Name: Yvert
Location: United Kingdom
Examiner panel: International ESOL
Yvert is an English teacher, trainer, writer, and International ESOL examiner, who has worked in various contexts around the world since starting his career in English language teaching in 1993.
He talked to us about his passion for examining and his wider work in the English language teaching context.
“I’ve been teaching since 1993, and I’ve taught in the Czech Republic and Portugal. Most of my work now is with international students at a university in London, but I go to teach in Japan every year and I do a lot of teaching, training and materials writing too.”
First experiences with Trinity College London.
“I used to work as a Director of Studies, and the organisation I worked for ran summer schools offering Trinity’s GESE exams for people doing short courses.”
“I saw these exams and I thought they were brilliant, especially for students who may want to focus more on their speaking.
The exams are a really good motivational tool for students, and I think they provide teachers with valuable feedback on how well they're doing, in terms of preparing students.”
From teacher to examiner
A few years later, after doing a masters and while working in Japan, Yvert met an examiner there who highly recommended examining for Trinity.
“I started examining in 2008; I loved it, and I've always enjoyed it since. It's kind of like a family - very supportive and enjoyable.”
“It's great working with such a range of different ages and seeing candidates walking out of the exam room with big smiles on their faces.”
Yvert knows how important it is to make candidates feel at ease in exams thanks to his own experiences trying to learn a second language.
“I’ve lived in countries where I've had to learn another language, and I really struggled because people would very often laugh at me when I tried, or they would tell me to speak in English instead, and I really hated that!”
“Those experiences made me aware of how important it is to make people feel comfortable and enjoy language learning and that's why I like the Trinity exams so much.”
What he likes about the exams
Yvert told us that he likes the way GESE and ISE are personalised to the candidate, especially in the Elementary stage and above, when candidates prepare a topic to discuss with the examiner.
“People can choose something which they are passionate about - it feels real, and it feels authentic. They're telling you about something that they enjoy talking about.”
“I think also the fact that the exams are not scripted makes it seem really natural - it means we can be flexible, and you can bring out the best in candidates.”
Yvert has examined at centres around the world and has many fond memories of the places he has visited.
“You know, I've been so fortunate to have seen some really beautiful, amazing places and meet some wonderful people at the centres.”
“The fact that the exams are not scripted makes it seem really natural - it means we can be flexible, and you can bring out the best in candidates.”