Why we are different
Are you tired of bad education services that don’t help you? So were we. That’s why we started The English Navigator. We’re not just another teaching service; we’re a team that wants to change how English is taught. We believe in giving great value, amazing results, and an education that changes lives.
Who Are We?
Yes, we are teachers. But more importantly, we love teaching and helping students. We’ve seen problems in traditional schools—bad systems, too many rules, and not enough care for students’ success. We’re here to change that.
Our Mission
Unlike others who start schools to make money quickly, our mission is to give the best education that really helps our students. We’re not interested in cutting corners or making money at your expense. Instead, we want to give you the best teaching and the best results.
Our Approach
We understand that good education costs money, but we believe in fair pricing. Our services are priced to show the great value we offer, without making you worry about money. By investing in our courses, you’re not just paying for lessons—you’re paying for a chance to achieve your goals.
Why Our Pricing Works
- Fair Value Exchange: Our pricing is fair. When you see the worth of what you’re paying for, you’re more motivated to work hard and succeed.
- Motivation Through Investment: We set our prices to make you think before investing, ensuring you take your education seriously and strive for the best results.
- Quality Over Quantity: Unlike free or cheap courses that you might not take seriously, our fair pricing ensures that you value the education you’re receiving.
Any transaction should be a fair exchange of value.
You pay a fair price for a valuable service.
So what is a fair price?
The answer is, if you think it is a fair price, then it is. A thing is only worth what people are happy to pay for it. If you’re happy, then it’s going to be much easier for us to work together.
So how much is our service worth to you?
We charge a price that reflects the value we put into our service, and the value you will get out of it. One of the strange things about setting a price for something like this is that if we gave it away free, then you might not think it is very valuable. If you don’t think it is valuable, then you might not feel it was worth working hard to get your results. If we charge the price we really think our service is worth, as the life changing doorway to your future success, most people probably won’t be able to afford it. A new life and career? Perhaps priceless.
So we aim to charge a fair price that hurts your pocket enough to get your attention and take it seriously, but not so much that it causes you financial stress. If you respect the value of our services you will get better results. It’s all about your results.
We’re going to be as successful in building this English teaching service as we have been with the other businesses we’ve built. We are going to continue delivering great, life changing results for our students. University acceptance, new jobs, new lives. Can we achieve your results, and those of everyone like you, with very little work? No, unfortunately not. All success comes with great effort, don’t believe anyone who says otherwise. But we can use our systems and process knowledge to make it easier and more effective for you.
So once more, who are we?
The English Navigator is a very small team of experienced teachers. We got that experience working just about everywhere else. We have a full range of experience, covering general English, Academic Exam English, Business English, conversation classes, speaking clubs, and lots more. We have done it all. Oh, and we are highly successful, award-winning business people, who think that great customer results are the most important thing a business can focus on. This is followed closely by customer satisfaction, even if results are not quite what they hoped for.
The English Navigator isn’t just another teaching service—it’s a change in English education. With our commitment to delivering great value and life-changing results, we’re here to help you achieve your dreams. Don’t settle for less. By choosing The English Navigator, you’re not just signing up for a course—you’re investing in your future. We are on a mission to get you better results. Let’s achieve greatness together.
John
Hi, I’m English, from the UK, and I want to explain some things about learning English in Turkey, and why it might have been difficult for you so far.
The good news is that it is not your fault.
Not completely at least…
I am here to help you to improve your English, and since you are reading this, I guess you are in the right place
Who are you and why are you here?
You’re here either for your first time taking a class, because you searched and found us, or perhaps because someone recommended us and sent you here.
Or more likely you’re here because you tried other classes and courses, and you STILL can’t speak English.
You STILL can’t pass an English exam.
You STILL can’t gain access to university or a job when English is needed.
You STILL can’t get a visa to a country where English is a requirement.
Relax, I have helped a lot of other people, I can probably help you.
