I’ve been working in English Language Teaching (ELT) since the early 90s, working in France, Hungary, Slovenia, Russia and the UK as a teacher and teacher trainer, then becoming an ELT author in 2006. I’ve written a wide range of teaching materials for learners of many different ages, levels and backgrounds, for Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Macmillan, National Geographic and Ladybird/Penguin books.
I enjoy the creative constraint of writing within word limits and language levels or to contextualize a specific functional, grammatical, lexical or pronunciation point. Researching topics for texts feeds my curiosity about the world – I get to learn about the history of self-portraits, the games dolphins play with coral, how golf balls are made, and many other fascinating stories of people, places and things. I also enjoy writing stories and dialogues,
My published work includes graded readers, grammar books, teacher’s guides, several workbooks, photocopiable communicative activities, tests, teacher training materials, rhymes, chants, games, posters, interactive mazes and reading and listening texts and tasks on all sorts of topics in all sorts of genres – DVD worksheets, communicative activities, controlled practice exercises (print and digital).
Testimonials
“I’ve worked with Rachel several times and can honestly say she’s one of the best authors to work with. Her work is creative and thorough, and she is always very quick and responsive. It’s a pleasure working with her.”
— Janet Castro, Freelance ELT editor and project manager
“It was wonderful to work with Rachel recently on an ELT Primary Workbook. The project brief and schedule were demanding, but Rachel met both those challenges with professionalism and invaluable good humour. Her materials were innovative, insightful and, most importantly, they worked! We also included stories in the WB: Rachel demonstrated her amazing ability to write with warmth and creativity, seamlessly weaving in target vocab, grammar and well-being values with impressive ease and sophistication. Wow! For me, they were a real highlight. Thanks, Rachel!”
— Helen Johnson, Freelance editor www.brownfoxlazydog.co.uk
“Rachel is an incredibly talented author who I worked with at Oxford University Press on several ELT projects. Rachel wrote 2 levels of Oxford Grammar for Schools, as well as numerous other titles for OUP’s flagship ELT grammar course Oxford Practice Grammar. She was always a dream to work with. She is great at working to deadlines, communicating, and producing work of a consistently excellent standard that requires minimal editing, whilst at the same time keeping the content interesting, inspiring and accurate. Rachel's empathetic and creative qualities are abundantly clear in the professional way she approaches her work. It was obvious to me from the beginning of the time that we worked together that Rachel's talents extend far beyond the specialised niche that is ELT authoring and that she has a real talent for understanding and inspiring people through her writing. She intuitively understands the best way to teach different groups of students through her writing and is hands down one of the most talented ELT authors I've worked with.”
— Claire Ransom, Senior Editor (OUP)