About Mark
I help capable adults sound like themselves when they speak English.
In brief: Mark Gather is an English coach for adult professionals, based in Bournemouth in the UK and coaching online. He has taught English to adults for twenty years, six of them in Barcelona, and holds an MSc in Psychology from Bournemouth University. He works with B2-C1 professionals who want to sound like themselves in live English conversations.
Teaching background
I have spent twenty years teaching English to adults: business English in company offices, university classes, exam candidates, and professionals who needed English for the job they already had. Six of those years have been in Barcelona, in companies, schools, and universities.
Learning from the inside
I am also doing the work myself, right now. I am preparing for the DELE C1 Spanish exam, using the techniques I teach. The method is visible in my own learning. I know what it is to be articulate in one language and suddenly less available in another.
Psychology and research
For a long time, I kept noticing the same thing. Some students had strong English on paper. They could read, write, understand, prepare, pass exams, and explain complex ideas. Then an unplanned speaking moment arrived, and something changed. The language did not disappear exactly. The live moment changed what they could do with it.
That question took me deeper into psychology, memory, motivation, confidence, and the conditions that shape live speaking.
I hold an MSc in Psychology from Bournemouth University, spent two years in doctoral research, co-authored a published paper, and have delivered CPD workshops at the University of Winchester. My work now brings that background together with practical English coaching for adults.
Most English coaches are language people. A handful are psychology people. I spent two decades becoming both.
The work now
The work is not about becoming a different person in English. It is about the same person, with more of you available when it matters.
Workshops for universities and business schools
Alongside the 1:1 coaching, I run online sessions for universities and business schools. The usual first step is a free 45-minute taster for students and alumni, Sounding Like Yourself in English. It looks at what decides how a capable speaker comes across in an interview or a presentation, and what to practise for it. Longer workshops, or a series across a term, can follow if the taster is useful.
To talk about a session for your students, email markgather@hotmail.com.