Syed Sirajuddin S.

I have worked as a lecturer at De Montfort University for over 15 years. I hold a PGCE in further Education, an MA in English Language Teaching, and a BA honours in English. I taught English for Academic Purposes at university. This enabled me to develop various teaching approaches at different levels of English usage. I have also taught KS3-KS5 in the UK and abroad during which I have been observed several times and demonstrated that I was outstanding. I have used various teaching aids ranging from pictures, flash cards, to a variety of IT techniques. I have also used peer interaction and assessment to develop learners. Teaching at university enabled me to teach presentation skills. This has enabled me to do the same during training, coaching and mentoring sessions with colleagues. I have mentored a number of tutors. In my experience as a university lecturer I have used a variety of online platforms to teach students during the Covid-19 pandemic. I began my journey into English in 2002 when I did a BA (hons) in English at Demontfort university. Following this I did an MA in Children’s Literature in 2005 due to my immense love of reading. However, it was only when I landed a job at a resources centre that I decided to specialize in teaching and so I did a PGCE in education and an MA in English language teaching both in 2007-2009. I absolutely love teaching since then - as cliche as it sounds it is truly my passion and the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. I love my students and to see them excel truly makes me content. I’ve been told that I have a gift for building a rapport with learners and I to feel this is something that comes naturally to me because as a student I myself struggled with being misunderstood and branded as a ‘bad student’. I feel as a result I can relate to students and their struggles more easily. I’m also very patient and an excellent listener.

Hi, I’m Maite! I’m a native German speaker and teach German at all levels — Primary, GCSE, and A-Level. Besides German and English, I also speak French and Spanish. I hold a BA in Cultural Studies with a minor in Educational Science, which deepened my understanding of cross-cultural learning, communication, and how to make complex ideas accessible. During my time at university, I spent over three years tutoring children of different ages, working in a programme led by the German federal government to support children from migrant and refugee backgrounds in their school learning. I am now excited to work with adults as well. When I think back to my own school years, the teachers who inspired me most were those whose honest passion made even my least favourite subjects enjoyable. That’s the atmosphere I aim to create in my lessons: engaging, light, and enjoyable. Outside tutoring, I teach meditation and mindfulness and support a charity creatively, which helps me bring patience, flexibility, and creativity into my teaching. I tailor lessons to each student — whether you need grammar support, speaking practice, exam preparation, or a personalised lesson to build confidence at your own pace, or simply want to learn German out of interest and enjoyment. I hold a BA in Cultural Studies and Educational Science, which I completed at Leuphana University in Lüneburg, Germany. I specialised in cultural theory and visual culture and spent an Erasmus semester at Université Bordeaux Montaigne in France. In addition, I hold a Yoga Alliance–approved 200-hour Yoga Teacher Certificate, complemented by an additional 50 hours of training in meditation.

ABOUT ME I have a deep interest in history, human and physical geography, anthropology, technology, architecture and engineering. I especially enjoy the history and geography of languages and language families. I'm into all sorts of things if I'm honest. I am a keen traveller (but who isn't nowadays), audiophile and technophile, with a love for all kinds of technologies, analogue and digital, new and old. Thanks to COVID I learnt a lot of DIY skills through necessity. My house also has a garden full of fruit trees, so I guess that would make me an amateur gardener by default. I try to keep fit by cycling when possible, but my favourite sport is swimming. TEACHING EXPERIENCE/PREFERENCES The subjects I teach are History, English Literature and Language for GCSE and A-level, as well as ESL English. I tend to teach students aged 14+, so from Year 9 to Year 13 or more mature students for ESL, but I do have a few students younger than this. I use a variety of teaching approaches, ranging from traditional methods of text analysis to modern forms of teaching, such as interactive quizzes, questionnaires and even YouTube videos if they benefit the students learning style. Exam Board Experience: Experience of all English assessment boards, but especially AQA and Edexcel in the, and WJEC/Eduqas and OCR to a lesser extent. Languages: English: as a first language to advanced/professional level. Turkish: fluent to college level, but nor advanced enough for teaching purposes.

Seneca Session Hero (SSH) Lower Level: English, Maths, Basic Sciences GCSE: Maths, Chemistry, Physics A Level: Maths, Chemistry, Physics Languages I speak: English Preferred Student Age Group: Any About me: Had a BSc in Chemical Engineering, MSc in Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance and Biotech. Over 3 years of experience working in Chemistry Labs as a Laboratory/ Quality Analyst BSc Chemical Engineering, MSc in Progress