Who am I and why you should listen to me …
I have lived in Turkey since 2012, and been teaching English part-time since 2013.
But I need to share something. I am not a teacher. Not trained or qualified, and never had any plan to be a teacher. Not just an English teacher. Any kind of teacher.
If that is a problem for you, you should probably stop reading now, because I will not be your solution.
Still here? Ok, let’s continue.
Like many other native English speakers, I started by accident, because people kept telling me that being a native speaker, the private language schools would want me. I thought it must be a joke, but I went to a private language school, introduced myself, and waited for the polite ‘no thanks’.
Much to my surprise, 10 minutes later I was standing in front of a class, with course book in my hand, and no idea where to start.
This was my first mistake, and it’s probably been yours too as a student. You go into the reception area to ask about learning English, they sign you up to a course, and you think you are about to have a professional learning experience.
Surprise!
You thought it was a school focused on your education, but actually it’s just another business, focused on making the owner rich. It is not designed to help you get any specific results.
After a few interesting adventures, I have now taught in 6 cities around Turkey (Istanbul, Erzerum, Erzincan, Van, Gaziantep, and in Ankara, where I am based, I have given classes in most districts including Kizilay, Sihhiye, Yildiz, Gazi Osman Pasa, Bahcelevler, Balgat, Tunali, Kavaklidere, Umitkoy, Cayyolu, Batikent, Incek, Cankaya). I have taught in more than 30 private language schools (including nearly all of the well-known ones), a few government ministries, the Jandarma Dil Okul, and even in the Parliament a few times.
During the last 12 years I have had thousands of English students in classes of up to 40 at a time.
I have had hundreds of English exam students in classes of up to 12 people.
I have given speaking clubs for groups of 10 up to 50 people, in private language schools in each of the 6 cities I listed, and in cafes all over Ankara.
I have also had hundreds of online students, one to one classes with individual students for speaking practice, interview practice, and exam English.
Like many other native English speakers, I started out with speaking practice, then moved to teaching general English, then discovered IELTS and TOEFL.
After that I realized that there are different English tests for countries for visas, for universities, and for workplaces. I found at least 30 different ones, and there are many more than that. I slowly added to my knowledge and now I teach 18 different English exams, probably the most useful or important ones.
If you want to decode these exams and quickly improve your speed and score, you have come to the right place.
More than that, I wanted to know what people do AFTER they pass an English exam. So now I also help people find the right university and course, apply to it, and pass tests or interviews to be accepted. I do the same for people looking for jobs.
That enabled me to advise on the RIGHT English exam to take (the easiest one from the choices available). Just that small change improved my student’s results, and my student’s lives.
Would you like my help to move your life forward?
I guess there may be other teachers who have this much experience, but I know a LOT of teachers now, and I have never met anyone who has worked in even half the number of places that I have, or who teaches as many different classes as I do.
So why not go to a private language school?
I can’t tell you anything about any particular private language school, but I can tell you that I learned a lot about how these schools are operated.
What the owners are like, what books and other materials are used, what the teachers are like and how they work, and a lot more.
Unlike most people who work in a school, I am not a teacher, I am an entrepreneur. This means I joined them to teach, but once I was inside I made friends with everyone from cleaners, reception staff, teachers, admin staff to the owner. I asked a lot of questions and observed everything they wanted people to see and some things they didn’t want me to see. So I actually learned everything that was wrong (and sometimes right) about their business. I was able to quickly see so many problems.
What do you think those problems are?
Here’s what I found …
Owners, teachers and students all complaining about each other.
Everyone complaining about the materials, complaining about the buildings, and complaining about the course format (with a good teacher these things are not really important).
Schools chasing money instead of quality education and results (everything over-priced, no student results to show for it).
Students signed up to unsuitable courses they are not qualified to join (the wrong levels, or the wrong exams).
Reception staff who don’t speak any of the foreign languages being taught (shocking!).
