Career History
MOST RECENT/CURRENT EMPLOYMENT
Bloomsbury International
(08/15 – present)
English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Teacher
I work as an EFL teacher at Bloomsbury International.
PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT
Bede’s Summer School
(06/15 – 08/15)
Academic Manager
I managed a group of eight teachers and ninety students, ensuring that the teachers planned and delivered very good lessons and met or exceeded client expectations. This I achieved through monitoring and appraising teaching, as well as assisting teachers with planning, and delivering regular CPD sessions. In addition, I responded to customer queries and complaints, adhered to British Council directives and ensured communication between departments. I allocated students to classes, according to level and in order to ensure that each class had a mix of nationalities. The contract was for summer time only.
Bloomsbury International
(10/14 –06/15)
English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Teacher
I worked as an EFL teacher at Bloomsbury International. My teaching was graded as outstanding in two observations. I also held a CPD session, and regularly assisted more junior teachers with lesson planning. Having recently successfully completed a Business Management Course, I co-project managed assignments for teachers. I taught both young and adult learners. I resigned in order to develop a career in management
The English Studio
(02/14-10/14)
EFL Teacher
I worked as an EFL teacher until my position became redundant.
Universidade de Cabo Verde
(11/13 -02/14)
Course Coordinator and Lecturer
I introduced a non-credit bearing mini-course on the Black Atlantic (focusing on Brazil) to the Department of Social Sciences and Humanities. I designed the syllabus, procured the material and was the sole lecturer on the course. Completed questionnaires showed that students found the course important to their personal and academic development, they would recommend it to their peers and benefited from the teaching methodology. All lectures were given in Portuguese.
University of East London
(10/13)
English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Tutor
I worked on the in-sessional programme, teaching writing skills to native and non-native speakers of English. Classes were multi-national and multi-disciplinary. Students were predominantly undergraduates.
Greenwich University
(08/13)
EAP Tutor
I taught on this pre-sessional course to a class of Chinese undergraduates. I worked with a group of teachers to administer mock and final exams.
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
(10/11 to 07/13)
English to Speakers of other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Tutor
I worked as a sessional tutor teaching FCE two evenings a week from October to May 2012. From September 2012 I worked as an ESOL tutor. My teaching was observed in January 2013 and was graded outstanding. I mentored two PGCE students. This included giving them feedback on their teaching.
Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College
(02/12 to 09/12)
EAP and EFL Tutor
I worked as a sessional tutor teaching IELTS to a class of twenty-five students. I shared this class with a General English teacher, and had to keep up-to-date lesson records. My teaching was observed in May 2012 and was graded very good. In August I worked as a pre-sessional EAP tutor.
London South Bank University
(01/12 to 06/12)
EAP Tutor
I worked as a sessional tutor on a Foundation course. I was a personal tutor, mentoring and providing pastoral care to students. Administrative duties involved writing termly reports and adhering to the college’s strict lateness policy. My teaching was observed in May 2012 and was graded outstanding.
Kaplan International University
(02/11–12/11)
Studies Skills and Language Tutor (EAP)
In addition to General English, I taught, Skills for Study 1, 2 and 3 and Language for Study 1 and the Graduate Research Project. I was on a sessional contract and was made redundant in December 2011.
University of East London
(08/11 – 09/11)
Pre-Sessional English Language Tutor (EAP)
As I was on a sessional contract at Kaplan, I took the opportunity of working as a pre-sessional at UEL. I delivered study skills workshops in note-taking from lectures and writing practice to students from undergraduate to Phd level. I was also involved in marking assessments.
Belgravia College London
09/09 – 01/11
Senior EFL Teacher
As a senior teacher, I assisted in training other members of staff during professional development sessions, gave formal presentations to new students and provided learning support for new and continuing students. I also supported less-experienced teachers.
Belgravia College (part of Williams College where I previously worked)
06/08 – 08/09
EFL Teacher
When working at Belgravia, I taught Business English (Upper Intermediate and Advanced), FCE, Intermediate, Elementary and IELTS. I monitored students’ progress, made on-going assessments, and supplemented teaching material from the course book with my own material in response to students’ needs and preferences. Classes were multi-national.
University of Sussex
04/09 – 07/09
Part-Time Associate Researcher
I was employed to work on the Migrations between Africa and Europe Project (MAFE), carrying out detailed (2-3-hour) interviews with Congolese migrants in French.
University College London
03/09 – 06/09
Part-Time Voluntary Librarian – Preservations Department
Whilst working at Belgravia, I also worked two hours a week on a voluntary basis, categorising, cleaning and making boxes for old books belonging to the library and private owners.
Malvern House International
02/08 – 06/08
EFL Teacher
I taught General and Business English (Upper Intermediate) to multi-national classes.
The City College of London (UK)
01/07 – 01/08
EFL Teacher
In addition to teaching, I helped prepare the school for British Council Accreditation. The school went into liquidation and I was forced to seek alternative employment.
