Full-time (Scottish) teacher of English language and literature to international students in High Schools on four continents over the last 15 years. I really enjoy the study of literature and spend my days talking to people about it and encouraging their ideas. I have experience of a wide range of High School courses and have had great success in helping students attain top exam scores while also developing a love of the English language. Currently available weekdays and (most) weekends.
Recent Students: 46 |
Total Hours: 1915 |
Last Online: |
All-time Students: 171 |
Total Classes: 1892 |
Signed Up: |
Recent Students: 46 | Total Hours: 1915 | Last Online: |
All-time Students: 171 | Total Classes: 1892 | Signed Up: |
I am a dedicated teacher - and student - of literature. I enjoy encouraging the speed of learning in students through engaging them with the key messages of texts and their implications in the world of their context and the world of today. I have an excellent record of success across a wide range of courses and qualification bodies during the 15 years of my teaching, and many of my students have gone on to study English literature at university level. I am currently looking to develop the online learning experience for students through a range of methodology and software such as Miro, Google Classroom, Teams and a range of other tools.
I have taught internationally in schools in Jakarta, Lima, Istanbul and Budapest since 2009 and have tutored students privately, both in person and online, throughout this time. I enjoy literature immensely and believe that teaching students to understand literature is a subject they can excel in is the best way to instill this enjoyment in their own minds. I am very motivated and look to incorporate online study tools in order to quickly develop - and retain - student learning in preparation for key tests and exams.
I have taught both IBDP Language and Literature and the Literature-only SL/HL course since 2014. I have also taught A-level English literature for thirteen years in schools and through private tuition. In addition I have taught MYP and IGCSE courses, Theory of Knowledge and a variety of non-examination English, Film and Literature courses. I have had particular success in teaching a wide range of Shakespeare texts (Macbeth, King Lear, Measure for Measure, Hamlet, and many others) and have also taught Romantic poetry (Keats, Wordsworth, Blake, etc) over the last few years. I have a very wide range of interest in literature however, and am happy to read, teach and discuss hundreds of literature texts. It's a real passion of mine and I enjoy speaking with students and encouraging their own literature study and ideas.
Currently, I am teaching Hamlet, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Glass Menagerie, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Macbeth, The Sorrow of War, Romantic poetry, 21st Century poetry, A View from the Bridge, Beloved, To Pimp a Butterfly, Richard III... and many more texts through private tuition. I am happy to teach new texts as well as a wide range of exam courses and curricula, and open to teaching any literature or language classes.
Very good teacher. I have seen my children achieve the best results thanks to him.
v insightful and helped alleviate the KL struggles! liked the sort of tutorial/discussion-based approach!
Extremely Helpful and provided great feedback to my HLE. Definitely improved my essay a lot.
Excellent!
Great teacher!
Mr. Alex helped me with improving my ToK exhibition, telling me how can I make it better, which makes me understand the coursework better and explain the 3 objects clearer.
Very good tutor that explains the subjects in a very clear way!
Alex is a great help - he makes complicated things seem easy. I've improved a lot since working with him.
Alex teaches me what they don't in the classroom and helps me see my mistakes. I'm doing much better with his help.
My son found Alex to be a wonderful, academic tutor. Thank you for your time, Alex. We will certainly use you again in the future.
Alex was a great tutor, especially towards the end of my GCSE English journey. He was particularly good at helping me refine my model answers, which inevitably aided me to do well in my exams. As a student who did the OCR GCSE course, it was quite difficult to find a tutor that could tailor their learning style to my course, yet Alex was brilliant in doing so. With Alex’s help, I managed to achieve my target grades (9s).
Kayilai - 28th August 2024
My lessons with Alex have been wonderful. Unlike many other English teachers, he encourages you to be unique in your writing and to stand out, which really helped me improve on the aspects of my writing that needed it. Alex has always been incredibly open minded and enthusiastic when it came to hearing my ideas and his wide breadth of knowledge has allowed my own analysis and writing to become more sophisticated. His passion for literature and English language along with his in-depth feedback for the many essays I sent him helped me improve rapidly throughout the year. I wouldn’t have been able to achieve an A in A level English Literature without him, thanks Alex!
