- Edinburgh

Jill is a highly qualified EFL teacher and has a great deal of experience teaching diplomats, doctors and business executives.
She has also spent many years in mainstream teaching. She has an MA, PGCE, CTEFL.
Her husband Bob is a retired Maritime solicitor and was previously the Honorary Consul to Belgium.

Home/location: They live in the best and most exclusive part of the city called Morningside in a large and very comfortable Victorian villa set in a lovely walled garden with birds and squirrels, yet very close to the centre of the city.

Student's room: A tastefully decorated double room and dressing room.

Family/interests: They have a lively social life and are interested in country dancing, classical music, walking, writing, gardening, art exhibitions, wine tasting and concerts.

Pets: They have a lovely black Labrador dog.
Smoking: No one in the family smokes.

- North of England

Gill is a qualified RSA TEFLA teacher, with a Institute of Linguists degree in Spanish and also a secretarial qualification.
Gill has extensive one-to-one experience and taught at Oxford Brookes University and at other top language schools in Banbury
Gill is particularly good at pronunciation work. She is a good Business English teacher with experience at a manufacturing company dealing in international affairs. Her husband is a Judge.

Home/location: They live in a lovely house, close to Altringham in Cheshire. It is semi-rural and so has excellent access to the countryside and yet is close to the Metro line direct into Manchester. They live near to some beautiful countryside on the edge of the Dunham and Tatton Parks. The location of their house is close to all the amenities and it is a very good neighbourhood.

Student's room: A tastefully decorated room.

Family/interests: Horse riding, visiting gardens, cooking. Gill enjoys art and the theatre and Nick plays golf and hockey. They are good company. Their three children have left home: Melanie is a vet in New Zealand, Rebecca is a journalist in Oxford and Sophie is reading Environmental science at University. Gill is a member of a Health Club and students can go swimming anytime.

Pets: They have a small friendly dog called Paddy.
Smoking: Nick smokes cigars.

- Heart of England

Mike G. has the Cambridge RSA certificate in EFL and has been a trainer of people for many years.

His wife Sarah also has the same teaching qualification. Home/location: They live in Oxfordshire in a 200-year-old house, on the edge of a picturesque canal, near the village church.

Their home is full of antiques and is very stylish. They also have a large old English garden. The location is a village outside Oxford on the road to Stratford on Avon. The village is a typical English setting with a church (where the student will go bell ringing!) and cricket pitch and two good old pubs.

There some beautiful places to visit and also it is easy to get to Oxford, Banbury, Stratford, Warwick and even London by train. Student's room: A tastefully decorated room

Family/interests: They are well educated and intelligent people and very hospitable. He is interested in sport and plays golf, cricket and tennis and they are both interested in local history, of which there is a great deal, and gardening. They have lived in the Far East, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Middle East, France, Spain and Germany.

Pets: They have two well-behaved dogs
Smoking: No one in the family smokes.

- London

Mrs A is a qualified EFL teacher. She has a MA from Oxford and a Diploma in Translation. She has been teaching in her home for ten years.

She originally qualified as a foreign language teacher in French and German and has taught this in secondary schools. Her husband David is a senior Lecturer at University of Westminster in Structural Engineering.

Home/location: They live in a large semi-detached house with a small back garden in a residential street in Clapham a good area of South London, close to the famous Park and underground. There is a lively area of restaurants and bars and easy access to Central London.

Student's room: A tastefully decorated room approx. 12 sq. metres

Family/interests: They are interested in current affairs, music, literature, poetry, films and videos, and walking. They have three children - Theo born in 1979, Bjorn born in 1981 and Zoe born in 1984.

Pets: They have two lovely friendly Airedale terriers (Pippa & Tink) and two guinea pigs.
Smoking: Theirs is a non-smoking household.

- Southern England

Sylvia has a Certificate in TEFL from Trinity College, she has extensive experience of teaching different nationalities and also of training executives from a wide range of professions.

Her husband David is Consultant, author and lecturer in Informatics. Until his recent retirement David was Director of the Strategic Planning Society, London

Home/location: They live in a 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom, 15th century Tudor farmhouse standing in 3 acres of ground. The house is three-quarters restored and no more work will be done until after the summer - there are some Roman artefacts, crockery, etc. that were discovered in the foundations. It is situated in a small, historic village near Bicester, about 12 miles from Oxford and from Aylesbury. This is a farming village, built in the shape of a horseshoe with a Grade 1 listed church and a nice old pub.

Student's room: A tastefully decorated room with en suite shower.

Family/interests: Sylvia is interested in tennis, swimming, (she belongs to a tennis club and a health spa), gardening and sewing. David, who is, inter alia, a fellow of the Institute of Directors and The Royal Society of Arts, and has advised the World Bank on helping developing countries to benefit from the emerging Global Information Infrastructure, likes writing, reading and singing.

Pets: They have two dogs and a cat. Smoking: Theirs is a non-smoking household.
Smokers: are requested to smoke outside only.
How to get there: Coach direct from London Heathrow to Oxford, where they will collect.

- Wales

Marjory has a Diploma in Education and Teacher's certificate. She has taught for many years in mainstream education and has now built up a good deal of experience in one-to-one tuition. Her husband, Stan is now retired, has written a book on rock climbing and is very experienced in it.

Home/location: They live in a beautiful Welsh farmhouse in North Wales near a town called Caernarfon, close to Bangor. It is close to the sea and is in a very scenic location, about 1½ hours from Manchester. They are English and are very friendly people.

