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Matt Sturgess
Professional TeacherProfessional Teacher![]()
Teaches
English
Native
Speaks
Chinese (Mandarin)
Spanish
Specialties
KidsTest PreparationCELTA qualified, 12 years' experience, expert in natural conversational English and IELTS Speaking
Teaches
English
Native
Speaks
Chinese (Mandarin)
Spanish
Specialties
KidsTest PreparationCELTA qualified, 12 years' experience, expert in natural conversational English and IELTS Speaking
About Me
Me as a Teacher
My lessons & teaching style
Resume & Certificates
From United KingdomLiving in Nottingham, United Kingdom (19:00 UTC+02:00)
About Me
italki teacher since Oct 5, 2021InterestsFoodTravelReadingFilms & TV SeriesSports & Fitness
🏕️ If you like travel, the outdoors, sport, reading and food you'll be able to talk to me for hours!
🌎 I've lived in loads of different countries, including China 🇨🇳 and Spain 🇪🇸
🏔️ I've been to about 40 countries, but my favourites were Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Sri Lanka.
⚽️ I support my local football team: Nottingham Forest
🗣️ I can speak Chinese, and I'm currently learning Spanish!Me as a Teacher
- I taught English in China from 2014-2018
- In 2018 I became the lead teacher in my school, I also travelled around China training other English teachers
- At the end of 2018 I went back to the UK and taught IELTS courses in a local college
- In 2019 I started teaching online, and went full time in 2020!
- I have taught students from every continent of the world (apart from Antarctica), one of my proudest working achievements!My lessons & teaching style
- The best way to learn a language is to use it, so I make sure that my students get LOADS of natural speaking practice in our class
- I believe that we learn better when we enjoy what we're doing, so I always make sure my lessons are fun and interesting for my students, whether they're adults or kids!
- My lessons are tailor-made to the student and my courses are flexible. In our trial class we will discuss your goals, level, and get to know each other better, then I'll make a detailed course plan especially for you
- I use the best quality modern materials that allow us to have fun and experiment with language
- I specialise in helping IELTS students boost their speaking and writing scoresMy teaching material
- PDF file
- Audio files
- Flashcards
- Test templates and examples
- Graphs and charts
- Articles and news
- Image files
- Text Documents
- Presentation slides/PPT
- Video files
- Quizzes
- Homework Assignments
Certificates
Teaching English Online - Cambridge English - 2019I completed a short course in teaching English online delivered by Cambridge English in February 2019.
Certificate verified
CELTA - ILS English - 2019I completed the full-time CELTA course in October 2019
Certificate verified
Employment Contract - Fast Track IELTS - 2019I was a dedicated IELTS and OET instructor delivering courses on behalf of Fast Track IELTS Ltd. I have attached my employment contract here. I have included only the first and final pages of the contract as I am limited to uploading 2mb.
Certificate verified
Employment Contract - Effective Learning Ltd, China - 2017I taught children in China for over 4 years, in both public and private institutions. I attach here a contract from a private education institution in which I worked for 3 years.
Certificate verified
TEFL - LoveTEFL - 2014I completed the 120-hour TEFL course in January 2014.
Certificate verified
Teaching experience
2014 - 2018
Lead TeacherI taught classroom English to students of all ages and abilities. My role included planning lessons and developing my own materials. In my final year I became Lead Teacher of the school, taking on extra responsibilities in course development, teacher training and student feedback reporting. I believe all of these elements will be relevant to my work with italki.
2019 - 2020
English and IELTS TeacherI taught General English and IELTS courses as ILS after completing my CELTA there in 2019. The classes were all classroom based but required similar skills to teaching online: Course structuring and lesson planning, developing classroom materials, adapting textbooks and ebooks, delivering lessons to students of different abilities and nationalities.
2019 - Current
English TeacherI began teaching English online to private clients the beginning of 2019 having just returned home from teaching in China. Most of my clients have been students that I met whilst in China and have kept in contact with, along with others that have generally been acquired through word of mouth recommendations. Alongside this, I have been working for a local English school which moved all of its classes permanently online in September 2019. I am therefore well-versed in online language teaching.
