Home | Birkenhead English

I'm Jane Birkenhead, BSc, MA, TESL CertificateEnglish Tutor and Fluency Coach

I specialize in English and communication coaching for international professionals, and exam preparation for TOEFL and IELTS English proficiency exams.

Over the past 20 years, I've helped hundreds of non-native English speakers to improve their fluency, pass exams, and move forward with confidence in their careers.

I live in Canada and I'm from Great Britain so I can help you with all aspects of North American and British English. I work with clients in private study sessions or very small groups. Everyone learns differently and personalized, focused tuition means faster progress.

Boost your fluency in English and excel in the career you've trained for.

Diego

Engineer, Spanish Speaker

I really enjoyed lessons with Jane. She's so patient. She tries to speak as clearly as possible in English and that helped me a lot.

She's an excellent teacher. You can learn a lot in just a lesson.

Hasnaa

Pharmacist, Arabic Speaker

You found my mistakes and gave me feedback so I wouldn't repeat them.

You told me, "Hasnaa we will change the way you study" and well, it was worth it.

Jane listened to my speaking and told me how to work on my weaknesses. She boosted my confidence and believed in me when I did not believe in myself and was about to give up on my dream.

Pharmacist, Arabic Speaker

Samah

I use English at work and I'd like to communicate fluently with my colleagues and clients

I'd like to reduce my fossilized errors in English

I need to take an English proficiency exam

I'd like to speak English more clearly so people can understand me better

Which exam do you need?

TOEFL

IELTS

Something Else?

Let me know what you need help with and I'll design a course especially for you

I need to improve my proficiency in English before I start preparing for exams

Services

I've been immersed in English language tutoring for the past 20 years and have extensive experience of working with clients from different language groups, professions, and with different levels of fluency.

There are many overlaps between these different services and everything is customizable depending on your particular needs.

If you're not sure exactly what you're looking for, but you know you need help with English, let me know and we can make a plan together.

LET'S CHAT

I offer all seriously interested clients a free 30-minute video consultation.

Click the link above for more information

I gather together my favourite studying strategies and resources in my blog.

Whether you're an interested learner working on improving your fluency in English or you're preparing for English proficiency exams, I hope you'll find something that helps you.

I update it regularly, so keep checking back for new articles.

Studying Strategies

Take a Break. Your Brain Needs It!

Jane Birkenhead • Oct 22, 2025

If you're doing anything which requires learning a skill, it's important to understand how to work with your brain and not against it. There are many areas where this may be the case (like music and sport) but let's focus on improving your English as one particular skill. Improving your English proficiency involves a combination of knowing what...

TOEFL 2026: What we Know. Will it be Easier or Harder?

Jane Birkenhead • Aug 18, 2025

TOEFL 2026 is going to be very different from the current version of the exam. The changes that ETS has announced for TOEFL iBT share some features with other English proficiency tests such as Duolingo and IELTS so it’s definitely a nice upgrade. But before we consider difficulty, let’s take a quick look at the new exam

Changes to TOEFL and New Pharmacist Score Requirements

Jane Birkenhead • Jun 6, 2025

Two major changes occurred in the TOEFL world last week. ETS announced updates to the format of the TOEFL iBT exam and the NAPB revised the score requirements for pharmacists. These are both major developments and will affect many students. Let's break down what these changes mean in reality and how you might need to adapt your TOEFL studying to...

A Word About AI

I don't use AI for any of the writing on this website. These are my own thoughts and opinions, expressed using my own choice of words.

There is no doubt that AI has turned out to be incredibly useful for language learning - for teachers and students. Depending on my clients' needs, I use a selection of AI tools and other technology. However, it's important to understand that AI is only a tool. It has limitations and can be unreliable.

AI is not a brain. It's just a data sorter. It's most effective when it's used as support for what you're doing and not as your only method of instruction.

Use AI tools to enhance your study experience, but check its output carefully and make sure you get guidance from a human too.