Student's room: A tastefully decorated room with a desk and colour TV, use of private bathroom (with shower, washbasin and wc).

Family/interests: They have a daughter called Caitlin, born 1978, and two sons, Steven born in 1973 and Michael, born in 1972, Caitlin and Michael are at University in London and Norwich reading Biochemistry and French and English respectively, while Steven is working in Germany. They take students out and around a lot, and it is an ideal location if you like walking, hiking and climbing. If you like sports you will really enjoy it. You can learn to ride horses, go swimming, skiing (on dry slopes), canoeing, play tennis, go to the beach, visit the local castles and towns. They also have a piano. (The eldest son was in the Olympic Skiing team for Britain). Rock climbing and sailing are also available. This is wonderful country for walking, hiking, riding and climbing. There are many good golf courses in the area.

From the family's fields you can see Snowdon, one of ten peaks of over 3000 feet - higher than any peaks in England. There are wonderful views combing sea and mountains, the lovely beaches around Anglesey, lakes, woodland and the Snowdonia National Park.

Pets: They have 6 horses, plus sheep and a goat, an outside dog, a house cat and two barn cats.
Smoking: They do not smoke.

- Bath, South West England

Christine is a qualified EFL teacher with a lot of experience of teaching one-to-one, both General and Business English, plus experience of special needs tuition.

Albert is a retired engineer and latterly a lecturer in engineering. He is also qualified and experienced in TEFL. They live in the city of bath - this is the view from their back garden!

Their granddaughter Jessica, born in 1979, lives with them when she is not at University. Christine is interested in arts and crafts (particularly embroidery, dressmaking, etc.) and Natural History, Jessica in arts and crafts, drama and swimming and Albert is a railway enthusiast and also interested in canal transport.

Home: Their house is in the centre of Bath with splendid views over the city. The house is a large Edwardian 4-bedroom house with a garden in a quiet residential street, only a few minutes' walk from the city centre.

Student's room: A comfortable room with its own hand basin.

Pets: They have two cats.
Smoking: The family do not smoke but will tolerate smoking in the conservatory or garden.

- Western England

Nic gained his Cambridge certificate in teaching English as a foreign language. He has gained valuable experience in teaching executives one-to-one.

His original profession before early retirement was as a trained architect. His wife Charlotte is the Press officer at the Royal Photographic society. She also has experience in EFL teaching in Italy.

Home/location: They live in a splendid Victorian house in Bath, with views over the city. They have four bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, attractive gardens. It is situated to provide immediate access to some of England's finest countryside as well as easy access to Bath, a World Heritage City.

Student's room: A tastefully decorated double room. Private shower facilities are available if requested.

Family/interests: They are interested in visual arts, finance, golf, cuisine, gardening, photography, literature, theatre. They have two children, Alex born in 1980 and Barnaby born in 1982. They like rugby, tennis, computers and music.

Pets: They have two cats
Smoking: They do not smoke.

- South East England

Elizabeth is a qualified teacher of English and has a Diploma from the Sorbonne in France. She is also a School Governor.

Her husband Jeremy has recently retired as Director General of the Association of Corporate Treasurers and has a number of non-executive appointments.

Prior to that he was Finance Director of the Economist Magazine and has been a Lecturer to senior managers in the past.

Home/location: They live in a beautiful, large 250-year-old Queen Anne house with a one acre garden on the edge of a village mid-way between Cambridge and London. Riding, tennis and swimming are available nearby.

Student's room: A tastefully decorated spacious room.

Family/interests: They are a cultured family with many interests, active in the village where they help to run a successful music club. Their children have now all left home but visit regularly.

Pets: They have a cat.
Smoking: No one in the family smokes.

- Los Angeles

In the USA we may arrange for you to stay in a really nice host family and then have a separate teacher visit you each day for your lessons. This system works well in the USA. Here is an example of one of our host teachers.

Qualifications/experience: Patricia is an experienced teacher of English gained in group and one-to-one classes. She has taught many different nationalities and is also experienced in training business executives. She has the Cambridge Certificate

Partner: Dave

Partner's occupation: Computer consultant

Home/location: They live in "The Palisades, a wealthy suburb of Los Angeles. They live in a comfortable home which has just been remodelled.

Student's room: A tastefully decorated room with private bathroom facilities.

Family/interests: They are interested in jogging, biking, playing tennis, gardening, cultural activities and going to the movies. They also like gardening. They have a son born in 1976 and a daughter Bentleigh born in 1977. They are away at College.

Pets: They have none
Smoking: Theirs is a non smoking household.

- Australia

Teacher: Kay

Qualifications/experience: RSA Certificate in TEFL. She is also an experienced high school teacher with additional qualifications in psychology and economics.

Partner: Solicitor

Home/location: They live in a beautiful large home with a private swimming pool and open deck area overlooking the city. The house is surrounded by lush tropical plants in a peaceful area.

Student's room: An airy room with lots of space next to a private bathroom.

Family/interests: They are interested in tennis and golf, having a spare set of clubs for students to borrow. They also enjoy rugby, soccer and cricket as spectators and love the theatre, travel and cooking.

They have three children: Rachel born in 1974 - living in Sydney, Matthew born in 1976 - living in London and Belinda born in 1980 - living in Brisbane.

Pets: None
Smoking: They do not smoke but allow smoking outside.