Fredrik was born in Malmo, Sweden in 1980. He left Sweden for Scotland to study History at the University of Aberdeen and it was during the summer breaks while at university that he discovered that he enjoyed teaching English.

After university he returned to Sweden, before going to England and gaining a CELTA certificate. He then spent the next six years teaching in China before coming to Ukraine.  Fredrik obtained his IHCYLT in 2011.  His main interest is still history, and he also enjoys playing chess in his free time.

Nasser is the Assistant Director Teaching Centre. He was born in Tehran, Iran and moved to Cheltenham, England at an early age. He gained a BA (Hons) in Politics at the University College of Swansea in 1993. Having decided that he wanted to travel around the world, he chose to take a CELTA course, and later completed DELTA. He taught in Russia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Egypt, Jordan and Singapore before starting in Kyiv in August 2011. Nasser feels that the biggest pleasure in teaching is the fact he learns just as much as his students do.

Nasser loves listening to music (a huge fan of the late, great Frank Zappa), reading (favourite authors Graham Greene, Joseph Heller and George Orwell) and watching films (best ever movie ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’). He also enjoys travelling, learning languages, hiking and eating. He adores Middle Eastern and Vietnamese cuisines.

Lyudmyla is from Uman and has a degree from the Kyiv Linguistic University as a Teacher of English Language and Literature. She also has a CELTA and IHCYLT.

She has been working as a teacher for over ten years and joined the British Council Kyiv in April 2008. She enjoys teaching Young Learners and General and Business English to adults. Her hobbies are ballroom dancing, tennis and travelling.

David is from Scotland and has a Bachelor of Science in History and Geography. He also has a PGCE in Geography, a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Education for returning teachers from the University of Kent and a Cert TESOL qualification.  David obtained his IHCYLT in 2011.

David has been teaching English for over ten years and joined the British Council Kyiv in January 2006 and has also taught in Spain and Indonesia. He enjoys teaching Business and Financial English and his hobbies are travelling and reading.

Katya is from Russia and has an MA Honours in Linguistics from the Department of English and German Languages of the Pyatigorsk State Linguistic University. She also has a CELTA and an IHCYLT and prior to becoming a teacher worked as a translator and interpreter for the Kyiv Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Katya’s teaching interests are teaching adults and General English. As a former linguistics major she believes that the key to success is through communication and self-motivation. Her hobby is jogging.

Julyan is from Croydon and has a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural and Historical studies. He has a CELTA, an IHCYLT and is a Cambridge FCE/CAE examiner. He taught in Odessa for nine years before coming to the British Council in 2009, and is most happy in a class of enthusiastic learners.

He enjoys speaking Russian in his free time, and would like to visit Krizhopal one day. His passion is mixing music; focussing mainly on a mash up of genres, overlaid with break beats and dirty bass lines with a bit of oomph.

Anastasiia was born in Kyiv and studied at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. She started teaching English when she was 18 and, having discovered the joy of teaching, she soon gained her CELTA. She also has her CPE and IHCTYL. She has been with the British Council since 2008.  Before she started teaching here in 2012, she worked as an assistant for the Exams Department and Teaching Centre.

She is interested in the psychological aspects of education and tailoring her lessons to her students’ individual needs.  Anastasiia is currently enrolled in a distance education programme in Psychology from Athabasca University.

Her hobbies include amateur dramatics (both acting and producing), reading (modern classics), creative writing (her ambition is to write a novel and a respective screen play one day), learning languages, travelling and rollerblading.

Tonya comes from Hmelnytsky. She graduated with honours from Lviv State University as a Teacher of English and Literature. Tonya holds both a CELTA (with CELTYL extension) and a DELTA.

Tonya first started working for the British Council Kyiv in 2011. Before this she taught English for more than 10 years in Poland and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

She is a Cambridge examiner and enjoys teaching both General English and Business English.

Her hobbies are travelling, meeting new people, history of art and learning foreign languages.

