Ball Brendan James

Native English teacher still in Moscow! Живой англичанин из Лондона!

20+ years teaching, online & face-to-face.

15 years international examiner (IELTS, CPE, CAE, FCE, PET, KET).

Elite qualification: Cambridge DELTA — masters-level diploma in practical English teaching, international gold standard for the profession (ask Google or Wikipedia!)

Former teacher trainer and course director.

Classical English RP accent (also known as ‘Standard Southern British' or ‘BBC pronunciation').

Can help with:

• general English;
• exam preparation (but sorry, not ОГЕ/ЕГЕ — I offer English, not Russian English);
• English for work (applications, business correspondence, presentations etc.);
• English for study (essays, motivation letters for university applications etc.);
• phonetics for accent reduction (connected speech, intonation etc.);
• editing & proofreading;
• creative writing;
• communicative teaching (some of my clients are non-native English teachers);
• English based on special interests (e.g. literature, cinema, art, politics, history, music).

Content is learner-centred and based on agreed individual needs. Course books are used as a tool, but on average for only 30−60% of lesson time, depending on the client’s goals and productivity. Most material is learner-generated through homework, skill-based tasks, interaction etc. This creates an in-built personalisation that is (or should be) the main advantage of the 1-to-1 format. For this reason, please don’t request a trial lesson — that would be generic and therefore pointless as it wouldn’t demonstrate what a client can expect. But I’m happy to answer any questions through the site chat and/or, in cases where client requirements are specific or unusual, to arrange a video call for 5−10 minutes on Skype or WhatsApp.

Terms & conditions (short but important):

The connection between teacher and learner is a relationship of equals. Nothing else is offered. The client may be a millionaire CEO or a 14-year-old girl — it makes absolutely no difference to me. We respect each other as human beings, and we respect each other’s time.
Cancellations at less than 24 hours' notice (by you or me) are only acceptable in cases of emergency or sudden illness. In other instances, I reserve the right to charge 50% of the lesson fee. (In the last ten years or so, I have personally cancelled lessons only for COVID.)