Yasmin - 25th August 2024
I cannot thank Alex enough for the support that he offered me in my last year of English A level, it was due to this that I was able to achieve a grade higher than expected. Alex was particularly useful in providing me with a template/structure that could be used for all of my essays, as well as helping me structure my individual paragraphs, introductions, and conclusions. Doing this alone allowed me to pick up 2 or 3 more marks before even starting to implement my content into my essays. Additionally, Alex simplified and took the time to make sure that I understand the content of the studied novels before offering his own reading to help provide me with a deeper level of understanding. Alex was a wonderful teacher, and I would thoroughly recommend him to anyone who finds themself in a similar position to that of myself at the time.
Jack - 23rd August 2024
Alex has been a great help to both my English Literature and English Language grades for IGCSEs. I initially started off with grade 7s between both subjects and needed a tutor to push my grades up. After a year of working with him, my grades have evidently increased, with my final grades in my IGCSEs both being 9s and receiving high raw scores such as 142/150 (In Language) and 149/150 (In literature)
Ryan - 23rd August 2024
I am so grateful for all that Alex has done for me over the past 6 months, i started my easter term having got a C in my literature mock, convinced that i wouldn't meet my uni offers or acheive the A grade that i so wanted. However, with Alex's gentle guidance and attentiveness i not only acheived an A in my real exam but also got 30/30 on the question that i found the hardest. My teacher at school provided me little to no constructive feedback only telling me "i don't like this sentence" etc but Alex provided such detailed feedback and provided examples of what my writing could become and score. I could not reccomend Alex more, his kindness attention to detail and knack for explaining things is so difficult to find in a teacher anywhere. If you have a grade aspiration that you are worried that you won't meet Alex is sure to do everything in his power to make that dream come true all while with a kind smile and voice behind the screen.
Rachel - 20th August 2024
As an English A level student studying the OCR board, I found it quite difficult to continuously analyse text for literary techniques and to explore the nuances of plays. Alex was immensely helpful toward this goal, and helped me with The Tempest, Paradise Lost, The Duchess of Malfi as well as my American Literature course in order for me to succeed- his structure is very accommodating and easy to learn and is just as effective. With his help, I was able to move from a B in my mocks earlier this year to an A*! I recommend Alex's services to any student studying A level English who hopes to gain a better understanding of the meanings behind texts and how these meanings are shaped by literary techniques.
Oscar - 16th August 2024
Working with Alex has been a wonderful experience. He is an excellent tutor and prepared me extremely well for my final IB exams. Although I connected with him quite late into the IB program, he was able to quickly identify my weak spots and help me work towards my intended final grade. Every lesson felt very tailored and efficient as he would prepare a document with key points to go through. He would listen very well to me and my concerns and would always ask me what I wanted to achieve in that lesson so we would work around that. I believe this was extremely helpful and was one of the main contributing factors to me achieving my final desired result. A last but very important point to mention is Alex has worked many years as a teacher and tutor and this truly shows in his lessons. When going over my work he would immediately identify my weak spots and the gaps missing in my work that were keeping it from a higher grade. Altogether, his lessons were very organised, productive and he had so many helpful tips to share which is exactly what I was looking for in a tutor. As a result, at the time of my exams I was ready and confident to give my best.
Elina - 15th July 2024
Alex is a great tutor and has helped my daughter tremendously. A patient and encouraging teacher, he made the complicated texts easy to analyze and taught her the skills and insights she needed to write well, both for the exams, and in general. Alex has been an excellent resource and I have no doubt my daughter's performance vastly improved thanks to him.
Angela - 9th June 2024
When I first came to Alex at the beginning of year 11, English was not my strong suit. I had received a 5 for English Language and a 6 for English Literature in my year 10 and dreaded English revision. However, as the lessons progressed, Alex not only provided me with the skillset to improve my English writing, but also enabled me to enjoy my English revision, as I always looked forward to interesting discussions about the different interpretations of the novels and plays I had written about. When I finally opened the results envelope I was glad to see the hard work with Alex had paid off, as I had received an 8 in English Language and a 9 in English Literature. Alex was a great tutor throughout the course of year 11 and I would recommend him to anyone trying to improve their English skills.
