Meet your Trainers
St Giles has an in-house team of experienced teacher trainers and this ensures consistency of approach. All the trainers are also practising teachers and some are also assessors for Cambridge English or Trinity College London. The trainers work on St Giles’ courses in the UK and overseas.
- London
Jo
After completing a degree in English Literature, Jo acquired her CELTA (CTEFLA as it was then known) at St Giles in 1991. She taught in the Czech Republic and Poland and then returned to work at St Giles where she obtained her Delta. Jo spent 10 years as Assistant Director of Studies, she joined the teacher training team in 2001 and she is now Head of Teacher Training for St Giles London. She particularly enjoys creating materials and has worked for MacMillan on their 'Graded Readers' series. Jo is also an external assessor of Cambridge CELTA courses in the UK and abroad.
Neil
Neil’s early career was in arts and entertainment journalism. After a decade of film screenings and hanging out with rock stars he switched to teaching and has since worked in both the state and private sectors. Neil joined St Giles in 2005 and he has been a trainer on both Cambridge CELTA and Trinity CertTESOL courses. Neil has a particular interest in specialised courses for university students and overseas teachers of English. He is a published author of fiction and he enjoys reading, his gym membership and travelling the world.
Darren
With a BA in English Literature, Darren has been a teacher for twenty years and a teacher trainer for fifteen. He has experience of training on both CELTA and Trinity CertTESOL courses. Darren began his teaching career in Japan where he lived and worked for three years. He then returned to the UK to further develop his skills by taking the RSA Dip TEFL. Darren has a PGCE in Educational Technology and Distance Learning and he has a keen interest in using technology to enhance the learner experience.
Phil
Phil has been teaching English since 1995. After working in the Czech Republic for six years, he joined St Giles and he obtained his Delta at St Giles Highgate in 2004. He became a teacher trainer in 2006 and has trained on both Trinity CertTESOL and CELTA courses. In 2014 Phil undertook a teacher training assignment in Havana, Cuba for the St Giles Educational Trust. He has also presented at conferences in Havana and Luxembourg. Phil’s main professional interests are team teaching, using pictures and teaching beginners.
- Brighton
Emily
Emily's career in ELT began in the early 90s: she worked in Turkey, France and Ireland before joining St Giles in 1998. She became a CELTA trainer in 2002 and has also worked on Delta courses. While continuing to teach the English language at various levels, Emily regularly trains on the CELTA courses at St Giles Brighton and on short courses for experienced overseas teachers (this includes preparing candidates for the Cambridge Teaching Knowledge Test - TKT). She also runs internal and external teacher development sessions at St Giles and has undertaken a teacher training assignment for the St Giles Educational Trust in Senegal.
Erica
Erica is an approved CELTA and Delta trainer. In addition to the CELTA and Delta, she has a first-class honours degree in ceramic design. She has lived and taught in the UK, Spain and China and has trained both new and experienced teachers from around the world: this includes the UK, the USA and (for the St Giles Educational Trust) Uzbekistan, Cuba and Peru. Erica has also published online learning materials.
Fran
Fran began her ELT career in the 1990s, gaining teaching experience in the UK and overseas (Australia, South Korea and the Czech Republic) with adults and children before becoming a teacher trainer at St Giles Brighton in 2003. She is an approved Cambridge CELTA, Delta and ICELT tutor and works as a Cambridge CELTA Assessor. As well as training on the CELTA at St Giles Brighton, Fran co-ordinates the in-house Teachers of English courses (TEC) and the Cambridge TKT preparation course for experienced teachers. She is also the St Giles Learning Support Officer, responsible for providing one-to-one support for students with specific learning needs. Fran has undertaken teacher training assignments for the St Giles Educational Trust in Bangladesh, Russia, Uzbekistan and Senegal.