We think our team is brilliant! All our teaching staff are professionally qualified teachers and teacher trainers. Our office team all have many years of experience. Follow the links below to read more about our staff, their work responsibilities and their interests.
Dr. Val Hennessy Dr. Jon Wright Pete Gibson Sveta Sargant Joe O'Hagan Liz Bowden Charlie Marshall Ian Watson	Jenny Cannell Matt Thompson Alan Clarke Stef Ficuciello Veronique Morgan Sue Cameron Katie Cutler Marina Ossovskaya

Our Fantastic Team

We're a really international team, as you can see.

All our teaching staff are professional teachers and teacher trainers. That's right - we all teach students and train teachers, too! Our teachers have lived and taught in many countries, including - China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Spain and Turkey, so we have lots of international experience.

We have also been asked to provide training abroad for groups of teachers in France, Italy, Germany, Peru, Portugal and Spain. We have lots of teaching experience, and of course lots of patience and enthusiasm.

Our Office team is also international, with many years of experience, and they're always ready to help you.

This international experience means we understand your particular needs, and your learning problems - and we have methods and materials to help you make the progress you want.

Hello, I'm Val, the director of The Language Project and the original founder. I'm from Dublin originally, but have lived here in Bristol for about 20 years now. I really like living here. It is a vibrant city, full of diversity and culture but not so big that you feel lost.

I am married with two young children, Saskia and Nicky, who go to school locally and take up almost all of my spare time I have. One day, I hope to write a novel but for now, I'm managing the school and working hard to turn TLP into a world leader in teaching English as a Second Language. I am also very interested in learning Arabic, but, as always, time is a bit of a problem. I do not travel as extensively as I used to but I spend quite a lot of time in the Netherlands - my husband is Dutch - and try to spend holiday times in a country which allows me to practise one of my foreign languages.

I am currently working on a new approach to teaching tenses which I hope to turn into a book at some time. I still enjoy reading a lot and I still loan books to students who are interested in improving their English that way. Now I am in a position to recommend excellent children's books, too, which some people might find a good place to start!

I am always delighted to hear from former students, some of whom drop in for visits on their way through Bristol and some of whom I meet by accident in airports! the best thing about his job is the people, so don't be shy about letting me know what you are doing now.

To find out more about me, you can look at my top ten cities, my top ten books and my all time top ten childrens books .

After 20 wonderful years working with staff, students, agents and collegues at The Language Project, Dr. Jon Wright has decided to leave the company as of 30 November 2007.

He will be starting a new life with new opportunities and new challenges in Manchester. And he'll be relaxing a bit, too!

I have been teaching English for nearly ten years, and have worked here as a teacher trainer since 1998. I spent some time teaching in secondary schools in Greece, which was a fantastic experience and a great opportunity to learn the language.

I am the Director of Studies, so I work closely with Jon and Val to make sure the students get the most out of every aspect of their time here.

I like the challenge of finding new ways to help students to learn more effectively, and I'm especially interested in using newspapers, videos and songs to make lessons even more fun and effective. My particular responsibility is for the day-to-day smooth running of the school, and our Certificate training programmes.

To find out more about me, have a look at my top ten comedies, my top ten guitarists and my top ten voices of famous singers.

Hi, I'm Sveta and I'm the Head of Sales and Office. I am originally from Vladivostok in Russia, but I worked and studied in Japan for three years up to 2005. In Japan, I improved my Japanese, met new friends and learned about Japanese culture and traditions. I also worked as an interpreter and tour guide.

Before I moved to Japan, I studied Japanese and Russian, Far East - Japanese economic relationships at Vladivostok State University in Russia.

In December 2005, I moved to Bristol, where I am hoping to settle down. I joined the Language Project in July 2007 and enjoy my role managing the office. You can e-mail me in Russian, Japanese or English if you have any questions about courses or about the school in general. I will be happy to help.

To find out more about me, you can look at my top ten things to see and do in Bristol.

I'm one of the senior teachers and I've been teaching English at The Language Project for over four years now. Before that I was a secondary school English teacher in the UK and in The Gambia, so I am always happy to study poetry and literature with students. I've also spent a year living and learning French in Paris, so I can remember what it feels like learning a language abroad.

I work closely with Pete, the Director of Studies, and the other senior teachers to make sure students are getting the most out of their English classes, but one of my other jobs is to help students learn and enjoy English outside the classroom. I help organise the fantastic Study Room here, where we have over ten thousand hours of extra practice materials to help you.

I love Salsa dancing, so I often take students to dance classes. Let me know if you're interested! To find out more about me, you can look at my top ten experiences in Paris.

Hi, I'm Liz. I've been teaching English for over ten years and have been working at The Language Project since January 2007.

My first teaching job was in the small mountain town of Tripolis in Greece, which was an amazing experience.

I've also taught in Portugal and more recently in Italy where I lived and worked for five years.

I enjoy helping students understand the complexities of English grammar, phrasal verbs and idiomatic phrases and expressions.

I can speak some Italian and a little Greek so I have a good idea what it's like trying to learn and understand a new foreign language.

I am responsible for our Teacher Training Programmes, in particular our Cert TESOL course and our Trinity Diploma course.

To find out more about me, you can have a look at my top ten Led Zeppelin songs.

I have been teaching English since 1991. I taught in Greece for five years, first in a remote mountain location and then in the slightly less wild port city of Volos. I also taught in Japan for five years, which included two years working in a steel company as an in-house trainer.

Having taken time out to study web design and computers, I am now keen to include information technology in my teaching. I like adapting internet material to produce lessons, and I have my own website for TEFL teachers at  www.tefl-magic.com.

My responsibilities here include organising the Computer Room resources and general maintenance of the school and its equipment. I also maintain and develop this website. If you have any questions or comments about the working or content of the website, you can send me an e-mail.

