Hi everyone, my name is Tom!
I am an English teacher at CafeTalk, but I am also happy to teach other things as you will see in my profile.
My Background and ExperienceI was born in Taiwan and I grew up in Australia (moved to Australia when I was around 8 years old). After high school, I had the opportunity to study in Japan so I spent 5 years as a university student in Japan (1 year learning Japanese and 4 years studying at a normal university).
During my time as a university student, I worked part-time as an English teacher. I have taught many people (groups and individuals) ranging from local communities, fellow students, salary men and women, housewives and just anyone who wanted to improve their English. This is an experience I will always remember and cherish, it made me realise that I really love teaching. I also became great friends with many of my students and we often went out to restaurants and
izakayas after classes.
After university, I went back to Australia and started working for a Japanese company (商社). The company then asked me to relocate to Japan again so I spent another year in Japan as a professional person. During that time I also taught English to colleagues at my company at the time. It was semi-casual and the classes were divided into many small groups to match their needs. Like my previous teaching experience, I really enjoyed this experience as well. I also added a business aspect to the English teaching which is really helpful for people who want to learn business English.
I returned to Australia after I left the Japanese company and have worked in various companies in different industries, mainly in the online world. I worked in the online market research industry as well as the online marketing industry. I currently run my own online business. As a result, I am familiar with online marketing in general and various social media platforms so I am happy to discuss this topic as well if you are interested.
Apart from my work exeprience, in between a job change, I also taught English to migrants for another year in Australia. I realised that I still enjoy teaching English.
Teaching Style
I would describe my style as relaxed, conversational and based on the student's needs. I see my students as my friends. I believe this is the best way to learn because when you are feeling relaxed and at ease you can absorb information better. Enjoyment is also very important. If you don't enjoy what you are doing, no amount of efforting would really be beneficial in the long run. I am also a fan of free conversation because this way the student can learn to initiate topics they'd like to discuss and I can offer tips throughout the conversation.
If you prefer to use textbooks or any other learning materials such as novels I am more than happy to accomodate that too.
I am interested in a wide range of topics from sports, business, life, music, movies and travel. I look forward to discussing these topics with you in English and help you achieve what you want.
Oh, I am happy to mix Japanese during our lessons so if you feel more comfortable speaking some Japanese I can certainly do that for you too.
Feel free to ask me any questions!
Education
- University of Technology, Sydney (Australia), Communication Faculty, Graduate Certificate in Media Arts and Production, 2013.
- University of Technology, Sydney (Australia), Business Faculty, Graduate Certificate in Marketing, 2011
- Hitotsubashi University (Tokyo, Japan), Faculty of Social Science, Bachelor’s Degree, 2006
- Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (Japan), 2001
***mi