Brendan is Director English and Exams.  He started his teaching career in Slovakia. He lived there for 8 years and obtained CELTA, DELTA and CELTYL. He considers Slovakia his home base now - his wife is Slovak and they are building a house there.

After Slovakia he moved into management. He was a Senior Teacher at the British Council in Bologna and then Warsaw. He then managed the British Council teaching centres in Ladprao (a suburb of Bangkok) and Coimbra, Portugal. He also has a Masters degree in ELT Management.

Brendan’s main passion is football and he’s an avid supporter of Newcastle United. He also loves gadgets and he has a keen interest in history.

Matthew is the Senior Teacher Young Learners for the British Council in Kyiv.  He was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK and started his teaching career in Prague.  Before moving to Kyiv in 2011, Matthew worked for the British Council in Bahrain and since then has been active in teacher training for both the British Council and external organisations.  He has presented and published papers at a range of national and international conferences and also acts as a manuscript reviewer for educational journals.

Matthew holds a Cambridge Diploma (DELTA), CELTA and CELTYL, as well as a Post-Graduate Advanced Diploma in Applied Linguistics. He completed his Masters in Education in September 2012.  His professional interests include teacher development, young learner autonomy and international education.

In his free time, Matthew enjoys running, cycling, music and being outdoors.

James was born and raised in Streatham, south west London and then went on to study Philosophy and Politics at the University of Liverpool. After university he trained as a journalist, obtaining a distinction from the National Council for the training of Journalists in 2003.

He has written for the Liverpool News and Echo, and the Wimbledon News and Guardian where he covered matches of his beloved AFC Wimbledon. James passed the CELTA certificate in 2004, DELTA in 2011 (specialising in Business English) and IH Young Learner certificate in 2012. He is an IELTS speaking and writing examiner as well as a Cambridge examiner (FCE, KET, PET). He has taught in Odessa and Mykolayiv, in Ukraine, Messina, in Italy, and at numerous summer schools in England.

He started working for the British Council in September 2009. James loves sports, art, travelling and playing the guitar.

Maria was born in Samara, Russia and graduated from Shevchenko University in Kiev with a Master’s Degree in Spanish and English. She also studied Hotel Management, holds a CELTA certificate, an IHCYLT, and worked as a translator in Ukraine before becoming a teacher.

Maria joined the British Council in July 2010. She likes teaching adults and enjoys variety and diversity in teaching. Maria used to be a ballroom dancer, but now she is keen on cycling, hiking and travelling during her free time.

Gwyn is from North Wales.  He has loved Eastern Europe and has enjoyed reading about it since the age of 13. His first degree is in International Relations and his second in Soviet and East European Studies. Quite naturally one of his interests is studying Russian, which he has done off and on for 10 years or so.

He has been a Cambridge Main Suite examiner since 2008, which is interesting and challenging at times. He started teaching in 2000 and was with the British Council in Moscow and Cairo before coming to Kyiv in 2012.

Gwyn has the CELTA and CELTYL.  He has also recently done the Cert IBET and is interested in continuing his professional development.

Katherine was born in Grodno, Western Belarus. She got her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Linguistics at Minsk State Linguistic University. After nine years of university teaching she made a gradual shift from dry theory to lively TEFL practice – and has not regretted it ever since.

Through the years Katherine has taught various English language courses for all ages in Minsk, Moscow, Kharkiv and Kyiv. A CAE/FCE examiner, her biggest interest is teaching IELTS and other exam preparation courses. Katherine has done CELTA (Grade A) and two modules of DELTA; she holds an IHCYLT and IELTS (Band 9) certificates.

In her free time, Katherine translates books from English into Russian (incl. novels by Chuck Palahniuk, Douglas Coupland, Neil Gaiman) and writes SF&F stories. In 2008, she was awarded the literary translation prize Zerkalo (‘Mirror’). Katherine is a member of the Russian Writers’ Union.

