I'm Dr Rebecca Jones, and I'm the tutor behind Ceridwen English Tuition. English and the written word are my passions, and I feel unbelievably lucky to have been able to build a career on the foundation of what I truly love doing!

I’m dedicated to helping people get closer to texts, understand how and why they’re written, and write them themselves. I know how beautifully versatile the English language is, which is why I also get such pleasure from helping others to read, speak, and write it with more confidence and clarity, whatever their starting point. I combine this genuine love of my subject with teaching and tuition skills developed over nearly eight years in both in-person and online classrooms; I've helped hundreds of students to improve their grades and reach their learning goals. My teaching methodologies, lesson plans, and practice have been audited, assessed, and awarded by professional bodies including Cambridge English and the Higher Education Academy. 

When I'm not teaching English, I run our sister service, Ceridwen Editorial, where I offer writer coaching and editing for fiction writers. My coaching supports writers to develop and apply the skills and mindset needed to build a rewarding writing practice, while my specialist developmental and line editing services help them to get their manuscripts ready for agents and publishers.

As well as teaching and editing fiction, I also write it! While my reading tastes are pretty varied (and I always seem to have at least six books on the go at once and a TBR pile taller than I am), most of my writing finds its home somewhere in the historical and speculative fiction genres, often borrowing from what I learned during my undergraduate and master's degrees in classics; I particularly enjoy penning alternative histories and reimaginings of myths, legends, and folktales. The first story I can actually remember telling myself was about a group of friends on a space shuttle; I was seven, and had just been lucky enough to meet Helen Sharman, the first British person in space. The story wasn't very good. ('Fun' fact: most stories aren't very good at first. A story usually takes time to grow into what it's meant to be.) But it did set me on a path to more tales, more reading, more writing, and, eventually, a particular understanding of the anatomy of story. 

I now have a PhD in the discipline that’s always brought me so much joy and inspiration. My thesis was about the myth of Prometheus and animals in science fiction and how the genre reflects and influences real-world science and technology. The historical and cultural context of language and writing is enormously important, and my research has always reflected this. As a CELTA-qualified English teacher, one of my favourite linguistic topics is the way in which language itself changes and evolves depending on where (and when) we are; the English language, like all languages, is a living thing.

When my eyes need a break from either reading or writing, you’ll find me hanging out with my dog, Dougal, probably somewhere on the banks of Loch Lomond near our home. I also like to cook, even if my enthusiasm and my skill are not always in perfect balance! I love spicy food and fancy bread. I don't love coriander and udon noodles. 

I’m looking forward to meeting you, finding out more about you, and helping you flourish in your study of English, whatever your area of focus.