Hello! My name is Yannis and I'm a Greek American English teacher currently living in the lovely town of Brighton, United Kingdom. I got my start as an English teacher in 2009 whilst I was living in Beijing, China - though my very first teaching job was teaching Karate to children between 1997 and 2004. Being a teacher was such a rewarding and creatively engaging experience, I made it my career by receiving formal training and acquiring my Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) in 2014.
Living in China for 7 years allowed me to work with a wide range of students of different ages. I got my start by teaching tourism English at a five-star hotel in downtown Beijing. There, I helped the hotel staff with their English communication skills by teaching them the best ways to talk to their guests and what are the important terms and cultural aspects they needed to be aware. One of the most career-defining jobs, however, came shortly after with a small startup that recruited, trained and mentored English teachers from outside of China. With this company, I was not only able to teach young learners but also train and mentor new recruits as well as develop curriculums that are fun and engaging. This two-year experience solidified my career path as an educator. I believe that learning should be engaging and natural in order to become effective.