Private English lessons online, one-to-one
Full attention on your goals with a native-speaking teacher: a presentation next week, a job interview, or simply speaking with more confidence.
Not sure about your level? Take the free level check
What private lessons are good for
Turn a card to see the kind of change a few sessions make.
How private lessons work
How do I start?
Choose a free time for your first lesson and pay for the package online. In the first lesson your teacher checks your level and plans the remaining hours with you. Questions first? Write to James.
Where do the lessons take place?
Online, on Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet, at times that suit you.
How long does it take to improve?
Moving up one CEFR level usually takes 10 to 20 sessions, or six to twelve months of regular lessons.
Can I combine private lessons with the conversation classes?
Yes. Many people use private lessons for a specific goal and the conversation classes for regular speaking practice.
Frequently asked questions
How much do private English lessons cost?
One package price: 6 hours of private online lessons for €600.
Who teaches the private lessons?
James Simmonds or one of the native-speaking teachers in his team.
Can you prepare me for an exam?
Yes. We offer focused preparation for Cambridge, IELTS and TOEFL.
How James plans a private course
There is no fixed textbook. In the first session James finds out which situations matter most to you, then builds each lesson around them.
You speak for most of every session. Corrections focus on the few choices that change how you are heard.
The brain is not a sponge, it’s a muscle.Read the transcript
- Hi, my name is James Simmonds and I’m an English teacher based in Germany with over 20 years of experience.
- And this is We Need to Talk About.
- We need to talk about things that will help you improve your English,
- but maybe we can start by talking about a few things that really won’t work.
- So to start with, we need to differentiate between passive understanding and active learning.
- A lot of students tell me that they watch English films or TV series, and you know, that’s great.
- But osmosis, or soaking in a warm bath of English dialogue with the subtitles on,
- isn’t gonna help you present the latest figures to your multinational team on Monday morning.
- Remember, the brain is not a sponge, it’s a muscle, and it needs exercising.
- I did actually play that, even though you can’t see my fingers.
- Magical thinking. We need to talk about magical thinking because magical thinking is actually going to
- stop you from learning.
- Magical thinking is this strange belief that somehow it’ll all happen by itself.
- One day you’ll wake up and there’ll be a click and all of a sudden you’ll understand English.
- You’ll be able to speak it properly and it’ll just be absolutely amazing.
- We’ll just be in the middle of it and it’ll all be happening.
- It doesn’t work like that.
- It’s a messy, cumulative, long-term process that requires effort to memorise information.
- Which brings me to point number three.
- Magical thinking’s evil twin.
- Bauchgefühl. Intuition.
- Wir sehen uns nächste Woche.
- We’ll see each other next week.
- We see each other next week.
- We see us next week.
- We’ll see us next week.
- Which one feels right to you?
- And did you make a party or have a party at the weekend?
- Will we look forward to hear from you, or will we look forward to hearing from you?
- What feels right? You need to memorise this information.
- Your poor English teacher will no doubt have told you a thousand times over that they look forward to seeing you next week.
- We’ll see each other next week, and that they had the most wonderful party at the weekend.
- Have you managed to remember it?
- If in any of those cases there’s even a tiny little bit of uncertainty there,
- how is Bauchgefühl going to help you?
- It won’t. Let me summarise.
- Passive understanding is different than active learning and remembering.
- Osmosis is not a technique.
- Magical thinking, the click will never happen.
- Bauchgefühl doesn’t really work either.
- Either you memorise something correctly and you know it, or you’re uncertain and you don’t.
Start with your first lesson.
Pick a time and pay online. Not sure yet? Write to James: he tells you whether private lessons, the conversation classes or both suit you best.
Book private lessons