Meet a member - Lucy Tilney

Our second interview of 2025 is with Lucy Tilney. Read on as Viktoryia Zelianko, our interviewer supreme, chats with Lucy about her transition from filming sharks (yes!) to ELT, her unique stay-at-home program in Bristol, collaborating with peers, and other interesting things.

Bio

Lucy Tilney made wildlife documentaries for the BBC Natural History Unit for 10 years. She retrained to teach English as a Foreign Language, acquiring CELTA and IH Young Learners Certificates in Seville, and taught in Spain. She now offers intensive one-to-one Business English courses in her home, as Bristol Homestay Tuition.

1. You have had an interesting professional path. How did you get from filming sharks in Mexico to teaching English as a foreign language?

After working as a freelance production coordinator in television for many years, and in particular, for the BBC Natural History for 10 years, I decided to accept voluntary redundancy.  The last filming job I had with the BBC was making a documentary about sharks. While filming whale sharks in Mexico, I decided that I would learn to teach English as a Foreign Language and move to Mexico.

I had been a volunteer at a local primary school, supporting young learners with their reading. This was probably the motivation to radically change my career. I went to Seville to take the CELTA exam and followed that by teaching in Seville and Albacete, Spain.

2. You run a homestay program in Bristol which helps adults with their English. What is it exactly?

I offer intensive, full-immersion, one-to-one English coaching courses to adults with a focus on improving their listening and speaking skills. The courses are for a minimum of two weeks. There are structured classes in the morning, followed by a tasty lunch. In the afternoon, my student can explore Bristol and do their homework. Every evening, we have dinner together, with conversation and gentle correction. We go for an excursion on the weekend to visit the beautiful city of Bath.

It’s very intensive for both me and my student. Their language is boosted day by day which is so exciting. It’s also a marvellous opportunity for a deep dive into our different cultures and humour. These courses are about so much more than merely improving language skills. Some of my clients have told me that the whole immersion experience has been life-changing.

3. What aspects of language do you focus on in particular in your program? What are your favourite activities?

I love to show my students how to decode English pronunciation by using the phonemic system. Knowing the sounds of these symbols aids pronunciation, by providing a visual memory of the pronunciation and supports the phonological loop. Working intensively with my student means that we can really focus on improving confidence in this area.

We also use journalling or a daily diary to help build English sentences. This develops and improves vocabulary, word order in English sentences, regular and irregular verbs in the past simple, adjectives,and prepositions. We correct the sentences together, while my student anotates in a different colour. Working this way, the diary becomes a grammar clinic which generates personalised mini-lessons in each area. Finally, when all the grammar has been corrected, we record it and listen again for pronunciation errors.

4. In what ways do you cooperate with industry peers? Can English teachers come to stay with you, too? 

I collaborate very well with English teachers overseas who recommend an intensive course with me. This is a great way for their students to advance from the intermediate plateau. After their experience with me, the clients return, excited by the progress and motivated to continue with their English teacher. I offer a referral fee to teachers for successful bookings.

5. You run your own business. How have you developed your marketing strategy over the years? 

I used to rely mainly on word of mouth and recommendations for marketing. Since working with Rachael Roberts, who offers specialised business training for ELT practitioners, I have focused on increasing my presence on LinkedIn. 

LinkedIn is a great way to connect with business clients and other English teachers abroad and spread knowledge about my offer. One problem I face is that many people don’t know about this method of intensive, homestay English learning.

6. I know you speak Spanish. How do you work on your proficiency as a language learner? Have you done a homestay in Spain maybe?

I speak French and Spanish, although not as well as I should. I’ve spent more time immersed in Spanish-speaking countries so that language is more dominant in my brain. I took myself to Madrid, Spain and Havana, Cuba to learn Spanish. I didn’t do a homestay course but studied in a language school.  Later I taught English in Sevilla and Albacete in Spain. I always recommend to anyone who wants to learn a foreign language that they opt for an intensive homestay language course.

I don’t reveal that I speak French or Spanish because it undermines the motivation to speak in English. I can moderate my English to subtly help my Latin-language clients. Sometimes that knowledge tells me why there is a confusion in English. However, I can’t use that technique with German, Japanese, Saudi or Czech clients! 

7. You have been part of the IATEFL BESIG community for a while, how do you find this experience? How does membership benefit you as a teacher and entrepreneur?

Rita Baker inspired me to come to the annual BESIG conference in Gdańsk. After watching a presentation where she talked about using frameworks for Business English, I realised that she hosted students at her home. It was the first conference I had ever attended as a delegate and I was very nervous. However, the warmth and welcome I received from everyone was amazing.

I love being part of the BESIG community, connected to a fantastic range of other business English teachers. Working as I do means I don’t have a staffroom. So, it is a joy to share ideas and experiences with other teachers. As an entrepreneur, it’s an excellent way to network and raise awareness of my offer.  

Interview by Viktoryia Zelianko. Edited by Shweta Paropkari.