ESL/EFL Communication Coach: BA (Eng Lit), DIPT, CELTA
I help serious English Language Learners break out of the translation trap and step up to a new level of fluent spoken English.
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Welcome. I am Philip. I coach beginner to advanced level, teen and adult, Japanese learners of English who want to breakthrough the barriers that block them from speaking well.
Many English learners get caught in a trap where they translate and grammar-check everything they want to say in their head before they begin to speak.
I can show you how to break that trap and achieve the spoken English fluency, communication skills and confidence you need in any business, academic or social situation.
MY STORY
In 1987 I was a newly graduated student with a degree in English literature and no idea what to do next. A friend mentioned his father was looking for someone to teach English at a medical college in China. I knew almost nothing about China and even less about teaching. But the idea captivated me and so, a few months later, I was on a plane and heading to Asia.
China really was the wild East back then. I had no experience and there was no training. The medical college had a textbook series called 'New Concept English', but I was their first foreign English teacher. There wasn't much else to work with. I found a book called 'Drama Techniques in Language Teaching' that someone had left behind in an empty apartment at another college. I borrowed it. Armed with those two books I taught myself to teach.
My first class was two hours long and was mostly me telling 'The Story of New Zealand'. By the time I reached the mid point I had the biggest stress headache I have ever had in my entire life. It didn't matter. The students loved the class. They were angels and somehow I had stumbled on story-based teaching in my very first class. (Although I didn't fully appreciate the power of story in language learning until many years later.)
The photo above was taken in my apartment in Guilin, China in '88. That's me in the middle wearing a white shirt, surrounded by my class. They had arranged a Christmas party. I liked these students. They were warm, kind and generous. They were great students even if, during their biggest exam, they all took advantage of a power cut (and my confusion) to compare and adjust their answers by candlelight, right under my nose! 🙂 Living and teaching in China was life changing for me. After China, I returned to New Zealand and attended the College of Education formally qualifying as a teacher.
In 1993 I went to Japan on the JET (teaching exchange) program. For three years I lived in Tottori prefecture and taught in junior and Senior High schools. After that I taught business English for a private school in Fukui. By 2005 I was living near Kyoto and I had my own private English school, called 'English Garden', which I ran for 18 years. I taught a range of students including school children, university students, military personnel, business people, scientists, lawyers and more.
During my time in Japan I worked with thousands of students. Many of those students I spent years with, watching them grow from zero English to fluency. But I also saw others who struggled to break through invisible barriers keeping them from achieving their dream.
It is no secret that Japanese English students rank one of the lowest in the world for spoken English. Part of the problem is an education system that values test results over real learning. Many of the adult learners I saw struggling with English had been trained by that system to fear making mistakes when they were young and were now deeply afraid to speak out in class. Thankfully, the system is slowly changing, but it still has a long way to go.Â
In my own school I had free reign to use the resources I believed were best. Like a lot of passionate teachers I experimented and tried out different methods and approaches. I always strived to engage and motivate with the best resources I could find. I brought story, video and internet resources into my classroom wherever possible. However, it wasn't until after the pandemic forced us all online that I realized the true power of story and the value of creativity in English language learning and how well it fit into the new online world.
In 2020 I found myself back in New Zealand, working to build an online school. The pandemic brought with it a revolution in online teaching and learning. This was an opportunity to refresh and reinvent my teaching style. As a wise man once said, 'there is no golden path', but there are some ways that are better than others. I wanted something that would make a real difference in my students' lives.
Humans are narrative seeking creatures. We love story. It's how we understand ourselves, and it's how we understand the world. The science of neuro-linguistics has shown us how story rewires the brain and aids deep learning. And now, in the age of the internet, story has never been more important. The internet is a treasure house of story related resources. We are surrounded by social media, zoom conferences, online presentations, and it's all about story. If you can't tell a story, you will be lost in this new world.
After much research and study I opened a new online school called 'Storyful English'. My mission is to get you thinking and speaking in English actively and creatively. And story is the best way to get you there. Join me on the journey as I explore some of the best ways to study English through story.