VISION, MISSION, VALUES AND CULTURE

Michael Bunyak is from Manitoba, Canada. He moved to Singapore in 2006 and has been teaching in Singapore for sixteen years. A qualified TESOL instructor and EFL / ESL teacher, he studied at the University of Manitoba and Brandon, as well as at London Teacher Training College. He has taught numerous students of different nationalities and ages, and strives to make language learning a fulfilling and fun experience for his students.

Jesse is from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He has been in Singapore since September 2011. He graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Psychology and a minor in Chemistry. Jesse has been an avid volunteer in teaching English and has tutored a wide range of nationalities in English and other subjects. Jesse is known by his students to be very kind and patient, and knows how to make his students feel at ease.

Following a BA in English and Literary Studies at the University of Worcester (1998), Simon completed an MA in Romanticism (2002), and was awarded a PhD, also in Romantic Literature (2006), both at the University of Bristol. He has taught various courses in literature as well as effective writing, at diverse institutions in the UK, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, and has extensively published his literary research in books and international journals. He considers a balanced blend of passion, patience and proficiency to be the makings of a good teacher.

Stephen comes from Somerset, England and has undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications from UK universities. He became TEFL certified 4 years ago and since then has been teaching English to students of all ages and abilities in Hong Kong. South Korea and now Singapore. He believes passionately in helping his students to improve their understanding of the language and their ability to communicate with confidence.

Marc is from Sherbrooke, Canada, the last bastion of the English language in the province of Quebec. He has spent (too many) years studying anything from Computer Science to Theology, passing by International Cooperation. His quest to see the world brought him to 19 countries. His quest to understand different people and cultures led him to work and live in 7 of those countries (Canada, Nicaragua, Australia, New-Zealand, Singapore, China, and Iraq). He discovered he loved helping others learn English, so he successfully finished his TESOL and his TKT (Teacher's Knowledge Test) from Cambridge University. Now he is married to a (wonderful) Singaporean, and he spends his free time reading books, playing video games, and eating ice-cream...

Kiran Mahbubani, a British Citizen, Hong Kong resident and Singapore PR, was born and brought up in Hong Kong before she moved to Singapore in 2002. Certified with CELTA - Certificate in teaching English language to adults by the University of Cambridge and ACTA - Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment, Kiran has been teaching English to both adults and children since 2012. Prior to that, Kiran was in hospitality field where she worked in a few hotels and for a German airline catering company. Kiran’s passion has always been in teaching. Kiran believes that teaching is one profession that creates all other professions. Kiran speaks a few languages, mainly English, French and Cantonese. Her love for travelling has taken her to many different parts of the world and her aim has been to visit one new place every year.

Bryce Johnson is from Brisbane, Australia, but has spent most of his life growing up in Southeast Asia. Having spent his formative years in Malaysia, attending university at LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore, and working as a high school English teacher in Thailand, he has gained a unique perspective and appreciation for language and communication. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Composition, a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate, and is currently studying for an iPGCE (international post-graduate certificate of education). Bryce believes that language is an essential tool for making connections and aims to make the learning journey for his students as enjoyable as possible.

Ash is from San Diego, California, USA. He is certified in TEFL and TESL from San Diego State University (SDSU) where he also taught ESL. At SDSU he taught a variety of programs from conversational to business English. He holds a BA in Religion and has also done Masters level classes in psychology. He has travelled widely and has a lot of experience with the international community and believes in teaching beyond a language extending into culture and traditions so as to make learning a fun, exciting and relevant experience. ​

Ian was born and grew up in Manchester, England, but lived and worked in London and Barcelona before moving to Singapore over 20 years ago. He worked in the airline industry for some years, before switching to teaching and gaining his TESOL Certificate and Diploma qualifications at Trinity College, London. He has been an IELTS professional for 21 years and loves helping students get the grades they need in the exam. In his free time, he enjoys swimming and you will often see him cycling round different parts of Singapore.

Diego has joined the teaching profession after completing his PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education) in languages at Manchester Metropolitan University. After working for different government aided school in the United Kingdon he decided to pursue a doctorate degree in foreign affairs which he completed in 2006. He is currently working in Singapore, a place which he considers to be a meeting point between Asian and Western culture. In his next long holidays, he hopes to enrol at New York University in order to attend the Summer English School. Diego enjoys travelling in Asia, Europe and North America and he likes discovering diverse cultures as he believes that language is at the heart of every culture.

Seek first to understand" has always been Catherine's guiding philosophy. She has a decade of experience teaching English as a second language. Catherine spent some years in Australia before returning to Singapore. After graduating from the National University of Singapore with a double major (Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language and Sociology), she became a Broadcast Journalist/Producer with MediaCorp. Apart from writing, filming and directing, she also narrated for radio and television programs. In addition, her experience included print journalism, writing for major publishers such as the Singapore Press Holdings and MediaCorp Publishing. Catherine also holds a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the Macquarie University, Australia. An avid learner of languages (she can speak Chinese, Japanese, Cantonese and Spanish), she understands the difficulties her students face, in learning English, and would find ways to help them overcome the challenges. Her classroom is a safe space where one can freely converse and not be afraid to make mistakes. Catherine strongly believes that a mistake can become a lesson, when one learns from it. In her free time, she enjoys reading because she can travel to various places, without leaving her couch.

Josh is from Singapore, and as with most Singaporeans, he is bilingual (English, Chinese, and a smattering of Chinese dialects). He spent 4 years living in Melbourne, Australia, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Politics and International Relations, and History. He spent an additional year writing a dissertation, and was awarded a Degree with First Class Honours. Josh also possesses working experience in Germany and Australia with the Singapore military, and has also done a short stint of work in Kuala Lumpur. Having worked with and befriended people of various nationalities, he believes that this enables him to connect with his students and foster a constructive language learning environment. He is of the belief that students thrive when they feel safe and comfortable in their learning environment, and he seeks to create said environment for them. Josh enjoys watching football and basketball, reading, playing video games, and is very passionate about reptiles, especially crocodiles.