Whether it’s the early stages of English development to a university level research paper, Potts Education Studio employs a diverse team of highly trained teachers with a variety of backgrounds and disciplines to suit your needs.

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Phil

Phil studied his undergraduate degree in Linguistics, specializing in second-language acquisition. In 1995, he did a practicum at the Language Training Institute of Ottawa. He was offered a permanent position there, but had to turn it down to continue his education.

Phil did in-home tutoring for several years before establishing his first tutoring centre in Richmond in 2000. This quickly led to an opportunity to establish and run a centre in Shenzhen, China, where he spent nearly two years. Upon returning to Canada, Phil was recruited to manage two different centres until 2008, when he established Potts Education Studio.

Phil holds a Master of Education, with designation in Digital, Open, and Distance Learning. That puts Potts Education Studio in a unique position to offer its classes online as well as in the classroom. What’s more, Phil speaks several languages, including English, French, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, and a handful of others. He continues to learn more, believing there is no end to education.

Karolin

Karolin is a BC certified teacher and has been a part of the Potts Education team since  2013.  Before joining Potts Education Studio, Karolin volunteered and did substitute teaching at Our Lady of Mercy Elementary School in Burnaby; she also taught Grade 5 English and adult classes in Celaya, Mexico, where she discovered her passion for teaching English as a second language. Karolin has a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education from Simon Fraser University, and she is a certified TEFL/TESOL teacher.

Karolin loves learning new things from her students and loves the engagement that teaching brings every single day. She enjoys running, hiking, playing baseball, travelling, and snowboarding. Karolin's teaching philosophy can best be described in Joseph Addison's analogy: "What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul."

Karolin teaches the elementary group classes and one-on-one classes at Potts Education Studio. 

Kristen

Having traveled to East Asia frequently since the age of nine, Kristen has developed a passionate interest for Asian languages, literature, history, and culture. This interest led her to the University of British Columbia, where she pursued a degree in Chinese Language and Culture. Eager to improve her Mandarin fluency, Kristen entered Potts Education Studio and became one of Phil’s students while completing her degree. It was from this experience that Kristen discovered a desire to become an educator.

​She spent her final year at UBC developing her skills as an English tutor.
After graduation, Kristen won a scholarship from the Government of China, and completed a year of post-graduate Mandarin Language study at Xiamen University in Fujian province. Living and studying in beautiful Xiamen gave Kristen the opportunity to teach English classes to preschool and elementary students at a local arts and language centre, and she engaged in tutoring on her university campus.

Upon returning to Canada, Kristen resumed her post at Potts Education Studio. Her experiences in China have deepened and informed her teaching skills. Kristen believes that academic success in language is achieved not only through hard work, but also through exploration, curiosity, and interaction with the wider world.

Hafsa

Hafsa is a language lover and a passionate teacher who has entered the field of language instruction more than 15 years ago. She has enjoyed teaching both English and French in a variety of settings, to a wide range of students from Kindergarten to university and adult professionals.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in applied linguistics, and decided to obtain her teaching certificate in 2003.

Ever since, Hafsa has taught at several public and private schools in Morocco and Canada. In 2007, she travelled to teach English at the College of Applied Sciences in the Sultanate of Oman, where she spent two amazing years teaching Omani and international students.

She now teaches at Potts Education Studio where she also takes classes in Mandarin. Despite being a busy mother of two children, Hafsa believes in lifelong learning. She fluently speaks four languages and is determined to make Mandarin her fifth.

Hafsa firmly believes that “what we learn with pleasure, we never forget.” She’s looking forward to giving her best to her students and making their learning experience one to cherish and remember.

Kathy

Kathy is a lover of English literature and visual arts. She first discovered her passion for teaching when assisting high school students at homework clubs.  She has volunteered at numerous other places, teaching English to elementary and high school students alike.

Kathy understands what many students feel like to be in a new land full of strange wonders, and so she makes it her goal to use various forms of visual art, literature, and contemporary culture to introduce to students what it means to be in Canada.

By teaching at Potts Education Studio, she hopes that she can channel her passion for the arts into her students so they can learn how to engage with the world. Most importantly, she wants to help students become critical thinkers.

Kathy currently runs the education studio’s book club to help students understand how interesting literature can be. 

Phoebe

Before joining the teaching team at Potts, Phoebe was a student of Phil’s for many years. Under Phil’s guidance, she learned the importance of good work ethic and time management which has led her to many successes in the years since then. 

