Practice Speaking English

It takes practice to become a confident English speaker. It takes practice to be able to communicate ideas in English. 

I have been teaching conversational English for over 20 years. Contact me to explore practice speaking English, practice writing English or both. Contact me if you would like help creating professional materials in English.

A little bit about myself

For decades, I lived and worked in the UK. Currently, I live in the States, working as an herbalist. I continue to work teaching English part-time. Why? Because I enjoy it!

What do I do when I am not working? I’m often outside with my dog. I enjoy nature and the water, reading, creating and oh yes … food, glorious food! I also meet people all over the world who want to practice speaking English.

Speaking Packages

The fastest way to improve English speaking is by regular practice.

Each speaking package comes with a free trial lesson.

Speaking

Scheduling regular online practice sessions helps to improve confidence, vocabulary and pronunciation. Most importantly, it is a step towards expressing our true selves. My lessons are relaxed and well-paced. Students practice conversation across many topics. Listening practice is important too.

I focus on student needs. This means that if a student wants to improve “everyday” conversation, we work on this. Some students want to focus on special topics such as work or travel. Others may want to improve a work-related vocabulary. I enjoy talking about most topics including travel, food, leisure activities, work, school, home and family life, music, sports etc. Sometimes, students choose to focus a practice on an important meeting or presentation.

My lessons include a little humor and are sensitive to each person’s experience of English. They vary from session to session, and student to student. I always check to see if I am meeting a student’s need and their satisfaction level.

I place a lot of emphasis on conversation, building vocabulary and pronunciation, less emphasis on grammar unless a student specifically requests that we review this topic. My focus is communication and building communication skills.

I prefer working with adults and teens who want to improve their English. I am also happy to schedule single or occasional speaking lessons. These can be purchased for $40 an hour.

Writing

Some students want to focus on written English, often for work. They may need to write a report, or to make a presentation, or both!

Reviewing written work, practicing and creating presentations, can be a part of our work together. Contact me for more details.

What Students Are Saying

“Excellent and experienced English teacher.

Leslie is the best English teacher! She helped me with my English pronunciation and also taught me a lot of idioms which are very helpful to use in my life. She was great and patient at explaining every question which I asked. She also keeps our class engaging and fun. Highly recommend her to everyone who wants to improve English.”

- Natalie, Taiwan

“I first met up with Leslie online in 2016. I had an invitation to the USA where I was supposed to lead a workshop and my last English lessons has been over 20 years ago. English speaking was stressful to me and I usually avoided it. For that reason, I had looked for language lessons and luckily found Leslie. Today, I speak and write freely, read books in English and also watch documentaries or films without subtitles. There is no situation anymore, where I would be afraid that my language skills might not be sufficient. Actually, I had already come to terms with my mediocre knowledge of English - today I know how many things I would have missed as a result. I neither practiced grammar with Leslie nor consciously learned vocabulary. She knows how to simply talk to each other, to create an atmosphere that gives you self-confidence and that takes away the inhibition to speak. You only learn a language by speaking. Thanks, Leslie!”

- Stephanie, Germany

“I am Andrew, from China. I have been studying with Leslie for more than two years. The topics for our conversation are wide from daily communication to academia, and I really enjoy this kind of learning pattern. Leslie can let you improve your English speaking skills with ease and happiness. Moreover, sometimes I would discuss some problems I met in reality with her in English, and I always can receive some valuable suggestions. So, I would say Leslie is not only a teacher teaching your English but also a friend helping you in need.”

- Andrew, China

“I'm very happy to have found Leslie. Since I began to work with her, I have gained a lot of confidence in my speaking. She is a great teacher who focuses on my weaknesses, helping me to improve them....and she is a great conversationalist!”

- Angela, Spain

 I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Leslie for organizing exceptional English classes for more than five years. I really appreciate the language experience I have gained throughout the lessons with Leslie. I have had the unique privilege of working not only with a spectacular teacher, but also with a very good friend. Leslie perfectly understands the needs of a student and helps to master English skills. The skills I acquired during this time are well worth it: I have expanded my vocabulary and learned new phrases, expressions as well as HAVING improved my speaking fluency in English. All classes have been very informative and practical. She always brings something to add to our dynamic lessons. The feedback given was extremely crucial to going forward in language skills and truly benefits the student.

- Dmitry, Moscow

"My class with Leslie is awesome. We meet once a week and in the past 3 years, I’ve learned a lot. Now I feel more comfortable and fluent when speaking English. A great thing about the class is that we customize the program based on my goals, and Leslie is very well prepared. I really appreciate Leslie for all her excellent work and patience in teaching English. I would definitely recommend Leslie to anyone who wants to be better at speaking English.” 

- Jay, China