Malik - 4th September 2023
Alex has helped me immensely in the Edexcel IGCSE English Language course preparing me for exams. Even though I only started working with him a mere two months before my finals he helped me get from a grade 3 to a grade 8! I can't stress enough how useful his lessons and teaching have been to me and I am extremely grateful. His lessons are tailored entirely to your needs and they are very easy to follow due to his helpfulness and positive attitude to every lesson.
Matteo - 29th August 2023
Alex was of great help and provided me with the exact kind of guidance I needed in my preparations for the IB exams (Language A: Literature). He is very passionate and knowledgeable about the topics he teaches. Furthermore, his optimistic attitude helped me stay positive even in the most stressful times. This along with his engagement in the whole process made the learning very enjoyable. The lessons were always well thought out, Alex answered all my questions and thanks to his experience, helped me understand the perspective of an IB examiner, which was very important to me. Alex is very punctual and cares about his students. He made time for me, even in between lessons, when I needed any additional help, and I’m very grateful for that! After these lessons, I felt well prepared for my exams and my confidence in writing increased greatly. I’m positive that without Alex I wouldn’t have been able to do this, but I can proudly say that I passed my exams! He is an amazing person and tutor, and I recommend him wholeheartedly!
Klaudia - 17th July 2023
Even though my time with Alex has been quite short as I started only a few months before the GCSE exams, to say he has been helpful would be an extreme understatement. From day one, he walked me through an extremely useful and detailed essay guide which transformed my literature grades from 7s to 9s. He knows exactly what examiners are looking for and how to achieve the top grades! These sessions and his comprehensive and invaluable feedback transformed me from a feeble student of literature to a literary critic! He is a flexible, patient tutor who crafts extremely fun lessons (he even introduced me to some super cool poems!) which broke my deep seated hatred for English as a subject. Thanks so much Alex, I would not have been able to do any of this without you!
Mahnoor - 10th July 2023
I first started Eng L&L HL classes with Alex at the start of my second year in IB. Over the course of the remaining year, at a time when a student’s capabilities only marginally improve, I saw myself having an explosive growth in both skill and self-confidence thanks to Alex’s guidance and critique of my work. His uplifting and positive spirit in every lesson as well as his insight helped me reevaluate and improve every paper I did (+ HL essay/ToK Essay & EE). He is always available to contact by email and gives a prompt response (>24 hours). Moreover, if you send your papers/essays and a clear idea of what you need help on before your next class with him in your emails, he can provide an excellent class the next time you meet on how to erase mistakes. If you work in tandem with Alex, you will get the results you desire (+ a confidence boost to boot). Overall, I’m very happy with the time I spent with Alex, going from a grade 5 to getting a grade 7 in my final exams thanks to his help. I sincerely recommend you take a trial class with him to see if his teaching methods suit you, because it certainly suited me.
Agastya - 11th July 2023
I found it really helpful when Alex and I went through potential passages that could come up in the actual Edexcel English Language GCSE exam itself together, making note of the main points and practising writing the relevant 4/8/12/22-mark essay questions. Alex taught me how to pick out the more significant moments in a passages and analyse them in-depth to produce as many strong points as possible, which definitely made me more confident in answering the essay questions as I now understand how to produce a powerful, effective response. In addition, I was also able to answer more efficiently and with more confidence during my actual GCSEs in May and June, and I am optimistic about the results.
Andreas - 9th July 2023
Alex was hugely useful to my studies, he is intensely passionate about English and clearly has a wide reaching knowledge of different syllabuses. I always found Alex willing to go above and beyond for me and for his other students and he was able to aid every section of my course. He was able to provide a particularly discerning second set of eyes for my course work and allow me to help me reach my full potential (57/60!) as well as helping develop different perspectives on my core texts and poetry. Overall, a lovely man and a great tutor, highly recommend!
Fin - 26th June 2023
Alex really helped me a lot in the few months we worked together. He had a great essay structure I could adapt and use in my IB exams and helped me create great responses to various texts. I felt so much better about going into my exams after he helped me; he really helped my confidence go up. Thank you Alex, you are amazing!!
Martina - 25th May 2023
TOK is one of those subjects where precision and a wide range of ideas is needed in order to succeed with the exhibition and the essay. Alex is a great tutor who not only has experience in fulfilling the requirements but also guides and helps you to come up with ideas and concepts suited for a high scoring TOK work. Initially, I only needed help with my TOK essay, but Alex also helped me as we went through my initial exhibition and found ways to improve my statements and show a closer connection to my prompt.
