Franziska Zaunig
ESA - ESTEC - European Space Agency, Den Haag
14th March, 2022
During my time as a Ph.D. student, I experienced the "Ph.D. slump" that many do. I felt lost and unhappy with my Ph.D. and doubted a future career in academia. I turned to Fiona who was great at non-judgemental listening and helping me sort through my thoughts in a structured way. She helped me feel less alone, more empowered and her experience allowed her to put my experience into contact. It was her guidance that allowed me to forward and implement some concrete changes; like setting myself up for a better work-life balance as well as helping me reach out to university support services. I recommend her counselling to anyone.
Meghan Bell, PhD student
September, 2020
"I lost my job in April, 2020, where I had worked for 15 years. I realised that I was going to have to re-train and go back to Uni. Things were quite different to university in 1999, and I was scared. I needed help with how to select relevant sources, then synthesise and reference them correctly. I felt better and more confident after one session. Now I am having weekly sessions to guide my progress with my essay"
Dr. Nora Alafif
Assistant Vice-Dean for Quality and Improvement Affairs Assistant Professor in Community Health Sciences College of Applied Medical Sciences
King Saud University
"Fiona, I can’t thank you enough for your support and encouragement. Without you, my academic journey wouldn't be as useful and enjoyable”
Changlong Su
Video Production Company Owner, Shanghai
I applied for a postgraduate at Loughborough University in 2016-2017, Fiona helped me fully adapt to the new study environment with her coaching. She fundamentally changed my original way of thinking, brought me into the learning environment, and carefully guided me on my academic journey.
Toshiko Niioka
RIKEN Scientific Institute, Tokyo
“Ms Fiona is a person of integrity who is a very considerate coach. She takes great responsibility for her job. She is greatly experienced, therefore, she is able to teach high level of universities students, and business persons. She always works with a smile and high motivation, with many students, colleagues and is someone I feel very affectionate towards. She is a person in whom one can have confidence that her attitude and skills are worthy of investment for your bright future!”
フィオナさんは知的で、思いやりの溢れる方です。 人に教える事、特に違う国の人に教えることは時に難しいこともあります。彼女はそれぞれの個性を見極め、責任感を持って仕事に取り組んでいます。高いコミュニケーション能力を持ち、生徒の欠点を的確に分析するとともに、良い点を伸ばしてくれます。 豊富な経験があるからこそ、英語の初級者から、レベルの高い大学生,社会人まで、教えることができるのです。 多くの生徒や同僚達と共に笑顔を絶やさず、高いモチベーションを持ちながら、仕事をしています。それは私にも良い影響を与えてくれてます。 あなたの輝かしい将来のために、彼女の誠実さ、取り組む姿勢や能力をぜひ推薦致します。
Daiana Viacelli
Choreographer
“My name is Daiana Viacelli I am Brazilian and I met Fiona Wilson as a teacher in a class for dependents of PhD students at Loughborough University, I never had a mentor so committed and dedicated to supporting students on their academic journey. I can only thank her for her commitment to the art of educating and her sensitivity in guiding me. My concept of British people and their relations with foreigners has changed a lot. Thank you very much.!”
Mana Ishimoto,
Horologist
August, 2017
“私がかつてイギリスに留学した際に、お世話になった先生です。 彼女の優しい人柄は、学生たちに信頼されていました。 彼女は私に英語とイギリス文化の面白さを教えてくれました。 私はあまり語学に堪能な方ではありませんでしたが、彼女のおかげで楽しく勉強出来ました。 I was really taken care of by Ms. Wilson when I went on a short-term study abroad to England. Her kind personality is trusted by students. She taught me the fun of studying and culture. I was not so good at language study, but I was able to enjoy thanks to her”
Sharhrzad Shirazi
Radiologist at Scarborough General Hospital
“I have known Fiona since 2006 . She was my favourite lecturer . I really enjoyed her teaching methods . We were all international students coming from different countries and cultures. She was so keen to learn about other cultures and also teach us about British culture. She had a mixture of learning methods to use to teach various topics . Her classes were very enjoyable. She also was so great to listen and give advice to her students to improve their learning abilities. In addition, she was always ready to help her students if they were experiencing tough times. I found her very friendly. That's why I am still in touch with her. She used to come to my accommodation and enjoyed chatting to her students. She is very open minded with a great experience of teaching various students with a wide range of ages. In one word, she is great . I have always admired her.”
Haruka Yamada
IT Consultant
September, 2015
“Thanks to Fiona's teaching, my level increased to a high level which enabled me to graduate at postgraduate level. When I was an undergraduate student, I didn’t know how to write essays, or to have formal business communication with other people as I hadn't experienced it before. Despite learning English in Japan for the IELTS test, I’m not sure this would have prepared me for postgraduate study, because real lectures are not the same as test conditions. However, her lectures fulfilled all of my desires for my study. They are not just designed for standard grammar and pronunciation like most of teachers did; they also help you to train you for the authentic experience of lectures to help prepare you for your future.
While giving me feedback on my essay, she listened to my opinion first, then taught me kindly. Due to the academic content, she helped me to develop my arguments first, and then we looked at academic grammar because it was so different from what I had learnt before. As a result, I could finally articulate my opinion using the correct grammar. If she hadn't taken a long time to check my work, I wouldn't have been able to write an essay which truly represented my opinion. During postgraduate life, we need to discuss academic content almost every day, and write long business essays. That was difficult but her lectures could help me to pass exams and communicate with other people easily. I am confident that I couldn’t graduate at postgraduate level without her lectures. I strongly recommend her lectures if you want to ensure your English level enables you to achieve your future dreams”
Constance Chereau,
Secondary School French Teacher
“Fiona was my first English teacher when I arrived in the UK 15 years ago. I had a secondary school English level but my vocabulary and fluency were still very limited. Thanks to Fiona, I managed to achieve a very good mark in my IELTS within 5 months which helped me get a job soon after. I then carried on taking private lessons with her, focussing on my pronunciation. She fitted perfectly to my needs and I made noticeable improvements. As well as being an excellent teacher, she is a really nice and fun person. She was one of the first people I met when arriving - a key meeting that facilitated hugely my arrival in the new country!!”
“Prof. Fiona taught me academic writing in an easy-to-understand manner using authentic tasks. She gave me fun classes every time!”
Nonoko Kanke, University of Loughborough
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