Lucia Elizabeth Mauro

Business English Coach

Who I am

I have a very strange background.

I was born in England and live in Italy.

My mother was English and my father Neapolitan.

That alone was quite a gamble, but as a child I moved around a lot and went to 11 different schools in both the UK and Italy.

I think that gave me some of the soft skills I have today.

Having to start all over again has never been easy but it has taught me to find quick solutions and improve my ability to create new friendships.

Looking back I think this is what, after many years of working for companies as an adult, helped me in my career.

After closing my company in 2013 I was persuaded that I could have a career in teaching (funnily enough, it runs in my mother’s side of the family).

Since then I have always considered myself an "odd" kind of teacher.

Definitely not the kind you usually find.

How I work

When I visit clients in companies I always try to teach each person individually based on their experience and background and I try to give them confidence in speaking English.

Conversation is one of the most important points in learning a language and as my mother used to say ‘Practise makes perfect’.

I am what you call an English language coach.

I am positive, enthusiastic, goal oriented, empathic and am very focused on pronunciation.

Learning a language is a journey full of wonderful experiences.

What we can do together

I love it when a client understands the proper pronunciation or meaning of a word which has never been corrected in the past.

Is it better to have a traditional teacher or a language coach?

Well, traditional teaching works for people who are comfortable in a classroom environment and accept the traditional methods of teaching, namely: grammar, exercises and staying in one’s comfort zone.

I have found many clients who know all the rules of grammar but are not able to express their thoughts because they have never practised or improved their vocabulary.

On the other hand, a language coach will find new strategies to spark motivation and achieve goals.

Learning a language can be frustrating especially when the things you always thought were right are not.

I work on presentation skills and chatting for meetings after the conference.

Clients rely on me to help them brush up on their vocabulary in their field and also to understand the accents of their foreign colleagues.

As a language coach I often do my homework before working with a new client so that I know something about their job. Over the last few years I have acquired knowledge in various markets and I try to stay well informed about what is going on in the world.

This is helpful for language learners because if you speak about something you are interested in, you learn faster,
don't you?