A typical day at Trebinshun 8.15-9.00 Breakfast with English speaking hosts and international students. 9.00-10.30 Oral Communication Role Play of a meeting situation with 3 other students.relevant correction of grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary by teacher. Role play based on the requirements of the student in his/her real life. 10.30-11.00 Break for tea /coffee accompanied by teachers. 11.00-12.30 Listening Listening to real life listening from the BBC to work related topic. Student trains listening skills for detail and gist meaning. 12.30-13.30 Lunch time with delicious and varied buffet meal accompanied by teachers. 13.30-15.00 One to one class focusing on student s individual needs. For example vocabulary specific to student s field of work, listening to specific accents depending on student s needs, grammar focus on specific subject, pronunciation work. 15.00-15.30 Break for tea/coffee accompanied by teachers. 15.30-17.00 One-to-one class focusing on student s individual needs. For example preparing presentation for upcoming conference that student needs help with, troubleshooting analysis of emails student has written in English, grammar revision of issues raised in group lessons if student feels he/she needs more practice 17.15-19.30 or 19.30-21.00 Social Programme Visit to local pub, cathedral, sports activity, horse riding, cinema, theatre etc. Dinner 3 course meal from our capable cook, 18.00-19.30 Accompanied by a teacher or the hosts.
Why Trebinshun? Excellent teaching in a unique setting and atmosphere Teachers all qualified and very experienced. Rounded background: many of our teachers are former university lecturers or have had previous professional careers such as accountancy... High proportion have DELTA in addition to our minimum requirement of CELTA. All courses include a significant proportion of 1-1 lessons, so the teaching style and content is tailored exactly to the needs of the individual student. Courses made up of all 1-1 lessons are also possible. Groups are not finalised until Monday morning after testing. This allows us to match students of similar levels and needs so all members of the group benefit fully from the lessons. Groups are a maximum of 4 students at a time. The hosts look after everybody, help with practicalities and are both former English teachers and so support the learning of guests. There are 6 hours of formal lessons per day, but English immersion and practice for an extra 6 (at least!) per day. We have a house rule that English only is to be spoken at all times, and we are pleased to report that our students obey this rule! Meals, breaks and the evening social activities always happen in the presence of at least one native speaker (either the hosts (Ben and Sophie) or the teachers) so there is always someone on hand to correct or help with language as well as any other problems that might arise. From the moment you wake up until the moment you go to bed, you are practising your listening and speaking skills. Many of our students have regular English lessons in their own country, either privately or offered by their employer. When we ask them why they have come to Trebinshun, the answers are always the same two points: 1) "At Trebinshun I can focus fully on my learning." "You have far fewer work and family responsibilities competing for your time and attention." "Everything is organised for you, and your mind is free." 2) "The lessons in my country are useful for maintaining my current level of language, not forgetting language, keeping language active. But to make the breakthrough to a higher level, you need this total immersion." Family atmosphere - a beautiful country house that is a home not a hotel. We believe that in order to maximise learning a person must be relaxed and open. All students at Trebinshun have their own bedroom and bathroom because privacy is important, but we hope that everyone feels like a guest in our family home while they are here. Our owners, Robin and Liza Watson, founded the school in the house Robin inherited from his father over 30 years ago, and raised their family of 6 children here. They feel that having a family living in the house permanently gives it a special atmosphere. All students are professional people, many of them at a senior managerial level. Everyone has the right context and experience to make conversation relevant and interesting.