Essex University
08/06 – 09/06
EAP Lecturer
I taught English for Academic Purposes as part of the university’s pre-sessional programme, which included presentation skills and editing extended essays.
Various
07/06 – 12/06
EFL Teacher
I worked as an ESOL and EFL cover teacher at various colleges in London.
Various
01/06- 07/06
Part-Time French Tutor
I taught French GCSE to several school children in and around London on a part-time basis.
Williams College
06/02 – 06/06
EFL Teacher
I taught all levels of General and Business English. I was also Acting Director of Studies, and I assisted administrative staff in translating from French and Portuguese into English.
Cambridge University
01/05 – 06/07
Part-Time Assessor
I worked on a part-time basis as an assessor for ESOL Skills for Life (Speaking and Listening) and Upper Main Suite (Writing).
Bristol University
01/05 – 05/05
Part-Time Lecturer in Higher Education
I lectured in Literature and Culture from the Portuguese-Speaking World in the Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies. The post was for twelve weeks and involved discussing film and short stories from Mozambique, Brazil and Portugal with undergraduates, and assessing full-length and exam-length essays.
The Open University
10/04 – 10/06
Part -Time Associate Lecturer of French
I worked on a part-time basis. In addition to designing tutorials, I worked to tight deadlines between receiving, marking and posting students’ assignments. I tailored my lessons, feedback and manner according to the needs of each member of the class (which ranged from individuals with psychological conditions, to those with special physical needs).
McCann FitzGerald
03/01 – 06/02
Legal Secretary and Librarian
Although secretarial work constituted the bulk of my duties, I was also responsible for reactivating the library. As the librarian, I updated both electronic and manual databases, ensuring that literature was accurately indexed and retrievable from library shelves, and that the firm took advantage of free literature offers. Daily duties involved taking telephone messages, amending large documents, filing, logging and distributing mail.
Various Employment Agencies
09/00 – 01/01
Legal Temp
I worked as a secretary in several companies based in the City.
Standard & Poor’s Insurance
04/97 – 09/00
Administrative Assistant
I was involved in electronic diary management for a group of ten. I also had to book conference rooms, arrange conference calls and organise lunches, assist in drawing up travel itineraries, welcome guests, and operate a switchboard on a regular rota basis. I also worked on PowerPoint presentations, assisted in maintaining spreadsheets, and took minutes.
TIPS (an American NGO) in Guinea-Bissau
10/95 – 10/96
Librarian and Editor
I was responsible for cataloguing and shelving literature. I also corrected texts written in English, and helped colleagues translate material from Portuguese into English.
United Nations High Commission for Refugees
08/95 – 09/95
Part-Time Facilitator
I worked on a temporary basis on the US resettlement project for refugees from Liberia and Guinea-Conakry.
Self-Employed in Guinea-Bissau
10/95 – 10/96
EFL Teacher
I taught English to managers and support staff of a number of NGOs (including the UN, SNV and Radda Barnen).
Teacher Training College in Guinea-Bissau
09/94 – 06/95
Part-Time Teacher Trainer
I initiated a course entitled ‘Black Francophone Literature’, designed the syllabus and taught it at Tchico Té, the country’s teacher training college, on a non-paid voluntary basis.
Voluntary Services Overseas
10/93 – 10/95
Volunteer Teacher
I was an English teacher at CENFA (an adult training centre) in Guinea-Bissau. My students included the Minister of Finance.
Embassy of Côte d’Ivoire, London
09/92 – 08/93
Bilingual Secretary
I worked in the Department of Consular, Cultural and Student Affairs. I prepared visas.
Action Sport
01/88 – 06/88
Administrative Assistant
I carried out general office duties.
Qualifications
01/98- 06/08 Bristol University
PhD: Comparative African American and Afro-Brazilian Text
10/88 – 06/92 Goldsmiths College, University of London/
BA French with Sociology Subsidiary
Professional Training
• ABC Awards – Business Management Level 2 2015 – Distinction
o Effective Management
o Employing People
o Performance Management
o Time, Stress and Crisis Management
• NVQ Level 2 Part 1 Anatomy and Physiology 2014 (Pass)
• Diploma in English Language Teaching (DELTA).
o Module 1 (Pass with Merit) December 2009
o Module 3 (Pass with Merit) June 2010
o Module 2 (Pass) November 2010
• Pitman Introduction to Personnel and Human Resources 2008 – Distinction
• Certificate of Attendance – Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: Programme for Postgraduate Students 2004.
• Certificate in English Language Teaching (CELTA) 1993 – Pass.
Languages
• English – native speaker (A level grade C)
• French (BA 2:1) and Portuguese – fluent (A level grade A)
• Spanish (CEFR B1)
• Crioulo (Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde) – fluent (CEFR B2)
