Mark Roy Tutor Interview

Q. Hi, Mark. First of all, could I ask about your previous job? You were a scientist according to your profile. There may be students who are interested in science.: A. Hi…Yes!! Before I started teaching, I was a laboratory scientist for 20 years. It was an interesting and varied job and the company I worked for were excellent at training their staff in a multitude of roles such as the training of new staff and management of existing staff as well as new scientific techniques.
Q. Could you give us an introduction to your Scientific Terminology lesson?: A. Sure. Because my early years as a scientist were very “hands on” I have a lot of practical experience in the laboratory using various biological techniques and so I can teach from a practical and theoretical standpoint. In my latter years I moved into management and therefore have a wealth of experience in authoring quality systems and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) as well as safety documents.
Q. I heard that you had a online math lesson today! How was it?: A. I have just taught my first maths lesson to a 12 year old boy today and I really enjoyed it!! It was a 2 hour lesson which went really quickly for me and I really felt that my student enjoyed it too. I am also teaching the same student science which I am really looking forward to! I hope that I can do more of these lesson types in the future as the student not only learns maths and science as a subject but also the use of English phrases and improvement on grammar and vocabulary.
Q. You have a lesson titled “Speaking English is child’s play!!” – is it difficult to teach English online? What kind of experience do you have teaching children?: A. It is not as difficult as I thought it might be to teach on line. As long as you can keep your student interested by using colourful displays, pictorial presentations and including an element of fun into the learning experience, then it becomes easier every time. I teach children face to face as well as on Cafetalk and both methods are equally rewarding. Knowing that a child has enjoyed your lesson and seeing another booking by the parent gives you a real sense of achievement. Of course, I always ask for feedback on how I can improve next time and I aim to keep their interest by utilizing that feedback.
Q. What level of English should students have before taking your lessons? And what kind of person might benefit most from them?: A. I offer a range of lesson types starting with beginners going up to advanced speakers and business people who use English every day and just want to improve their flow of speech. I like a challenge and so I would like to meet more absolute beginners in English if I can. The lessons in advanced English have greatly benefitted my students so far. For example, I had a student book me consecutively for my “Interview Skills” course. He made it all the way through the interview stages and in the end he was offered the position. I am not saying that it was all down to me that he was offered the job, but when someone has invested that much time learning with me and achieves their goal then it makes me feel proud!
Q. May I ask what your life is like in Thailand? How do you spend your weekends?: A. I really enjoy living in Thailand and enjoy travelling around the country when I have time. Living here means that many parts of Asia are so accessible to me and I like to take advantage of that! My weekends are normally spent working on Cafetalk during the day followed by swimming and then taking my girlfriend out for dinner and seeing a movie in the evening. I have many friends here in Bangkok and so when I have time it’s good to get out and see them as well!
Q. Could you leave a few comments for our students?: A. I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting all of you and I am looking forward to meeting new students in the future. I would also like to take this opportunity to say a big “THANK YOU” to all my existing students….. it’s great to have so many return students that I can get to know really well which makes the teaching experience all the more rewarding!