Your tutors
Shasha Li - Course Leader
Shasha has been teaching and supporting students in Higher Education in China and the UK for over 13 years. She has previously worked for Ocean University of China, Xi’an-Jiaotong Liverpool University, Communication University of China, and Nottingham Trent University.
Shasha has an MA in English Language Teaching from the University of Nottingham and a Cambridge Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.
At the University of Nottingham, Shasha works closely with academic faculties, schools/departments, and careers team to ensure our provision helps you reach your academic and career potentials.
David Bowen - Deputy Course Leader
David has been teaching in Higher Education for over 25 years. He previously worked for the University of Gdansk, and the University of Skopje.
David has an MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the University of Durham.
At the University of Nottingham, David has taught modules in the Faculty of Engineering and the School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies, and has worked with students from foundation to PhD level.
Joanna Al-Youssef
Joanna has been teaching and researching in higher education contexts since 1995, supporting students at foundation, Presessional, undergraduate and postgraduate levels at various UK universities and overseas.
Joanna holds an MA in English Language Teaching from the University of Nottingham, and an EdD (Doctor of Education) from the University of Bath, UK. Her main research interest is in the area of Internationalisation of Higher Education.
Since joining the University of Nottingham in 2010, Joanna has been teaching on Presessional English for Academic Purposes (PEAP) courses, and Academic Language and Communication Skills (ALACS) courses. She has also taught on various postgraduate programmes including: PGCE (Malaysia) programme, MA Teaching English for Academic Purposes (MA TEAP) and MA International Higher Education. Joanna is also a supervisor for doctoral students at the School of Education.
Dave Button
Dave has been teaching English since 1993, with over 17 years’ experience in Higher Education in the UK. He previously worked for Nottingham Trent University and the University of Birmingham and has been at CELE since 2010.
Dave has an MA in English Language Teaching from Nottingham Trent University and a Cambridge Certificate and Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.
At the University of Nottingham, Dave has worked on CELE programmes, teaching students across a wide range of disciplines at undergraduate, masters and PhD level.
Ewan Dinwiddie
Ewan has been working in education since 2005. He studied physics with astrophysics at undergraduate level, before undertaking an MA in English for Academic Purposes at the University of Nottingham.
Ewan has also taught with University College London, Nazarbayev University (Kazakhstan) and Nottingham Trent University.
At the University of Nottingham, Ewan has worked closely with students from the Schools of Engineering and Education, among others.
Angela Gillet
Angela has been teaching and supporting students in Higher Education for over 10 years. She previously worked as a teacher for the British Council in Thailand, Poland, Portugal, Italy, Hungary and Colombia.
Angela has a MEd in Educational Technology and English Language Teaching from the University of Manchester and a Cambridge Diploma in the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language to Adults.
At the University of Nottingham, Angela teaches on Presessional EAP and Academic Language and Communication Skills courses and has worked closely with the School of Education in supporting their MA TESOL/TCSOL students.
Simon Gooch
Simon has been teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP) for over 15 years, working with international students at undergraduate and postgraduate level on both presessional and insessional programmes at different UK universities (Cardiff, Lancaster, Nottingham Trent). He joined CELE in 2010 and has created and taught on a range of discipline-specific EAP courses, including business, engineering and environmental science.
Simon has an MA in Applied Linguistics for ELT. His areas of special interest currently include EAP curriculum and materials design, task-based learning and authenticity, critical thinking and the use of metaphor in the EAP classroom to help understanding and learning.
John Hall
John has been teaching in Higher Education for over 20 years. Before joining Nottingham in 2002, he worked as an English language tutor at Keele University. Prior to this, he worked for the British Council in Italy, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
John has a PGCE in Teaching English Overseas from the University of Manchester and an MA in TESOL from the Institute of Education in London.
At the University of Nottingham, John has worked as a course leader for both foundation and presessional programmes, and was closely involved in setting up the Ningbo, China campus. More recently he has provided academic language and communication skills support for students across a wide range of University of Nottingham courses, with a particular focus on the needs of mature students.
Richard Lee
Richard has been supporting students to improve their academic skills in Higher Education for over 20 years in the UK and the UAE. He has previously worked for the University of Essex and the University of the United Arab Emirates.
Richard has an MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Essex and a PGDip Education from the University of Nottingham. He is also a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Richard has worked extensively with the Schools of Education, Law, Veterinary Sciences, Biosciences and Engineering.
Sandra Leigh
Sandra has been teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP) for over 12 years, and she has worked in schools and higher education in the UAE, Lebanon and the UK. Sandra joined CELE in 2008,and has taught and led on programmes. As Presessional Course Leader for Term 4, she continues to support students at UG and PG levels.
Sandra is a member of the School of Education’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) committee. She has served on a variety of committees including the BME Attainment Gap steering group, Staff Network task and finish group, and the university’s Race Equality Charter Self-Assessment team. She is currently a member of EDI Sphere programme board, the university's Principal and Senior Fellowship HEA network and the BAME/BME network.
Sandra has a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching EAP, an MA in English Language Teaching, and a Doctorate in Education. She is also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Her teaching and research interests include effective feedback, materials development and the socialisation experiences of international students and students from multilingual/bilingual backgrounds.
Olga Burakov
Olga has been teaching and supporting students in Higher Education in the UK and the US for over 15 years. She has previously worked at the University of Lincoln, Fordham University (USA), and New York University (USA).
Olga holds an MA and a PhD in English from New York University (USA), and the Cambridge Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (DELTA). She is also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
At the University of Nottingham, Olga has taught on foundation and presessional academic skills modules and has worked with students from foundation to PhD levels.
John Rabone
John has been teaching and supporting students in Higher Education over 30 years. He has a BA (Hons., Exeter) in English Language and Literature and an MSc (Aston) in Teaching English for Specific Purposes. He has previously taught for the University of Nevada and the University of Tokyo.
At the University of Nottingham, John has worked closely with the Faculty of Engineering, and with the Schools of Law, Pharmacy and Health Sciences, among others.
Patience Sibanda
Patience has been supporting students with academic skills in Higher Education for over eight years. He has previously worked as a secondary school and ESOL in the Further Education sector and worked at De Montfort University in Leicester.
Patience has an MA in Educational Studies (University of Leicester), and a BA in Education degree (University of Zimbabwe). He also holds two PGCE certificates in education research (University of Nottingham) and English (secondary) (Nottingham Trent University).
At the University of Nottingham, Patience teaches on the foundation, presessional EAP and Aacademic Language and Communication Skills courses. He supports students from various departments, at varying levels.