First of all, we are not a school. We are a specialized educational service for clients which aims to offer small-scale, high-quality tuition and accommodation to students of English (private or professional) who wish to reach the highest possible standard in the time they have available.

Whatever you choose to study, the emphasis falls on using the language. It is not enough to learn grammar, vocabulary or phrases: you must be able to use them too. For this reason you will have many chances to practise your speaking, using quizzes, pictures, videos, the internet, puzzles, surveys, personality tests, story-telling, simplified articles, interactive games and much more. The aim is always to present students with the chance to practise English in realistic, real-life situations.

The material you will use (with a very few exceptions) has been specially made for Wessex Study students; you will find it nowhere else. It has been designed to help you use your English creatively.

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What kind of courses do you offer?

Most students choose, as a basis for their studies, some grammar, vocabulary work, social English, listening and pronunciation, and (of course) speaking practice. You also have the chance to work at

your business English (letter-writing, telephoning, negotiations, presentations, and so on)
legal English
financial and banking English
medical English
export-import English
the writing of scientific articles
exam preparation

and other fields.

how many hours will I study?

The standard course lasts 21 (60') hours per week, although a 15 hour week is also possible. Note that this refers to formal tuition. In addition to this you can expect to have 18 or more extra active contact hours with your tutor, during travel time, breaks, meals, and on excursions. "Active contact time" means conversation time during which your mistakes will be corrected.

do you have any written feedback from students who've done courses with you?

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The following spontaneous written comments are from students who studied with Stretton Taborn in 1:1 or 2:1 courses:

"Stretton, ich habe es wirklich genossen. Das war sehr gut! Danke!"

"It was an excellent opportunity to improve our English language skills... quite a new experience to have fun by learning English."

"I really, really think you are such a talented teacher."

"I would like to tell you I enjoyed studying with you. You are the most amazing teacher anyone could ever know. You study very hard for students all the time."

"You made me relaxed and happy and gave me a lot of enjoyment."

“You are the best teacher who I have known.”

"[Ihr Unterricht] war für uns alle einmalig, denn wir haben es vorher noch nie erlebt, dass sich jemand mit so viel Mühe und Abwechslung auf den Englischunterricht vorbereitet hat."

“I am sad about my leaving on next Saturday. If there is a chance to come back I will do it.”

“You’re an excellent teacher and your documents are one of the best parts of my English fundamental base.”

“It was the best English-study in my life!”

"It was a pleasure to learn from a such charismatic teacher!"

If you would like to contact an ex-student directly we would be happy to pass on an e-mail address to you (with their permission).