I’m Helen, and I am a CELTA-qualified English teacher, specialising in Business English. I have been teaching for over twenty years, and I love seeing learners’ confidence build as they put their English into practice.
With a background in conference interpreting, I understand the vital role of languages in bringing people together. I focus on speaking with clarity and confidence, and understanding not only what people say, but what they actually mean!
My path into teaching
Like many in the UK, I was brought up in a solely English-speaking home (although my father was an avid Welsh learner!) I began my languages journey in my final year of primary school, at an after-school French club. At secondary school, I began studying Russian, and realised that languages was really where my talent and interest lay. However, it wasn’t until my first trip abroad (to Belarus!) on a school exchange, that I really became passionate about real interaction with speakers of other languages.
After my BA in French and Russian at The University of Sheffield, I worked as a linguist in the UK civil service, and went on to study interpreting to become a freelance conference interpreter in the UN system, which I did for over ten years.
Feeling an itch to return to education, I completed an MA in political science in Brussels and returned to EFL teaching, going on to work as a pedagogical advisor and English trainer for a language school in Belgium from 2023-24.
Having recently returned to the UK, I am now dedicating myself full-time to language coaching. In my (very little!) spare time, I continue to learn other languages (mainly Serbian!), love to travel, go to gigs, train at the gym…
Reynolds-Brown Languages 