After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in English & History at Bedfordshire University, UK, I became qualified as an English as a Second Language teacher (TESOL from Trinity College London) and moved to China in 1997. I worked as a volunteer teacher trainer for three years in Jiangxi Province, followed by three years on the Tibetan Plateau, before settling down in Beijing. In addition to teaching English I worked for the British Council for over 4 years in the English Examinations field, before returning full time to teaching again at BSB Shunyi in 2013. I am also a Cambridge Main Suite Speaking Examiner, Cambridge Main Suite Speaking Examiner Trainer and Cambridge Main Suite Team Leader, Beijing.
My son has been a student at the Shunyi campus since he was very small, and he convinced me to join him here! I’m enjoying being part of the dynamic EAL team we have here and am very much looking forward to getting the language levels of our students up so that they can fully function in the learning environment that the Shunyi campus has to offer.
I have been in China for 16 years already, and still haven’t got bored yet! My son and I do quite a bit of hiking on the weekends and we like to travel as much as we can. I enjoy watching TV, socialising and warm weather, whenever I can get it, and I have just taken up golf (not as easy as it looks). My immediate family are spread out around the world, from the UK, the US, Spain, Egypt, and myself in China, so we’ve got the world pretty much covered.
What students say about me:
- “Mr. Sheridan teaches us very nicely”
- “He is always so happy and teaches every time with the funny way. He’s one of my favourite teachers”
- “He is tall and thin. He looks like Woody in Toy Story” – That one made me laugh
High Quality Learning is a unique concept that enables students to not only reach their own perceived potential but to go beyond what they imagine they can do. The language used in lessons could be seen as stumbling block for EAL learners, but this is where we started; to understand the concepts and language used . Our students started with breaking this down into their own languages, and defining what it means to them; they achieved this, they can achieve English language learning too.