References

James Lloyd

Assistant Teaching Centre Manager
Professional Development
British Council
Madrid Young Learners Centre
Paseo General Martínez Campos, 31
28010 Madrid

T +34 91 337 3579
F +34 91 337 3600

james.lloyd@britishcouncil.es

To whom it may concern

I write with reference to a storytelling week given by David James at British Council teaching centres here in Madrid. David provided very professional, high quality sessions to various groups of English language students, from beginner to proficiency levels, aged from 5 years to adults. David's work was very well received by students and teachers alike, especially as he provided the latter group with follow-up material.

I would be willing to recommend David as a collaborator on any related project and other institutions are welcome to contact me for further information.

Westfield Technology College is a specialist college for up to 178 pupils aged 4 – 16 with moderate and Complex Learning Difficulties, a proportion of whom are on the ASD continuum.

David has worked as a storyteller on many occasions at the school, mainly across the secondary age range but also in the primary department. His work has contributed to the Literacy and English curricular areas as well as to enhancement projects in Literature, PSHCE and the Creative Arts. David’s range and repertoire are wide, varied and of very high quality. He adapts his material to suit our requirements and to the pupils in the group, and pupils (and staff!) of all ages are enthralled by his delivery, his sense of humour and his ability to engage the audience.

David is a very experienced practitioner, whom we welcome into school as often as we can, and I would not hesitate to recommend him to any school or college, whether mainstream or special.

David James made an invaluable contribution to the Budmouth Technology College Summer School 2003. His enthusiasm for the stories he told was very evident as he captured and retained the attention of 15 students for an hour at a time. The eleven to twelve year olds listened attentively, amused and intrigued by the content of David’s stories. They were also able to participate fully in the event because of David’s dynamic and animated style that enabled students to recognise key moments in the story and respond accordingly. 

David’s input then played an integral part in improving the Literacy skills of the students involved. We went on to analyse the language that made the stories so effective, discuss their structure and create our own descriptive pieces. These projects were received very positively by parents in our end of school presentation. 

David’s set was very warmly received by all at the Summer School and we would greatly welcome his return next year. 

Mark Cavill