Classes too over-crowded to have much interactive learning (40 students, 40 minute class, everyone take a minute introducing themselves, class over!).
Mixed levels with students bored or frustrated (the fast learners get bored by the slow ones not keeping up, the slow learners get frustrated by the fast ones jumping ahead, the teacher struggles to balance both).
Teachers just working through the books instead of teaching the concepts and solving problems (dull material, bored teacher, just passing the time until the lesson ends).
No personal attention to each student (every student has different challenges and problems in learning and needs individual help to solve them).
No focus on student results (classes on every topic, whether you need to know it or not, whether you know it already or not, whether it helps your exam result or not).
A lot of arrogance and complacency about the school’s way being the best or only way (the owner is the chief, it’s their business, and only their ideas matter).
I don’t believe in complaining. Nobody cares about complainers, and nothing changes. I also don’t like doing nothing about a problem. So I offered my ideas.
However, any time I suggested a way to improve the student experience or make the owner more money, I got some version of this answer:
“We know what we are doing, you are new here, you don’t understand the conditions or the culture, this way is what works for us, we’ve always done it like this, and we’re not going to change anything!”
Ok, it’s not positive for anyone, especially students spending their hard-earned money, but at least it’s clear.
The teachers were not much better.
Whenever teachers complained to me about their jobs, I would remind them that the teacher has the power to make a lesson good or not.
The teacher decides if the lesson is happy, exciting, interesting, informative.
The teacher decides if it is boring, stressful, or a waste of time. In every teachers room I got some version of this answer:
“We hate our job but we can’t change anything, this is the system, and it is the students who make the class boring because they don’t work or don’t speak, I just want to get paid and go home.”
Why suffer in a job you hate and make the students suffer too?
Most of the teachers are too scared or too comfortable to leave their jobs, and very few try to make any positive changes.
Many told me they are not paid enough to do that extra effort.
Nearly all of the teachers seem to have forgotten that students are customers.
Teaching is not just a regular job, it needs real effort to motivate and excite a class and really help people to learn and improve their lives.
Students don’t pay for classes to help the teacher have a job, or because you just love learning English so much.
You are paying to improve your life opportunities.
Most of the time the teacher’s told me something like this.
“Blah, blah, blah, you don’t understand, just leave us alone and do what you want …“
True. Who am I to tell others what to do? It’s a fair point.
My way is not the only way, and my way might not be the best way for everyone.
Whether you choose my service or not, I think you will agree that there are certainly many problems in the existing market.
The English Navigator opened our service to help more students, and to offer an alternative to the generally limited quality of the teaching available elsewhere. I also opened it to set myself free of those teaching systems so I could use all of my skills and experience and knowledge to give a really great experience and focus on student results.
Is it all bad out there?
Well, there are a few good places to learn English, but sadly it has not been unusual to find local private language schools and Yurt Disi Egitim consultancies in Turkey which have been misrepresenting their services and failing to help students get the scores, university places or foreign visas they needed.
Have you ever visited any of the Yurt Disi Egitim offices?
I have partnered some in business, and visited others with my students to see how they work.
They get all get paid by the same small group of about 8 to 10 foreign universities. They get a large amount of money for each student they sign up. They also charge the student for recommending a university and helping with the application process.
Unfortunately this means the student probably does not get to know anything about the thousands of other universities out there which might be better for them. It also means that whether those 8 to 10 universities have good quality or not, they are always recommended.
Also, the help with the application process is usually just a template ‘Statement of Purpose / Personal Statement / Motivation Letter’ from some student who was accepted by some university. They just tell you to change a few details and put in your own name.
No personal guidance, no learning who you are and personalizing the letter, no linking it to what you say on your C.V., no linking it to what you say on your application form, no linking it to what you might say in an interview.
There are no quality controls, and students don’t know what questions to ask or how to know when things aren’t right.
In contrast, I will go deep into all of that, I will write something just for you, and I will work hard on every step of getting you accepted to whatever university you choose from anywhere in the world. I don’t get paid by universities, just by you.
