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Welcome

Hello. My name is Martin Harris, and I teach English privately via Zoom and Skype.

I have been teaching English as a foreign language for over 20 years, teaching people of various ages and abilities; from complete beginners to more advanced students; from children and teenagers to adults of all ages. I can also help prepare for exams such as IELTS and Cambridge exams.

I love teaching and try to pass on my enthusiasm for language learning to my students. I believe my role as a teacher is to inspire as much as it is to educate. Language learning must be enjoyable and stimulating.

I also speak Polish, which comes as an advantage when teaching Polish students. For more information see the Polish language page on this site.

As well as teaching, I offer a proofreading and text editing service. Whether it is coursework, a thesis, a job application, a cv, or any other text, I can correct spelling and grammar, and help improve style, clarity and consistency, depending on your requirements.

I hope this website will also be useful as an English language resource. Here you will find free pronunciation exercises with audio files to download and listen to. I will continue to add to these resources, so please keep visiting!

If you are interested in finding out more, please phone or text me on +44 (0)7968 849008 or email me at the address at the top of this page. Alternatively you can contact me through my Norwich English Facebook page

Prices

Below are my current prices for lessons (from January 2021)

Individual Lessons
1 hour

£37
add £5 in evening

Group Lessons
2 students
1 hour

£23 each (£46 total)
add £5 in evening

Group Lessons
3 students
1 hour

£18 each (£54 total)
add £5 in evening

Group Lessons
4 students
1 hour

£15 each (£60 total)
add £5 in evening

Private English lessons

Private lessons are a great way to improve your English. Without a class full of other students, together we can focus solely on your own language needs.

As well as one-to-one, I can teach small groups. This is ideal for couples or friends who wish to learn together but still get the benefit of private lessons.

Of course, private lessons cost more than ordinary classes, but the advantage is that we can focus on your individual language needs, and in this way you will make quicker progress. I can provide you with grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation exercises and homework, so if you are willing to work on your English in between lessons, you will soon find that you are communicating more fluently and with more confidence.

Courses

I also provide private courses to individuals or small groups. Would you like to study English intensely for the weekend? A week? A few months? Times and duration can be arranged to suit you, and the course can be tailor-made to your needs.

All courses, classes and lessons take place on Zoom or Skype. Summer, autumn, winter, spring... Courses are available throughout the year.

Pronunciation Courses

My 6-week pronuncation courses are popular. Classes are limited to 6 students. For more details, please phone or text me on +44 (0)7968 849008 or email me at the address at the top of this page. Alternatively you can contact me through my Norwich English Facebook page

Proofreading, text correction and text editing

Essay? Coursework? Thesis? Job application? CV? Report? Whether you are a native English speaker or not, I offer a thorough proofreading and text editing service.

I charge £27/hour for proofreading text written by a native English speaker, £37 for text editing.

I charge per hour and not per page because the quality of English I receive varies greatly. Some texts are so well written they just need to be proofread - read through a couple of times with a few simple corrections made. Others can take longer. Depending on the level of English, or if English is not your first language, it is likely that some text editing will be required.

Proofreading consists of checking for typing and spelling mistakes. Text Editing includes checking grammar, word order, typing and spelling, as well as overall writing style, clarity and consistency.

NO PLAGIARISM! I will only help edit coursework that is the client's own work. I will not write your essay for you.

Pronunciaiton

Good clear pronunciation is fundamental to communication and yet so often neglected in schools. It's not essential to have a 'perfect' English accent (whatever that means!) but it will be much easier for others to understand you if you can speak clearly and with good English rhythm and intonation. Good pronunciation can also give you more confidence when speaking

Teaching pronunciation is something I particularly enjoy. I teach phonetics (individual sounds), word stress, sentence stress and intonation - which includes the rhythm of English, but also its melody. I also help my students to speak more slowly - which is a surprisingly simple and effective way to improve your pronunciation.

If you are interested in private pronunciation lessons, please phone or text me on +44 (0)7968 849008 or email me at the address at the top of this page. Alternatively you can contact me through my Norwich English Facebook page

Pronunciation Courses

Below are some free pronunciation worksheets and mp3s to help you practise the sounds of the English language.

Free Pronunciation Exercises with mp3

Southern British English accent

To download right click and choose "save target as..." or "save link as"

VOWELS (monophthongs)
/iː/ and /ɪ/ (ee and i) seat/sit, eat/it, bean/bin	↓ pdf ↓	↓ mp3 ↓
/a:/ are, heart, can't, aren't	↓ pdf ↓	↓ mp3 ↓
/ɜː/ her, were, word, third, worst	↓ pdf ↓	↓ mp3 ↓
/ɔː/ more, four, saw, war, talk, walk	↓ pdf ↓	↓ mp3 ↓
/ʌ/ up, run, under, other ,does, mother	↓ pdf ↓	↓ mp3 ↓
/Ə/ (schwa) a, the, about, written, mother, bigger, doctor	↓ pdf ↓	↓ 1st mp3 ↓ ↓ 2nd mp3 ↓
/ɜː/ ('long' schwa) her, first, word, worst, learn, girl, herbal	↓ pdf ↓	↓ mp3 ↓
/ʊ/ and /uː/ (full and fool) look/Luke, pull/pool, soot/suit	↓ pdf ↓	↓ mp3 ↓
VOWELS (diphthongs)
ɪə ʊə eə ear, pure, air	↓ pdf ↓	↓ mp3 ↓
eɪ ɔɪ aɪ bay, boy, buy	↓ pdf ↓	↓ mp3 ↓
əʊ aʊ no, now	↓ pdf ↓	↓ mp3 ↓
CONSONANTS
th (θ and ð) the, this, that, the theatre	↓ pdf ↓	↓ mp3 ↓
/h/ happy, hello, hi	↓ pdf ↓	↓ mp3 ↓
/s/, /sh/ and /ch/ sip, ship, chip	↓ pdf ↓	↓ mp3 ↓
/s/ and /z/ (says, sizzle)	↓ pdf ↓	↓ mp3 ↓
/v/ and /b/ above, everybody	↓ pdf ↓	↓ mp3 ↓
/p/ and /b/ pop, Bob, pub, public	↓ pdf ↓	↓ mp3 ↓
/ɪŋ/ ing doing, singing, thinking	↓ pdf ↓	↓ mp3 ↓
OTHER
/d/ and /ɪd/ -ed endings walked, wanted, liked, decided	↓ pdf ↓	↓ mp3 ↓

To open the pdf files you must have Adobe Reader or Foxit Reader installed on your computer.

English Poetry

Here you can hear and read some classic English poetry and other inspiring verse.

If Rudyard Kipling

The Tyger William Blake
A Poison Tree William Blake
The Garden of Love William Blake
The Fly William Blake
The Sick Rose William Blake
London William Blake

Journey of the Magi T. S. Eliot
Ode to a Nightingale John Keats
A Girl Ezra Pound
The Second Coming W. B. Yeats
The Human Body Tsongkhapa
Love Czesław Miłosz

More to come!
Any requests?