Presenting Sam Davies | Online English Teacher
I was delighted to catch up with online English teacher Sam Davies for a chat about her English teaching services.
In our interview, Sam describes the two types of English services she offers.
In both cases, she frequently works with clients who either have moved to the UK or are preparing for such a move.
In the first service, she supports people going through quite hefty life transitions by developing an English-speaking community for them.
Sam’s New English Community
To reflect the English community-building, Sam’s business is undergoing an identity change, it’s currently becoming The Midway Language Café.
Sam and I talked about the difficulties her clients face living a new life in the UK without the English language skills to make joining in with community activities fun and attractive.
Are you an English learner?
Why not watch my full (subtitled) interview with Sam below – it’s great practice! First, read the highlights below, then listen to the conversation to hear them discussed.
English for Job Interviews
Sam’s second online English teaching service is to prepare people’s English for job interviews.
It was great to have a chat about this, as at Blue Noun, we also have an ’emergency service’ for preparing people for job interviews (the difference being we work only with job interviews in the art and design sectors).
Sam’s background is in recruitment, so she’s in a great position to train you: not just in English for Job Interviews – but interview-taking skills and mindset for all kinds of workplaces.
“And before I was a teacher I worked in recruitment, I worked for a multilingual recruitment agency in London. And because I was dealing with multilingual jobs, the vast majority of people that were coming for jobs were not, English native speakers. So without really realizing it, that is kind of the people that I’ve been talking to the most.”
Sam Davies, 2023
“I would say my, my strength, my real love is the slightly lower levels – beginners to intermediate is kind of my thing.
These people might come to the UK because a spouse has a job in the UK or because, you know, circumstances meant they’ve had to move to the UK – rather than moving over for a job that they’ve already got.”
Sam Davies, 2023
“One of the main struggles that I see for people moving to the UK is they’ve got to learn the practical language – English for jobs, for living life. They can get really isolated because they’re not being able to go out and meet people because it’s so hard when there’s that language barrier there.”
Sam Davies, 2023
“It’s really easy to get a bit stuck, a little bit stuck in a rut with English.
The longer you leave it, the harder it can get. So the quicker you can push yourself out there and try to make those connections, and improve your language skills – the better.”
Sam Davies, 2023
“So I try very hard through my courses to just show people what is achievable. We start in little groups where you are free to try things. It doesn’t matter if you are making mistakes, it doesn’t matter if people don’t understand you the first time.
And then, the first little step and then hopefully over time the idea is that you can, you can grow and you can get a bit more out of your little bubble.”
Sam Davies, 2023
“I’ve got one client that I’ve been working with for over a year now. She used the word ‘ashamed.’ She was too embarrassed to talk.
And now she said she’s translating bits of English in some of her meetings. She’s much, much happier, more confident. It’s life-changing.”
Sam Davies, 2023
Resources to Make your Search for an Online English Teacher Easier!
The purpose of our English Teacher Feature live is for you to find out about how Sam helps people – basically who she helps and how she helps them.
This is part of finding the right English teacher for you.
Hopefully, you have picked up some good tips for finding an online English language class or course.
Here’s a ‘red flag’ that Sam mentions.
Still confused?
Our language hub gives independent advice to help you make the right choice for online English learning.
Further Information
Work With Sam Davies
Contact her through Linkedin here.
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