James Dunne

Hi, I'm James Dunne. I feel lucky to work in education and I want to help you get the best score possible in your English exam. That's why I created the PASS method for preparing exams such as Cambridge C1 Advanced, B2 First, IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity and Duolingo English Test. Are you willing to let me guide you on your learning journey?What is the PASS method? The four pillars of exam preparation are Process, Awareness, Strategies and Skills. It's not enough to have the required English level and to know the best strategies for each exam task. You also need to think like an examiner and immerse yourself in the process, and to be aware of exactly what is required of you at each stage.My background in educationSince qualifying from the University of Sheffield in 1997 with a degree in English I have worked in education in different roles in England, Italy and Spain. For many years I prepared candidates for the Cambridge and Trinity exams, IELTS and TOEFL, both with the British Council and as a freelance. I have also worked as a teacher trainer in teacher professional development and in publishing.I worked for Macmillan Education, the renowned international publisher, in teacher development, textbook publishing, and educational consulting. I trained teachers and spoke at conferences in Spain, Brazil, the UK and Portugal, and as Portfolio Manager I project managed the development of online training platforms. One site, Macmillan Training Services Online, offered exam preparation for the B2 First, and also provided extensive teacher development courses. This site launched in 2012 and in 2015 it was awarded an e-learning association prize in Spain. Another site, Plexus, launched in 2017 and offered professional development for teachers. MissionWorking in publishing was very rewarding but I decided to go back to my roots and see how I could contribute something more directly to students' lives. How could I help with my know-how and experience? Well, I know about English exams, I know about teaching methodology, and I know about e-learning. And then I thought, what makes me happy in my work? What motivates me? Seeing people gain more opportunities in life because of something which I did. Really if you work in education this should always be the case, shouldn’t it? So, how could I put all these things together? That’s why I created the PASS method; to help people optimise their efforts and get the best score possible in their English exams. If that is what you are looking to do then I hope to see you on one of my courses.What am I doing now?Recently, I've been writing IELTS exams and content for a series of school textbooks for Vietnam. Currently, I am developing new courses with the PASS method to be able to provide you with the strategies and skills you will need to pass your chosen exam.