Visited 7 hours ago
Darren Quinn
Smart Lesson
Professional TeacherTeaches
English
Native
Speaks
Bulgarian
Other
Specialties
Test PreparationCELTA Certified Teacher with 18 Years' Experience.
Teaches
English
Native
Speaks
Bulgarian
Other
Specialties
Test PreparationCELTA Certified Teacher with 18 Years' Experience.
About Me
Resume & Certificates
From IrelandLiving in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria (06:26 UTC+03:00)
About Me
italki teacher since Mar 18, 2020InterestsArtHistoryReadingPets & AnimalsWriting
CELTA-Certified English Teacher | Exam Expert | 18 Years’ Experience
I’m a professional English teacher from Ireland, living in Bulgaria.
I have been teaching English professionally for 18 years and have helped hundreds of students improve their confidence, fluency, and exam performance. I am also the owner of an English school in Bulgaria and a published author of two books on the Cambridge Advanced (CAE) exam.
I specialize in:
IELTS
CAE / FCE
SAT
GMAT
Speaking confidence
Advanced grammar and writing
Conversational English
My lessons are structured, communicative, and supportive. I focus on helping students speak naturally, understand English deeply, and make measurable progress.
Whether you are preparing for an important exam, improving your professional English, or simply becoming a more confident speaker, I will create lessons tailored to your goals and learning style.
Students often describe my teaching style as:
patient
encouraging
interesting
engaging
I believe learning English should feel challenging in a productive way — but never intimidating.
I look forward to helping you achieve your English goals.My teaching material
- PDF file
- Audio files
- Test templates and examples
- Text Documents
- Image files
- Articles and news
- Graphs and charts
- Presentation slides/PPT
- Video files
- Homework Assignments
Certificates
CELTA - Manchester Academy of English - 2010
Certificate verified
CELTA - University of Cambridge - 2010
Certificate verified
Teaching experience
2020 - Current
Teacher of EnglishAs the directors of a successful language school which catered for more than 250 students, my wife and I realised at one point that we were not doing the job we loved anymore. We were spending most of our time dealing with staff problems, timetables, and accountants. We were not teachers. We had become businesspeople. So we sold the school and went back to our roots. Now, I work with individual students and small groups, online and in person.
Education
1999 - 2002
Bachelor’s - English
Work Experience
2010 - 2020
Owner/Head TeacherAlong with my wife, I ran a successful language school in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria for several years. The school was a registered Cambridge exam centre. I taught hundreds of students. My teaching focused predominately on exam classes: FCE, CAE, TOEFL, IELTS, GMAT, SAT. I also trained dozens of teachers.
2022 - Current
WriterI have published two books of fiction, and one book of non-fiction. The non-fiction book is a guide on how to successfully pass the Cambridge Advanced C1 exam, Use of English section.
5.0
Rating
65
Students
1,259
Lessons
100%
Attendance rate
100%
Response rate
English Lessons
Trial Lesson
37 lessons completed
USD 5.00+
Cambridge Advanced C1 Exam
C1 - C2Test Preparation5 lessons completed
USD 17.00+
General English
B2 - C2Conversation3 lessons completed
USD 25.00
Package with 4% off
English Grammar Course
B2 - C2Language Essentials0 lessons completed
USD 25.00
Package with 6% off
Availability
40 Reviews
Виктория
31 English lessons
Teacher’s pick
I decided to take CAE exam and Darren helped me prepare for it. Our lessons were really helpful and interesting.
I've just finished my exam and I feel that I did well. Especially the writing and the speaking parts. Thank you!
I recommend him as a teacher for everyone who wants to take any exam or just to improve their English.
P.S. Thank you for the recommendations on spelling ("I see two mountains", "One coffee, two sugars" REALLY HELPFUL, I finally remembered how to spell these words, after so many years of learning English 😂 )
Jun 9, 2021
Lea
42 English lessons
Teacher’s pick
Fantastic teacher! Always well prepared and structured lessons. Excellent and various study material for IELTS exam.
My writing skills have improved during a short time. Thank you, Darren.
Aug 21, 2020
Lilian Carrillo
7 English lessons
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Aug 18, 2023
Samsa
12 English lessons
Teacher’s pick
One word describes this teacher: competent.
If you are really looking for someone to help, assist and support you in your journey with improving your English or preparing for an English exam, then Darren is definitely the teacher to choose! Not only is he friendly, knowledgeable and has a long experience in teaching english but he also did work as CAE exam instructor which means he knows exactly what you need if you are considering the CAE or similar exam. Thank you Darren, it was a pleasure having you as a teacher!
Oct 29, 2020
Alex Abades
17 English lessons
Darren is always polite and diligent. He is the teacher all of us would have loved to have when we were in middle and high school. Bear in mind that this doesn't mean his knowledge is at the level of a high school teacher; it goes far beyond.
Jun 5, 2024
Patrick
11 English lessons
Great lesson for the GMAT prep!
Jul 6, 2023
Trial Lesson
USD 5.00
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