Dan.J Tutor Interview

Q.Hi Dan.J, please introduce yourself!: A. So, I was born and raised in Bristol, in the south west of England, and i’m living there at the moment. I started teaching a few years ago, partly because I love travelling and learning about foreign cultures, and partly because I really like working with people, and helping them to learn. I also have a passion for the English language – I studied Journalism at university. Besides teaching and travelling, i’m really into football (Tottenham are my team), photography, running, films, music, and eating pizza.
Q. Please tell us something about Bristol.: A. Bristol is very well known around the world for it’s exciting cultural scene. It’s one of the best places to find street art in Europe – Banksy is from here – and has produced some very famous musicians in the last 25 years. It also has a lot of hills, so there are lots of great views and you get very strong legs, when you live here!
Q.I learned from your profile that you stayed in Japan. How was your experience?: A. Amazing – I wish it had been longer! I stayed in Nagoya for six months, teaching English at a university. I met some really wonderful, friendly people out there, had some great students, and some great experiences in my time off. I traveled around quite a lot. I think my favourite places were probably the mountains in Nagano prefecture, Tokyo and Kyoto (of course) and Zamami island, down in Okinawa. I also love the food, though I can’t say i’m a fan of Miso Katsu! My main regret is that I didn’t have more time to study Japanese, but I do want to return in the future.
Q. How do you spend your days off? Is there anything you’ve gotten into lately?: A. Lately, I’ve been going to the gym a lot, as I’ve been trying to lose all the extra weight I gained from eating too much at Christmas! I’ve also been trying to improve my photography skills, when I have time.
Q. Could you share some of your tips for studying English?: A. Sure. Practice speaking English with a native. If you book lessons for practice, try to maximize your own speaking time – this means making yourself give longer answers to questions. The longer you speak for, the more likely you are to challenge yourself, find yourself making more difficult sentences and using more difficult vocabulary. Also, never be afraid to make mistakes, but try to focus on the ones you make again and again. And try to do something everyday, even if it’s just looking at your lesson notes for a couple of minutes.
Q. Please tell us what makes your lessons special!: A. I really like to help students focus on their mistakes – as I said before, I think this is the best way to improve, once you’ve reached a solid conversational level in a language. After every lesson, I send students a summary of corrections from the class. I like to think my lessons are interesting and fun too – I like to discuss all kinds of topics and meet all kinds of students!
Q. Finally, would you like to leave a message for our students?: A. Yes – keep practicing English, and you can be as good as you want to be! Oh, and take some lessons with me – I believe I can help you achieve your English learning goals!