Olly has enjoyed teaching English throughout his his 6 year career, 5 of which has been in Jakarta. He has been teaching Business English for 2.5 years to a variety of companies such as Citra Marga (CMNP), Tetrapak, Lippo and others. He teaches his classes in a lively, vibrant manner making for a more enjoyable learning environment.

Education Overview

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  • CELTA from International House London
  • BA Hons English Language from Huddersfield Uni

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Key Skills

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  • International English Examination training
  • Professional English Training
  • General English Training
  • One to one tuition programmes

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Insights – with Olly

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

No one student is the same as another so it’s essential to modify your methods of teaching to suit the class or individual. I find that an informal approach helps to make students comfortable and it helps break the ice. I find that formal methods can intimidate students and that’s not what we want as teachers. Find out more about the students, set to know what they like and this can help us to adapt our lessons to suit. A fun lesson is a productive lesson.

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

I don’t like to think of them as obstacles, more as challenges. One particular obstacle that I – and other teachers – have is maintaining student motivation. If it shows that a student lacks motivation, we would usually ask them what their reasons are for learning English, what interests them and ensure that our lessons are modified to engage the students more. Another obstacle, which is quite common in Indonesia, is a student sometimes being too embarrassed to answer or participate in group work. In those situations, we may place the students in groups with varying levels and we would give praise for answering questions.

What do you like about your students?

I love seeing the determination that each student has. I often find that adults attend English courses because they genuinely want to make a difference to their lives. It excites me to see a student asking questions, developing their communication skills and wanting to learn.

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

I find that giving the personal approach to each student helps him or her feel more comfortable in class. By this I mean I would go round the class, monitor and ask students what kind of ideas they might have for the activity they are doing and offer suggestions, talk to them on an individual
or group basis. I have found that if the teacher gets involved in the activity in some way, the students feel more engaged. I may also put in a brainstorming session before the activity or play a fun at the end of the class to help them look forward to the next class.