Jane B

Jane worked for many years as a teacher to children age 4-18. Jane stopped full time working to raise her family, and has enjoyed teaching English one to one from her home for several years. Jane and her husband James have a spacious home and enjoy hosting visiting students.

Jane is well qualified with an Undergraduate degree from Oxford and a Post Graduate degree in teaching. Jane also enjoys a wide range of hobbies and interests including dancing, swimming and photography. Jane has a young family which takes up most of her time when not teaching or helping students. Jane has four young children (three boys and a girl).

Jane and James live in a spacious, modern home in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon. The  family enjoy music and a variety of sports and enjoy welcoming students into their home.

The student room is comfortably furnished and there is a personal study space for students to concentrate on self-study and homework.

Jane prepares an individual one-to-one course for each student, which focuses on practising the language areas they are most keen to develop. Whether students want to improve their speaking, listening, reading or writing skills, or to concentrate on business English, general conversation skills or cultural discussions, Jane provides a series of intensive lessons which will maximise progress in those areas in the time available.

The Homelingua experience also offers much more than an intensive one-to-one language course. It embodies the belief that total immersion in the language is the ideal way for a student to develop their skills. Living in Jane’s home and sharing daily activities such as meals, shopping, trips to Bath, meeting friends and so on, students are exposed to the everyday English which occurs naturally in a range of typical situations. The result is often a dramatic improvement in students’ confidence and their ability to communicate by the end of the course.

Message from Jane

I would very much like to welcome you to our home, which is a very active household.

I have always been keenly interested in various aspects of education, and this has led me to have some valuable experiences both home and abroad. From a theological perspective I have travelled and worked in Scotland, Israel, Germany and Japan; and from an educational viewpoint, I have taught a wide range of ages and in many different settings. I initially trained as a teacher in Oxford and after having my family returned to work as a lecturer, which I thoroughly enjoy. 

I have four children and they are always keen to learn about different cultures and share their knowledge and interests. They like playing games and sharing stories, as well as going for countryside walks and bike rides around the local neighbourhood.

Mealtimes are a valuable time for gathering together and sharing our news of the day or anything else that we would like to discuss with one another. It is always fun to have guests join us too, and taste their favourite dishes and learn about their home customs.

Our house is situated walking distance from historic Stratford-upon-Avon town centre. The many tourist attractions are based around the life of William Shakespeare, a great medieval English play writer, who was born and raised his family here. The world famous classical Royal Shakespeare Company has theatres alongside the river Avon. Many of Shakespeare’s works are performed there and those of his contemporaries, and also those of living writers and international dramatists. The performances are outstanding, with many famous actors taking part in the casts and imaginative dramatic creative sets that have you enthralled. In Stratford there are many places to relax in, such as old pubs, cafe bars, parks and gardens. The old town is surrounded by beautiful scenic countryside that is easily accessible and well signposted.

Nearby are the surrounding shire counties of Oxfordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. There is also Blenheim Palace and the Cotswolds to the south, Worcester and the Malverns to the west, Warwick Castle and Henley in Arden to the north, and all within an hour's journey of Stratford itself. There is a train and coach station in Stratford which can also take you to nearby cities, such as Coventry, Birmingham, Oxford and Cheltenham. These offer a realm of other interests, such car and motorcycle museums, Cathedrals, the Thinktank Birmingham science museum, racecourses, festivals, etc.