Education
2020 - 2021
Master's - Asian and International StudiesI have recently completed a Master's in Asian and International Studies (with Mandarin) at the University of Nottingham. I am currently awaiting my final grade, which is due in November 2021, and am predicted to achieve a Distinction.
2016 - 2020
Bachelor’s - BusinessI studied a BA in Business, graduating with first class honours.
Work Experience
2014 - 2018
English Teacher, Lead TeacherI taught classroom English to students of all ages and abilities. My role included planning lessons and developing my own materials. In my final year I became Lead Teacher of the school, taking on extra responsibilities in course development, teacher training and student feedback reporting. I believe all of these elements will be relevant to my work with italki.
2019 - 2020
English TeacherI taught General English and IELTS courses as ILS after completing my CELTA there in 2019. The classes were all classroom based but required similar skills to teaching online: Course structuring and lesson planning, developing classroom materials, adapting textbooks and ebooks, delivering lessons to students of different abilities and nationalities.
2019 - Current
Online English TeacherI began teaching English online to private clients the beginning of 2019 having just returned home from teaching in China. Most of my clients have been students that I met whilst in China and have kept in contact with, along with others that have generally been acquired through word of mouth recommendations. Alongside this, I have been working for a local English school which moved all of its classes permanently online in September 2019. I am therefore well-versed in online language teaching.
5.0
Rating
286
Students
1,615
Lessons
100%
Attendance rate
100%
Response rate
English Lessons
Trial Lesson
213 lessons completed
USD 5.00+
Conversation Class
B1 - C2Conversation1,052 lessons completed
USD 25.00+
Package with 4% off
IELTS Speaking Class
B1 - C2Test Preparation21 lessons completed
USD 25.00+
Package with 6% off
Kids' Stories
A1 - C2Kids20 lessons completed
USD 25.00+
Package with 6% off
Kids' Stories
A1 - C2Language Essentials10 lessons completed
USD 25.00+
Package with 6% off
Cambridge KET / PET Class | 剑桥英语考试
A1 - C2Test Preparation18 lessons completed
USD 25.00+
Package with 4% off
Availability
Based on your timezone (UTC+00:00)
98 Reviews
Daniel
26 English lessons
Teacher’s pick
Matt is one of the best English teachers I’ve ever met. He has a rare talent for making you speak. Even though our classes follow a normal dialogue structure, I end up speaking 90% of the time – something no other teacher has managed to achieve.
Another great quality of Matt is his adaptability. He’s always ready to meet all of my learning needs. Some years ago, we focused on casual conversation; this year, he helped me prepare for my final speaking exam. Now, we’re going to strengthen my B2-level.
On top of that, Matt is just a great person – charismatic, easygoing, cheerful, and he’s got a fantastic British accent!
Jun 9, 2025
Ivanka
16 English lessons
Teacher’s pick
Matt是一个非常好的英文老师，很快能捕捉到Ivanka的兴趣点和话题点，又能拉回到课堂内容，很有亲和力和耐心。非常期待接下来的课程。孩子非常喜欢他
Nov 9, 2022
Wendy
14 English lessons
Mat is very nice，and he is also known good about Chinese.😊
Aug 28, 2025
Ashley
7 English lessons
Teacher’s pick
很久没面对面英语交流了，虽然隔着屏幕，我还是会紧张的。感觉很不错！会想要继续上课。一些我不能很好表达的语句，老师能够get到我的意思，并且在我需要的时候提示我说出来。
As a new user in italki, this is my first lesson. Having some similarities in experience is amazing! Although I am a introverted person (according to MBTI test), I feel good and relax in the conversation.
Jul 16, 2024
Shan
8 English lessons
Matt is a very patient, easygoing, and friendly teacher. He answers your questions carefully and gives constructive feedback. He has a kind of magic that makes you keep talking.
Aug 29, 2025
CN0018
2 English lessons
I'm incredibly grateful to have met Matt, who has been such a tremendous help in improving my English skills. He is always punctual and patiently answers my questions, going above and beyond to assist me in every way possible. Words cannot express how thankful I am to have such an exceptional teacher like him. Matt, you're truly the best!
Aug 27, 2025
Trial Lesson
USD 5.00
Your final payment will be made in USD