Dasha comes from Crimea and has Master’s degree from Taurida National Vernadskiy University as a teacher of English language and literature. She got her PhD in sociolinguistics in 2008.  Dasha has also completed her CELTA and IHCYLT certificates and joined British Council Kyiv in June 2012.

Dasha’s teaching interests are: to communicate with different people, to establish good rapport with learners and to continue her development as a teacher. She likes sport and travelling.

Weslie is the Senior Teacher Adults at the teaching centre. She is originally from Los Angeles, California, USA.  She has a BSc in Business Administration and Management Information Systems and worked in IT for several years before becoming a teacher.  She holds a Cert. TEFL, a Teaching One-to-One Certificate, a CELTYL, and a DELTA. She is also an IELTS examiner.

Prior to coming to Kyiv in 2011, Weslie worked for the British Council in Bahrain and also spent several years teaching in the Czech Republic. She enjoys teaching all levels and is proud to see her students improve and gain confidence in their English abilities.  Weslie is keen on using ICT in the language classroom and making her lessons as communicative as possible.

In her free time, Weslie enjoys knitting, travelling, trying to keep fit, and relaxing at home with her husband and their world-travelling cat.

Brian was born in Scotland. He later moved to Australia, where he completed a Bachelors Degree in English Language and Literature, and History. He received his PGCE in English and History and began teaching in Australia before moving back to the UK.  Brian completed his IHCYLT in 2011.

He has always been interested in teaching English, first teaching migrants as part of a government volunteer programme while he was studying his PGCE in Australia, and then spending a year teaching in Turkey. He moved to Kiev in 2009 and has enjoyed teaching Business English to some of Ukraine’s major companies. He loves using a variety of resources to contextualise English learning and produce challenging and engaging lessons.

His interests include socialising with friends, learning Russian and French, and creative writing. He has finished writing his first novel and is currently completing his second.

Elizabeth is from England. She has a BA honours in Russian and Soviet Studies and has a TESOL, a CELTYL and also a Trinity Diploma in English Language Teaching.

Liz started teaching at the British council in Kyiv when it first opened in 1992 when she first conducted teacher training and then trainer training. Currently, she is teaching pre-school children. She is also the Exams Team Leader for the British Council Kyiv centre.

Liz is interested in teaching very young children as well as Business English and Exams. Her personal interests include music, theatre reading and translation.

Rhonda is from Wales and has a degree in Modern Languages (Russian, French and Spanish). Her teaching qualifications include a Trinity TESOL certificate, the DELTA and the CELTYL.

She has taught in Russia, Portugal and Lithuania and started working for the British Council in Kyiv in 2003. Rhonda’s interests include horticulture, theatre, painting and cycling.

Daniel comes from England, Northern Ireland and the United States. He studied history at Tufts University in the US, and has an MSc in International Relations from Edinburgh University. He has been working as a teacher since 2005, and before coming to the British Council, he taught in the Czech Republic, Lviv, Spain, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan, the US, as well as at various summer schools in the UK.

He’s got a PGCE in Secondary History & Social Studies, and is expected to complete his DELTA in December 2012.  Daniel also did the IHCYLT in 2011.  More than anything, he loves having the opportunity to shape young minds and impart his joy for the English language on his students. Among his extracurricular interests are sport, reading, writing, cooking (he’s ambitious, not necessarily good) and halfway decent conversation.

Olena comes from Dniepropetrovsk and graduated from The Dniepropetrovsk State University as a Psychologist and a Teacher of English Language. Lena has been teaching since 1994 straight after receiving an IH Certificate in TEFL. She also has IH Certificates in Teaching Young Learners, Teaching Business English, and Advanced Methodology.

She first started working for the British Council in Kyiv in February 2012 and before this she worked for International House Dnipro and then for International House Kyiv. Her teaching interests are Business English and teacher training.

Lena also enjoys using media as a teaching resource in class. Her other interests are travelling, dancing, yoga and Asian culture.