To find out more about me, you can look at my all time top ten karaoke songs and also my top ten places.

Hello, I'm Ian and I started working at The Language Project in the summer of 2005. Before coming here I spent an inspirational year working in China, and my ambition is to return one day to see more of it!

In my lessons, I like to ensure my students have fun communicating with each other in English, especially making each other laugh. I like to use authentic materials in my classes especially authentic listening such as songs and videos.

Music and video games take up a great chunk of my spare time and if you wish, you can learn a little more about me by checking out my top ten videogames of the last few years.

To find out more about me, you can look at my top ten computer games .

Hi, I'm Jenny. I've been working at The Language Project since the beginning of 2007. Before that, I taught English in Austria, China and most recently, I spent two years in Lisbon, Portugal, which I really loved.

I studied foreign languages for many years and I am still trying to learn Portuguese, so I know how important it is to make classes interesting and enjoyable for students, with plenty of opportunities for everyone to practise. I am also responsible for organising the Introduction to Teaching English course.

One of my main interests is travel and finding out about different cultures and places to visit around the world.

To find out more about me, take a look at my top ten sunsets from various places around the world.

Hi, I'm Matt and I've been working at The Language Project since the summer of 2006. Before that I spent several months working with 'New Frontiers' in Guinea, teaching English to refugees from Sierra Leone. In preparation for living in West Africa, I also studied in France so I know how it feels to learn a foreign language abroad.

I was born and bred in Bristol so as one of my roles, I help to organise some fantastic events for the social programme to make your time outside of the classroom as fun and enjoyable as possible while you are with us in Bristol.

Films, music and sport are three of my main interests so I enjoy using authentic materials in class, especially TV and film clips. The funnier, the better!

To find out more about me, you can look at my top ten classic kids TV shows from the eighties and nineties.

I'm Alan, and I'm the newest (but by no means the youngest) teacher at The Language Project. I've lived in Bristol for over thirty years, and I used to work as a trade union official for a small union in the financial sector. In December 2005, I trained to become a TEFL teacher and spent the summer of 2005 teaching Junior English at The Language Project and working on the social programme.

I joined the full-time staff in May 2007. As well as teaching I also help organise the Social Programme, creating a lively programme of events and activities for you to enjoy while you practise and improve your English.

As a language learner myself - mainly French and German but also starting Spanish - I have a lot of symapthy and admiration for our students. English can be a frustrating language to learn because of the exceptions to almost every grammatical rule, and of course the well-known differences between spelling and pronunciation.

In my spare time, I enjoy reading - mainly fiction but also some poetry, history and drama. I also play chess (reasonably well) and bridge (not so well) and spend my holidays on European city breaks.

To find out more about me, you can look at my top ten European city breaks.

Hello, I'm Stef and I'm the receptionist. I'm Italian. I come from the city of naples. I've lived in Bristol since 1983. I really enjoy meeting students of different nationalities.

I am also a qualified language tutor and I have taught Italian for many years at one of the further education colleges in Bristol.

My hobbies and interests include reading, travelling and listening to classical music.

To find out more about me and my musical tastes, you can look at my top ten operas.

Hello, I am Veronique, I am originally from Paris and joined The Language Project in 2008 to manage the book-keeping of the school and also to help Sue with the host families.

I first came to the UK 20 years ago, to improve my knowledge of English. At the time I joined a small school called 'The Language Project', Val was my teacher. The school has grown tremendously since then.

I passed the 'Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency' in English in Bristol in 1989 before returning to Paris. I came back to Bristol in 1998 and qualified as an accountant (AAT) in 2005. I then worked in an accountancy practice for two years before joining the school.

I enjoy meeting people from all over the world and spending my free time with my family and friends.

My husband loves cooking curries, so I thought I would share with you my top ten Indian recipes.

Hi I'm Sue. I joined the Language Project in January 2008 but I also helped out during the summer season in 2007.

I'm from Bristol, I'm married and have three grown up sons, a daughter and six grandchildren. While my children were growing up, I worked as an auxiliary nurse at the local hospital. My children were in a marching band which needed a lot of fund-raising so that they could travel overseas. We also welcomed other bands to Bristol that we have hosted for the last thirty years, so I am used to having many students in our home.

I have worked in another company as an accommodation officer so I've gained experience in the welfare of students. Also, for the past three years, I have been involved in residential care of young people with various health problems.

To find out more about me, why don't you have a look at my top ten beaches around the world.

Hi, I'm Katie and I started working here in 2007, at the summer school, and then on a part time basis until coming aboard full time in March 2008. I also trained as a teacher here, so have experienced being a student here as well!

I studied French and Spanish to university level and have learnt some Italian, so I am familiar with the difficulties of learning a new language and know how important it is to keep classes varied and interesting. I am also very enthusiastic about language learning, which I hope comes across in my lessons.

I enjoy reading, all sorts of music, and watching films, so I use authentic materials, including songs and texts from novels in my classes. I also love travelling, and plan to do a lot more in the future.

I also have a very sweet tooth and you can find out more by taking a look at my all-time top ten chocolate treats.

Hello, my name is Marina and I am from St Petersburg ( for me, the most beautiful city in the world ) Russia. I moved to the UK in 2007 after marrying my English husband.

I joined the team in 2008 as the administrator after working in retail sales and administration. I studied English in Russia for 3 years before coming to the UK and studied it here for 6 months. I have also studied German and Dutch in the past. I thoroughly enjoy learning new language skills.

My interests are reading ( particularly detective and adventure novels) , going to the theatre, travelling, walking and meeting new people.

I also have a passion for classic cars and would like you to view my top ten classic car favourites. Please also see my top ten detective novelists.