Our Teachers and Support Staff

At Coventry FoundationCampus you will enjoy being taught by tutors with high academic qualifications and rich life experiences. Here are just a few of them...

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English Tutor

Sharon Spiers

Currently I am a personal tutor for students on Campus and teach English across the programmes offered at FoundationCampus Coventry. I am passionate about supporting students to fulfil their potential both academically and personally.

I have recently joined the team at FoundationCampus after spending over ten years teaching in the Further Education sector. During my time here, I have found that the learning experience at Coventry FoundationCampus is not isolated to just the students. I benefit from the rich cultural interchange that occurs. This informs my teaching practice and challenges me to develop teaching methods. It is a dynamic place and I enjoy the support of fellow colleagues.

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Mathematics Tutor

Mojtaba Ammari-Allahyari

My career began at the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research and Technology where I spent eight years teaching in the Tehran State Universities, establishing research centres and Directing the Statistical Unit of the Higher Education Council.

Following this experience, I came to the UK to teach and undertake a PhD in Mathematics at Warwick University, which I will complete in the Spring of 2010.

I like teaching at FoundationCampus Coventry for a number of reasons. Firstly we have a wonderful team here, and there is a lovely educational and academic atmosphere.

Secondly, I think FoundationCampus does a great job filling the gap between School and University knowledge. In my speciality, Mathematics, we know that the gap is huge and how important it is to provide the education to fill it.

FoundationCampus is the best place for students to achieve their educational goals. We are working on this 'education gap' by planning and executing a very sophisticated and selective curriculum to bridge school and university mathematics. 

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Maths and Chemistry Tutor

Dr Liza Jaafar

I graduated from University of Birmingham in 2008 with a PhD in Chemical Engineering. I have more than 10 years experience teaching Mathematics and Chemistry at schools, colleges and universities in the UK and Malaysia. I am married with three children and live in Birmingham.

It is my goal to make the students understand and enjoy learning Maths and Chemistry. As well as teaching, I enjoy my role as a personal tutor to my students. I have been an international student myself and I feel my experiences give me insight and understanding of the difficulties and problems that the international students can face in a foreign country. All the staff here are working hard together to make sure that the students will have the best possible future.

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English Tutor

Gwenola Bescond

After completing a Master's degree in English and Education and a PGCE in languages, I have been teaching several languages: English, French, Spanish and Latin for 7 years.

I have seven years experience teaching English, French, Spanish and Latin. I hold a Master's degree in English and Education, a PGCE in languages and  am currently undertaking a PhD in Education and I am concentrating on Second Language Acquisition, technology and motivation.

Teaching is my passion. I am a Lecturer and teach at the University of Warwick and Coventry University. At FoundationCampus, I mainly teach Academic English for the Master's Qualifying Programme.

I love teaching at the FoundationCampus centre. I believe that this unique experience prepares students thoroughly for UK academic life: thanks to this centre, prospective students are ready for a British Education. The exposure to multiple facets of various cultures in the classrooms also enlightens students by conditioning them and helping them to develop into better professionals.

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English Tutor

James Henry

After graduating with a degree in History from Nottingham University in 2000, I did my CELTA English teaching qualification and then went on to teach English in Turkey for a year. Following that experience, I taught in Italy for three years and studied to become DELTA (Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults) qualified.

I teach English on various IELTS courses at FoundationCampus and on the English preparation course for students who need more help with their English. I also teach on Business English and Essay Writing courses at Coventry University.

for me, the most rewarding aspect of my job is the opportunity to work with students from lots of different cultures and the challenge of preparing them to succeed in the British University system.

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Lecturer in ICT

Sharon King

Before coming to work for FoundationCampus I taught computing related subjects for over 11 years at Henley College. However, I originally started my career in retails management.

At present, I am close to completing my MSc in Computer Science with Coventry University and live in a lovely village, just outside Northampton, with my daughter Jessica and our two cats, Angelo and Sabrina.

I teach foundation level ICT (Information Communication Technology) which covers the basics of computing and software use. The knowledge gained from this course will provide the students with a strong foundation on which to build and develop more specialist skills when they progress onto their chosen degree course.

For me, the best thing about working at FoundationCampus is the opportunity to help people learn new ideas and skills and to further develop those they already possess. The students here are bright, very keen to learn, polite and very well mannered. Not only am I teaching them, but they provide me with insight into other cultures and even other technologies.

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English and Sociology Tutor

Sara Campbell

My name is Sara Campbell and I teach English and Sociology at Foundation Campus. Having recently returned to the UK after teaching English in Barcelona for many years I particularly enjoy working in a multi cultural atmosphere in an academic environment.



 

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Head of Maths & Science

Debjani Goswami

My name is Debjani Goswami and I am a tutor of Physics at Coventry FoundationCampus and a teacher of Engineering at the University of Coventry.

I am Indian National, but currently live in Birmingham with my daughter. Before coming here, I taught for some years in different schools and colleges in Dubai and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, and have also taught Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Pembrookeshire College in South Wales.

I enjoy teaching with my students of different Nationalities and helping them in varieties way to understand the subjects clearly and also I like the friendly atmosphere on campus.

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English and Psychology Lecturer

Sukhbender Singh

As well as having extensive experience of teaching (English and Psychology), I have also worked on many documentary films as a researcher and editor, and as a scriptwriter for the BBC. I am currently working on some radio drama ideas for BBC radio 4.

The diversity of the students and the staff ensures working at FOC is always enjoyable and stimulating.

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Pathway Leader for English as a Foreign language

Neville Walker

I graduated from Loughborough University in 1986 with an honours degree in Chemical Engineering. Following that I started teaching English teaching in 1990, a career that has taken me around the UK, to Germany, Austria and Cambodia. Subsequently, I am fluent in German and can speak Cambodian passably!!

I joined FoundationCampus Coventry in September 2008, when it started, and have enjoyed being part of the team. I enjoy mixing with the students, who come from many different parts of the world and I also enjoy working with a group of teachers and office staff who are committed to helping these students reach their potential.

All of the students at FoundationCampus Coventry have to achieve a certain level of English to be able to proceed on to the next step of their educational path. My role is to ensure that by continuing to develop the English Course content and by supporting the English Teachers in their professional development an ever increasing pass rate is achieved by the students.

From a personal point of view, it is important for me to be working in a situation where I can spend a lot of my time working in those areas where I excel – and I feel that I am encouraged to do so at FoundationCampus Coventry.

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Deputy Centre Head

Michael Orr-Love

I have several years teaching and lecturing experience in further and higher education, specialising in Media, Sociology, Politics and Cultural Studies. I am also a published author and examiner.

As deputy Head at Coventry FoundationCampus, I head the teaching and learning in the centre. My role is to ensure that teaching programmes are of an excellent quality and suitable for further study at Coventry University. I also monitor student progress, making sure that attendance and assessments are meeting individual targets and expectations.

Our centre is a vibrant and forward-thinking one, which reflects the ethos of Coventry University, which has an exciting range of courses available at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Students enjoy their time with us; our graduates describe how well the course prepared them for university study. They were well-prepared because we have a great team; everyone is very friendly, incredibly knowledgeable and highly committed to student success