Biography

I grew up near Frankfurt, Germany speaking both English and German, and completed my Abitur there in 1988. I came to the UK in 1989 where I gained a BA and MA at the University of Hull.

I then completed the Trinity Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CTESOL), and spent the next 4 years teaching English in Germany, Thailand, Laos and the UK. On my return to the UK I completed the RSA/Cambridge Diploma in Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adults (DTEFLA).

While teaching in the classroom I was course director of several CTESOL courses, helped develop and run a part-time Diploma course, and designed and delivered a Trinity College recognised Teaching English for Industry and Commerce course.

In 1998 I co-founded NetLearn Languages as the world's first live online language school with my colleague Mark Haverstock. Since then I have designed and implemented an online course leading to the Certificate in On-Line Teaching of English (COLTE - www.colte.com), which allows experienced and qualified teachers to gain the knowledge necessary to teach via the Internet. The COLTE course has been running successfully since 1999 and continues to evolve to reflect changes in Internet technology.

From August 2002 - 2006 I held a post at Royal Holloway University of London as Online Course Designer, which enabled me to put into practice the skills and knowledge gathered in the commercial world in an academic environment. Since 2006 I have been offering consultancy and training on a freelance basis to organisations including the British Council, Cambridge University Press, the Open University, Royal Holloway, The Consultants-E and others.