Want some more examples?
There are plenty of general English teachers being offered as exam teachers, when exam teaching requires special knowledge and skills that general English teachers usually do not have.
There are plenty of native English speakers (from the UK, Ireland, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, etc) who are teaching as if they really understand grammar and vocabulary, but I guarantee you that those people would be working in a very basic factory or a cleaning job back in their own country.
There are plenty of schools advertising online and offline, on the signs outside their schools and in their reception area leaflets, that they offer certain academic exams (IELTS, TOEFL, GMAT, GRE, etc) when they don’t have any of the necessary resources or experienced teachers (Hey, it’s all English right? If they can get your money, they will switch sell you a different course or class. Good for their finances, not good for your life progress).
These practices are very unfair for the students, who are often paying a premium price and are not getting the real service.
That could be you! It could be your money!
What about online alternatives?
There are some platforms out there that offer English classes, and some that offer speaking practice. I haven’t used them all, but I can say that they are mainly focused on general English, not on exams. They also tend to randomly connect you with different teachers (again, mainly not real teachers, just native English speakers), which may or may not be beneficial for your results.
What about the ones I see on social media?
Personally I would say avoid these, and definitely do not pay anything. There are lots of impossible claims by people on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, such as ‘go from no English to fluent speaker in 3 months’.
This doesn’t work, nobody has ever achieved it, and you won’t be successful. Just think about it for a moment. If it worked, all of the private language schools, all of the online language platforms, and all of the universities would use the same system. Or they would all lose their business and be replaced by social media gurus.
Do you see any sign of that happening?
No, neither do I.
Unfortunately, learning anything requires hard work, discipline, and dedication. We could all wish for a magic solution, but there isn’t one, and that’s the reality.
What about free courses and materials?
Yes, these are often good, sometimes really good, so if you have the work ethic, the self-discipline, and the dedication to do the work without a teacher guiding you, go for it. You could save yourself a lot of money, although you may take more time.
That’s why having a teacher to help you works so well.
I have been focused on results, and while I haven’t succeeded in every single case, I have hundreds of satisfied students.
I will guide you to the best materials, answer all of your questions, solve your problems, and raise your ability and your confidence.
You don’t have to choose our service, but it’s probably worth a conversation with us to discuss what you really need. At least we can help you clarify your goals and help you understand what you can realistically achieve. We will also point you in the direction of good alternatives, and you won’t waste time and money on things that don’t work.
However, if we don’t think you are right for us, we also don’t have to choose you.
Places are limited, in order to keep our quality high and get you the great results you need.
If you are motivated and at the right level to start, we will definitely do our best to help you achieve your maximum.
Obviously this site is about my own service, and I want you to choose us for your English education needs.
As I said earlier, we are not right for everyone, and we definitely cannot serve everyone, so if you are thinking of going somewhere else that’s ok.
You should do your research and make the best choice for yourself. If you work hard enough, you can probably succeed anywhere.
My advice is to ask lots of questions before you give anyone any of your money. Seriously, after you pay your money, it will be too late to ask questions or change your mind.
So right now, why should you trust me?
Well, I have years of experience in general, academic, professional and business English, expert native English speaking, expertise across all of the main English exams, and I have worked everywhere and seen what everyone else has to offer. I can give you honest advice, and there is no pressure to sign up or buy anything.
I teach English from B1 to as advanced as you want to go, and have given creative writing and literature analysis classes, literary editorial of novels, proofreading of scientific theses and a lot more. My vocabulary knowledge is expert level, and comfortably above the most advanced academic and business English exams that I teach. If you want to decode these exams and quickly improve your speed and score, you have come to the right place.
