 | Mark Aston |
| 2008 | University of Newcastle – Postgraduate Diploma in Education |
| 2007 | University of Newcastle – Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Primary) |
| 1996 | International House, London – RSA Certificate for English Language Teaching |
| 1992–1995 | University of Exeter – BA Hons – English Literature |
| 2007–2009 |
Class Teacher at Mowbray First School, Northumberland, UK History Co-ordinator and Website Developer |
| 2006 | Teacher of English, International House School of English, Newcastle, UK |
| 1999–2005 | Product Management with Peter Collin Publishing, Orange Mobile, Franklin and Oregon Scientific |
| 1996–1998 | Teacher of English, International House School of English, Estonia, Lithuania and in the UK |
I have taught English overseas and in the UK to children and adults. Working in UK primary schools, I have taught a range of subjects, including mathematics, English, science, history, art and computing.
The
nationalities I have taught include Japanese, Lithuanian, French,
German, Spanish, Polish, Turkish, Italian, Estonian and Russian.
I enjoy practical learning activities – projects that give purpose to
learning objectives. This might involve teaching children magic tricks
for a performance – or teaching children how to write a joke in
preparation for a comedy show. For me, learning has to be memorable,
with an element of challenge.
I am
fascinated by technology, and have worked with companies to develop
innovative educational electronics in the UK and Europe. In the UK, I
launched an electronic handheld Oxford Dictionary with Franklin, and I
worked with Berlitz, the BBC and Oxford University Press to develop a
range of education services for the Orange mobile telephone network.
British nationality
In my spare time, I have performed improvised comedy in venues in the UK and I enjoy attending comedy workshops.
I also write about education, reviewing books for the Times Educational Supplement. In 2001, I co-wrote an English-language textbook for Peter Collin Publishing.
When the weather
is nice, I like to get away from my computer and go windsurfing. However, if the
wind is too strong, I tend to spend more time in the water than on the board.
My latest project is a race against my two young children to become fluent in
Czech! They are currently winning.