I was surprised by how many ideas I was able to generate, just with a little bit of help from someone who knows that subject very well. I really enjoyed working on my written TOK pieces with Alex and felt that progress was made fast.
Thanks to Alex, I was able to finish all my work fairly quickly and at a high level of quality. I would really recommend Alex for anyone who is looking for inspiration and help when generating ideas about what to write and also for those who want to improve their vocabulary and language.
Mathias - 10th March 2023
Alex’s detailed understanding of the IB English curriculum and the assessment criteria were particularly valuable in helping me to achieve a 20/20 from the IB for my HL Essay. I would recommend Alex to any IB English student!
Jack - 13th February 2023
Alex has recently helped my daughter in preparation for her IGCSE English language paper. She has thoroughly enjoyed her lessons - which is the most important thing. She found his teaching methods interesting and engaging and has learnt a great deal. He was also available to answer any questions that she may have had in between lessons. The experience was an enjoyable one and she used to look forward to her classes. What more can I say? Without hesitation we recommend Alex!
Alicia - 10th January 2023
I worked with Alex for about a month and a half. Alex helped me with my IB Higher Level English Language and Literature exam. Besides being transparent, understanding and friendly, he was a prepared and committed teacher. Alex always understood what I needed to work on, sometimes better than I did. Furthermore, his experience in the field helped me understand the perspective of an examiner, which was my biggest ask of him. On top of that, Alex was always punctual, consistently checked in on me and my work and made our lessons fun and enjoyable. I wouldn't have felt as confident as I did going into the exam without Alex's help and I'm confident in saying he was the perfect teacher for me and my needs.
Argi - 2nd December 2022
I had around 6 online tutoring sessions with Alex before my final IB Language and Literature exam for the November 2022 session. The classes were very organised with an outline of things that would be beneficial to discuss in the lesson but was also open to anything I wished to specifically work on. Alex provided information on the exam and requirements and helped me in every aspect including looking through practice exams I had completed. These sessions were extremely helpful and I am very thankful for all of Alex’s support.
Tiffany - 2nd December 2022
TOK was a subject that I found particularly challenging, and I needed help understanding some of the key concepts. After only a few lessons with Alex, I had a much better grasp of the subject and learnt how to structure my answers and ideas better. The classes were very enjoyable, and he could explain everything clearly and patiently, which helped improve my confidence in the subject. I appreciated that he was highly prepared for every lesson with helpful materials that made the concepts much easier to understand as well. Thank you Alex!
Marcus - 1st December 2022
Mr. Alexander is an excellent English tutor, and I would recommend him to both pupils doing English in school and independent English learners. He is incredibly patient, which is something everybody learning a language needs, he explains things in a way that is easy to understand also providing helpful resources as well as feedback to focus on. I heartily suggest him.
Omar Albhaisi - 30th November 2022
I reached out to Alex quite late on in my academic year when I was struggling with my English literature course and scoring low Cs in my work. I was getting anxious about the lack of improvement in my grade and was worried I’d left it too late to see any change. I struggled most with reading exam questions and decoding what they were asking of me, so Alex walked me through each area of my topics and taught me how to address the questions and access the highest possible marks. At the end of our month or so of tutoring, he helped me achieve an A in my A level English literature exams and i got into my dream university. Alex helped achieved targets I didnt think I could achieve with his flexible hours and constant feedback. Thank you so much Alex !
Tiger Lily - 31st August 2022
Alex has been extremely helpful in helping my daughter understand concepts in her study of 12th night and Orwell's 1984. He helped her to appreciate the analysis of the books from each of the characters. Alex was also excellent in helping with exam technique, helping to structure the answers to maximise the marks available. He was very flexible and willing to give extra feedback and help with homework if needed, his help led to my daughter becoming more confident and getting A* in English language and 9 in English Literature. Thank you so much Alex!
Mohamed - 25th August 2022
Verified
I have a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education as well as a First class combined honours degree in Creative Writing and Film Studies. I have a range of professional qualifications, from IB and A-level accreditation to EAL certificates. I have excellent references.
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