What else? I am a graduate Software Engineer with a long list of other computer qualifications, an award-winning entrepreneur, and an award winning sales expert. I will be sharing a lot more about other things I have done or experienced, but there are too many to mention here. In my other businesses I teach sales and marketing (especially the dark arts) and sometimes do it for businesses when they cannot learn it. I also consult to companies all over Turkey on business strategy. In my free time I play chess, poker and other psychological games, as well as taking a lot of self-education on human psychology (the most important and valuable topic that everyone should study) and on new twenty-first century digital business models to plan my next venture.
If you liked what I’ve said, if you are a first timer and unsure, or if you are coming here after failing elsewhere, what are you waiting for?
Want some real help to achieve your English language goals?
Get in touch – I am waiting to meet you 🙂
Our Team – A work in progress
Nothing can be achieved without a good team. However, we won’t employ anyone unless they really fit our requirements and add value. Managing people is a difficult skill. Even though we have built or managed multiple businesses employing hundreds of people. Even though we teach management methods in our training business. Even though we consult to other businesses on human resources management. It’s even harder when you have a passion for your business. How do you get new people to share that and behave the way we do? The way our customers want? The best way is to be really selective, and to only hire when you find that spark in someone.
That applies to partnering too. We have been freelancers and held multiple part-time roles for many years. In the 21st century the ‘side-hustle’ is the new way of converting your time and talents into as much money as you want to earn. A good freelancer can earn a lot more money than a full-time worker, and have more fun, flexibility and freedom doing it too. It does require extra energy, motivation and organization though.
As a note, if you think you could be one of those people, read this.
So right now, why should you trust us?
Well, we have years of experience in general, academic, professional and business English, expert native English speaking, expertise across all of the main English exams, and we have worked everywhere and seen what everyone else has to offer. We can give you honest advice.
We have delivered years of general English.
- English conversation classes and clubs
- English creative writing classes
- Business English classes for the workplace
- Private English coaching for academic, business or pleasure.
- General English Courses
- A1 (Beginner)
- A2 (Elementary)
- B1 (Pre-Intermediate)
- B2 (Intermediate)
- C1 (Upper-Intermediate)
- C2 (Advanced)
- Years of academic exam English classes
- GRE – One of the few teaching teams delivering GRE in Ankara
- IELTS – close working relationship with the British Council in Turkey
- TOEFL – we regularly send students to American universities
- PTEA – we are teacher training partners for Pearson Turkey
- SAT – expert preparation for students preparing for US universities
- ACT – less popular than SAT, but sometimes preferred
- YDS – the standard exam for proving English for Turkish government
- YOS – mathematics for university entry in Turkey
- DuoLingo – Basic and cheaper English test for simple proof of ability
- IMAT – entry level medical English for medical degree in Italy and other countries
- ERASMUS+ OLS – entry level English test for working and travelling in countries which offer the Erasmus programme
- Business English classes
- BULATS – the most common test, accepted worldwide
- Linguaskill – the replacement for BULATS
- BEC – a more detailed test of Business English skills
- iTEP – a test of practical use in business situations – a range of legal, medical, engineering, scientific or other subject- specific uses of English, often with exams designed just for one discipline in one country.
- OET – for all medical professionals seeking to prove their English for a life in healthcare, medical, dentistry, veterinary or pharmacy practice in an English speaking country. We help lots of doctors, nurses, vets, and related professions to pass and relocate.
- DLA – entry level English test for airline staff, cabin crew and pilots
We are also experienced in:
- Preparing academic students for MBA, Degree, Masters and Ph.D. applications in Turkey or abroad
- Coaching business people who are moving to work in the USA, UK, EU or are working on international teams using English.
So there you have it. We could keep talking, but if you have taken a tour of the site you should have found enough information to decide what to do next. We hope it was helpful. So if you decided to go somewhere else or to change your plans, good luck. We wish you every success and hope it works out. If you work hard enough, you can probably succeed anywhere.
If you liked what you read, or you are coming here after failing elsewhere, what are you waiting for?
Want some real help to achieve your goals?
Click the image – we are waiting to meet you 🙂
Seriously, click the image 🙂