Throughout her life as a student, Phoebe’s favourite class was always Science. She enjoys the hands-on experience science can offer as well as the way it explains many things that happen in our world and how it encourages curiosity. Her passion for science helped her excel and landed her a position as a teaching assistant for Science 8. This experience led her to discover the joy of educating others. 

Since then, Phoebe has graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of British Columbia and has continued to build upon her teaching skills as a science tutor at Potts Education Studio. Her favourite part of being a science tutor is feeding into her students’ curiosity and teaching them the science behind things we interact with every day.

​During her free time, Phoebe enjoys baking and playing video games, which has inspired her to pursue another degree in computer science.

Jien

Jien is a BC certified teacher who also holds a US teaching license as well as a TESOL/TESL certification. Having taught in 3 countries (Canada, USA, and South Korea), he has presented on teaching at several international conferences, coordinated professional development for other teachers, and helped to pioneer an annual TEDx-like speaking event for students in Daegu, South Korea.

With nearly a decade of teaching experience, he continues to be passionate about teaching students in a way that is evidence-based, fair, and serves their individual needs.

Jien graduated from university at the top of his class with a perfect GPA and was a member of 4 honour societies. He knows the strategies to success in university and strives to equip his students with the tools and methods they need to triumph when school becomes truly difficult at those high levels.
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He is currently completing post-graduate coursework in instructing multiple literacies to improve his teaching even further.

Jana

Jana has a masters degree in teaching English and French as a second language. Currently teaching in Slovakia at private English high school geography and history gives Jana joy and pleasure to connect with students and to see their progress. Jana's teaching principles include promoting independence and fostering growth at an individual pace. Jana encourages her students to be independent using methods of education that are based on self-directed activity, hands-on learning and collaborative play. Supporting students' intellectual, emotional and social development are Jana's utmost goals and philosophy.

Having a European background allowed Jana to travel across many countries and to get to know many European cultures and languages. This experience promoted her passion for multiculturalism and social interaction. ​

Tianyi

Tianyi holds a Bachelor of Management degree in Construction Management and a Master of Engineering degree in Civil Engineering. She has been helping students with university planning and math tutoring since 2015 in China and joined Potts Education Studio in 2017. 

From her educational background and previous experience, she is familiar with university planning and university applications. Her previous students successfully received offers from top North American universities including UBC, UT, McGill, University of California, Berkeley, and New York University, etc. She also provides math tutoring from Grade 8 to Grade 12, as well as SAT math. 

Tianyi helps students with all steps in university planning, from extracurricular activities application, program/university selection until students receive university admission offers. 

Carlos

Carlos obtained his Bachelor’s degree of Electrical Engineering at Harbin Institute of Technology in China and achieved his Master’s degree of Electrical Engineering at UBC. He has over 8 years of experience helping high school and university students with Mathematics and Sciences as a tutor. With dual education backgrounds, he knows the similarities and differences of various education systems very well. Carlos is able to deliver mathematical and science concepts effectively to students while identifying each student’s weakness. And he is determined to get every student involved in the learning process. 

He joined Potts Education Studio in October 2018 when he was still a graduate student at UBC. And during the past 3 years with the Studio, over 20 students have improved their academic performance dramatically.

Carlos teaches one-on-one classes at the Studio with Gr. 9 - 12 Mathematics, Gr. 11 - 12 Physics and Chemistry.

Katie

Katie is currently developing a career in education. Since elementary school she has had a passion for teaching and working with children, spending her high school years tutoring language classes and assisting teachers in special-ed classrooms. She also loves to babysit and any chance to spend time bonding with younger kids, her favourite part being the opportunity to guide them towards their passions and help them learn to express themselves. She believes that children are the best part of teaching and feels most content in her work when it allows her to make a connection with her students.

Katie is always seeking new ways to create and convey her feelings through art. Although she has always had a love and natural talent for writing, she prefers to paint or sculpt to express herself.  She loves cooking, collecting trinkets, and using cameras, with hopes to direct her own short film someday. Katie believes people should reach as far as they can to obtain their goals, and that no dream is too big to realize. 

Sim

Sim is a current student at the University of British Columbia, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in the study of Religion. She loves drawing, crocheting, and exploring new ways of creative expression. When she isn’t trying new hobbies, Sim enjoys spending time with friends and family.
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Sim has always been interested in using the English language to express herself, from writing stories as a child to articulating literary arguments at a university level. Sim has a passion for all aspects of the language, and hopes to use her passion to help others. She aspires to help her ESL/ELL students become proficient in English and discover that they, too, have a love for English.