Our team
Jenny Bartlett
Jenny has worked as a teacher since 1986 and spent 18 years as a Director of Studies in Portugal for International House in Aveiro, Santa Clara and Coimbra.
She is passionate about teaching and has taught young learners from 3 years old, prepared hundreds of students for Cambridge exams and written language courses for companies and individuals. The variety, challenge and joy of interacting with so many different students are the things she loves most about her job.
In her free-time she is an author for Porto Editora, a volunteer teacher-trainer for a charity in Sri Lanka, an avid traveller and a would-be gardener.
Neil Murray
Neil was a teacher at International House Aveiro for 15 years, where he was also Director of Studies for 6 years. He has been teaching English since 1989, in language schools in England, Egypt, Brazil and Portugal. He worked 4 years as a volunteer teacher-trainer in Pemba, Mozambique, one of the best experiences of his life.
His priority as a teacher lies in helping learners to build their confidence and improve their ability to communicate. He has prepared hundreds of learners for Cambridge exams.
To relax, there’s tai chi at the weekend. He loves reading (history, popular science etc.), watching documentaries and listening to podcasts.
Julia Wearn
Julia was an English teacher at International House for 12 years, working in Aveiro, Coimbra and Milan. She has also taught in England, most recently in primary schools, working with children with learning difficulties. Before teaching, she worked in different business sectors, which is invaluable experience, especially when helping adults improve their English skills at work.
Julia believes the learning environment should be a relaxed, but goal driven one, where students gain the confidence they need to excel. She has taught all ages and levels including over 10 years preparing students for Cambridge exams.
In her free time, she is kept busy looking after her two young boys but enjoys the chance to explore nature with them. She also loves reading, learning to play the piano and watching foreign films.
Katherine Thompson
Katherine is British and comes from London. She has taught for several years in International House, Aveiro and previously at various schools in London. Her experience covers all ages and levels – children, teenagers and adults from beginners to proficiency, including exam classes. She’d find it difficult to pinpoint her favourite as they all have their own unique charm.
Her favourite thing about teaching is that she gets to meet so many interesting people and with each and every class she learns so much. No class is the same and she enjoys the variety and challenge that this presents.
When she has free time, Katherine enjoys walking, reading and baking. She believes that tea is the elixir of life.
Sharon Fitzpatrick
Sharon started teaching English in Greece in 1987. She then spent time teaching in the UK, mainly in further and higher education where she taught ESOL, trained teachers on CELTA and Trinity Cert TESOL and worked as a Cambridge examiner.
She joined International House in 2017 and particularly enjoys preparing students for Cambridge exams; equipping them with the skills and techniques necessary to achieve their potential.
In her free time, she enjoys practising yoga, walking and working in the garden.
Shona Becker
Shona started off her career as a paediatric Speech and Language Therapist across London supporting children of all ages with speech, language and communication difficulties. She then qualified as an English teacher at International House in London in 2019 in preparation for her move to Portugal.
Shona has always had a passion for languages and is particularly interested in phonetics and bilingual development. She also has a degree in French and Linguistics, and has learned several other languages in the past including Spanish, Mandarin and Portuguese. So she understands from personal experience what it’s like to learn a foreign language, meaning that she brings a lot of patience and empathy to the classroom. She really enjoys helping students to learn and supporting them on their journey towards fluency.
In her free time, she likes to read and go for walks, and she also runs a project to support non-Portuguese women through pregnancy and postpartum in Portugal.
Miguel Freitas
Miguel was a programmer and IT technician for 28 years. He worked in a software house, in a multinational company in the oil industry and had an international career in Madrid and London, where he participated and managed projects of all dimensions. He also worked in a national company in the area of property management as an IT manager. His last project in the area of entrepreneurship was in tourism, as a tourism entertainment agent in Aveiro, where he moved to from Lisbon six years ago.
The chance to take part in the Lingua Upgrade project is a great personal and professional source of motivation. Working in a school is a breath of fresh air from the corporate environment, as it’s a place where everyone is excited to learn new things and improve themselves.
In his free time, he likes travelling, practising sport, lying on his couch, playing the guitar, listening to music, reading, photography, writing and taking walks with his family, friends, and dog.