Located in a national park. Beautiful landscape perfect for running, walking and cycling. Optional social programme every evening. It is important to unwind after classes, so we organise an activity every evening for anyone who would like to join in. This could be something as simple as going for a walk by some waterfalls on a summer's evening and visiting a local pub, or if we have a group of opera-lovers we might go to the wonderful Welsh national opera in Cardiff. Because we are a small, independent school we have the flexibility to respond to student's interests and suggestions. The golf driving range and horse-riding are two other popular options. Flexibility extends to all areas. We take feedback from our students mid-way through their course. Any problems are discussed and changes made. Students are of course encouraged to let us know about any problems as soon as they arise. Key Staff Sophie Yarde-Buller - Manager, administrator, front-of-house host Sophie shares this role with her husband Ben. They live on site in the main house with their two children. Sophie and Ben have a long-standing connection with Trebinshun as they are family friends of the owners, Robin and Liza Watson, who founded the business over 35 years ago and until recently lived at Trebinshun. Sophie holds the Cert TEFLA (now known as CELTA) and taught English for many years in Oxford, London, St Petersburg and Moscow. BA Hons Fine Art, Oxford University Ben Yarde-Buller - Manager and front-of-house host In addition to his role for Trebinshun, Ben runs his own publishing business, founded 6 years ago. Prior to that he worked as a private tutor and freelance journalist. He has also taught English in Oxford and holds a Diploma in Translation (French to English and Russian to English) from the Institute of Linguists. MA English Literature, Renaissance to Enlightenment: University College London, BA Hons French and Russian: Oxford University Peter Johnson - Marketing director Peter has been involved with Trebinshun in many roles over many years, including sessional teaching and social programme. He has several decades of experience in the TEFL world, both in the UK and across Europe and the Middle East. He has run schools in Belgium, Italy and Spain, and lived in Germany for over 10 years. BA Hons Modern Languages, Cambridge University Oonagh Toner - Director of Studies and teacher Oonagh has over 12 years of experience and previously taught on pre-masters English programmes for international students at Leicester University. She has also taught and managed ESOL and EFL programmes at Oxford and Cherwell Valley College and IELTS preparation at leading business English providers in the U.K. Oonagh taught in house for four years in Italy for companies such as Maxmara, Credito Emiliano, Banco de Milano etc. Her qualifications include the DELTA (Post Graduate Diploma in English Language Teaching ) and the Cert.TESOL.
Kerry Davies - Assistant Director of Studies and teacher Kerry has been working at Trebinshun for 17 years. Before becoming a teacher he worked in the insurance and financial consultancy industries. Kerry also taught in house for companies in Madrid for 2 years. His qualifications include the RSA Cert TEFLA and the Advanced Diploma in Applied Linguistics. Kerry also takes care of relationship marketing for the school. BA Combined Arts: Leicester University. Kay Evans Johns - Teacher Kay has been working at Trebinshun for 6 years. She has lived and worked in Sicily, Cairo and Madrid. Kay is an experienced EFL practitioner who holds both the DELTA and CELTA. B.A. Ancient, Medieval and Modern History: Royal Holloway, University of London. Louise Quah - Teacher Louise has been teaching EFL for 15 years. She has lived and worked in Kuala Lumpa, France, Spain Singapore and The Maldives and has a wide range of intercultural expertise. Louise holds the both the Cert TEFLA and the DELTA. Louise has also worked in the Media industry as a reporter. BA Hons English Literature: University College of Wales, Swansea. Charles McCarthy - Teacher Charles Mac McCarthy is a qualified examiner for the Cambridge suite of exams. He also designs syllabus for business English courses at Bristol and Bath Spa Universities. He has been teaching for Trebinshun on a freelance basis for 14 years. Mac holds the RSA Post Graduate Diploma in EFL and the Cert TEFLA. He is a specialist in Presentation language and techniques. B. Phil Applied Linguistics: University of Birmingham, M.Ed: University of Bristol. Anna Whinnett - Teacher Anna teaches for Trebinshun on a freelance basis and also teachers for Keele University and the University of Liverpool. She is a specialist in online teaching, phonetics and pronunciation. Anna is also an examiner for the Cambridge CPE,CAE, FCE,BEC and IELTS exams. Anna holds the Cert TEFLA and the DELTA. BA Hons History: Lancaster University. Neville Knight - Teacher Neville has been teaching at Trebinshun on a freelance basis for 10 years. He holds the Cert TEFLA and the DELTA. Neville is also an examiner for the Trinity suite of exams. Neville has travelled extensively in his role as a Trinity examiner and has a wealth of intercultural knowledge. B Ed: Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Mark Petter- Teacher Mark has previously taught at the University of Glamorgan and Cardiff University. He is a qualified teacher trainer and has trained EFL practitioners at a post-graduate level as a DELTA trainer. Mark has lived and worked in the Ukraine. He holds the CELTA Cert and the DELTA.
Elizabeth Bell- Teacher Elizabeth has worked on a freelance basis at Trebinshun for 9 years. She holds the CELTA and previously taught in Italy and Thailand and ran her own business in Tanzania. BA Hons: Russian Studies, University of Leeds. Ruth Jackson- Teacher Ruth has worked for us as a freelance teacher for over 15 years. She has spent much of her professional life in the Far East, mainly in Japan, where she worked for the Japanese International School and for Hokkaido University. She also taught at Hong Kong City University. She holds the CELTA. MA Contemporary Japan and Japanese: Essex University/Ehime University Japan (collaborative degree), BA American Studies: University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.