Meet our English Teachers

Academic Director / English Teacher

Kiran Mahbubani

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 the hospitality field where she worked in a few hotels and for a German airline catering company. Kiran's passion has always been in teaching. She 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, with the aim of visiting one new place every year.

English Teacher · Director of Teaching & Learning

Jesse Colin Shafer-Oliver

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 with 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.

English Teacher

Bryce Johnson

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 certificate (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), 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.

English Teacher

Simon Hull

Before his current role as a language teacher and teacher-trainer — a dual role which he has performed since 2017 — Simon was a university lecturer in English literature. Working at culturally diverse institutions in the UK, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, Simon has taught and published research on various areas and aspects of literature, including the literary essay, writing and the city, travel writing, and colonial women's writing.

This fruitful chapter in his career as an educator is the main source of Simon's current strengths as an English educator at CEC. His specialist areas are English for Academic Purposes, reading and writing skills, the relationship between language and literature, the practical application of TESOL theory and methodology in the classroom, and one-to-one tuition for adult learners from pre-intermediate to advanced level.

English Teacher

Hannah Blair

Hannah is from Singapore, and grew up speaking Mandarin. She holds Undergraduate and Postgraduate degrees in Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Counselling. Hannah has worked as a tutor and psychotherapist in Singapore and the United Kingdom.

She gained her TESOL Diploma and Certificate at Canadian Education College, which has allowed her to expand her teaching horizons. As a result, Hannah has supported ESL students with WIDA, iTEP Slate, Cambridge, and IELTS preparations. She has also taught IB English and Literature, alongside building students' creative writing, conversational, and presentation skills.

Through her experiences in the education and mental health fields, Hannah supports empowerment through utilising language for self-advocating, self-assurance, and meaning-making. In her spare time, Hannah enjoys 80s music and 90s pop culture.

English Teacher

Ruby Lo

Ruby has been teaching English for the past 22 years for various ages from 4 to 60. She is an American Taiwanese. She has enriched experience in all English teaching including Business English, Conversational English, English Speech, English Phonics, Topic Discussion English and General English. She taught at an American English School for 14 years while living in Taiwan and continued her passion while in Singapore.

She has a passion for fulfilling students' dreams — helping each and every one to succeed in their English goal. She can design and personalise each student's special needs according to their level and learning style. She believes in learning through fun and through a relaxing mode for the best learning result.