Blog - Spark English

This blog is the story of my adventure in Rwanda.

I will be outlining what happens as I seek to create a business that reflects my values, helps people progress, while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

A foray into teaching English online in Kigali

We've had a few online sessions now with our regular Kigali class. And we've learnt a lot. Actually, it resembles regular teaching in many ways. Technical issues aside, there are some obvious benefits for both the trainers and students alike.

A unique and unprecedented situation

As the world was swept into the Covid-19 crisis, we were faced with a serious challenge here in Rwanda. Like the rest of the world, life was turned upside down. Events have been cancelled, regular life put on hold. A conference on Public Speaking, at which I was due to present, has been postponed.

Test Preparation Course with Carnegie Mellon Africa

Well, it was a challenging few weeks, but a momentous achievement for our teaching team.

5 Weird and Wacky Ways to Boost Your English

Learning a language is difficult. We know it, you know it. And the internet is filled with ways to improve, but it gets a bit repetitive. So here are our top usual ways to improve your English. The good news: it's not impossible.

How to Ace the IELTS Speaking: Our Top 7 Tips

Taking the IELTS soon? Stressed about the speaking? Don't be.

A new centre in Kigali, a new chapter for Spark

We are proud to present to the public Spark English school. Located in Kigali’s tranquil Car Free Zone, in the downtown area - we’ve been busting our backs to furnish classrooms, find teachers, write curriculum, and gather students for our new 12 week course.

7 Tips for Giving Impact Presentations

Famously, many people have a big fear of giving presentations. So to help reduce fear there are several, simple ways you can take control of what you are saying to make your presentation effective. Having a plan is one thing – knowing what you want to say will of course help you. Here are seven other ways you can ensure your presentation is memorable.

5 tips of How to Write Professionally

Here are 5 tips (by no means exhaustive) on how to write effectively in a professional context. Adherence to these will help you get your message across; achieving your objective without giving your reader a headache.

What is Business English?

What is Business English? It’s a simple enough question that could have a simple enough answer: It’s the English you use when ‘doing’ business. But given that business covers pretty much every aspect of life, and could thus be said to likely use all elements of the language, how does it differ from General English?

This blog & me

On Friday May 5th 2017, just before midnight, the plane carrying our family touched down in Kigali, Rwanda. We had arrived in Africa on a one-way ticket. Along with my wife and son, there were five suitcases carrying the belongings that we would need for the following three months, while a container on board a ship arrived from our previous home in Switzerland.

ATER Huye Training July 2017

From my previous visit to Huye I remember that it is a pleasant place, with a large central boulevard lined with palm trees. Today, though I can’t really see if Huye is how I remember it or if it has changed, as I am greeted on arrival by a thick flurry of tickertape, banners, tricolour flags and klaxons blaring.

About me

I’ve always believed in education as the key to a better world. I believe it helps people make better choices. Education around communication and language – those tools that enable us to relate to each other in profound ways - has thus become my specialism.

Brad Elliott, the Founder and CEO of Spark English is an entrepreneur, educator, teacher and trainer

Originally from Manchester in the north of the England, he lives in Kigali with his family, and is passionate about language as an agent for change.

Brad is an expert in English language instruction, having taught thousands of hours of general English over the past nineteen years in Europe, Asia and Africa, including all major exams. Brad is also a leader in education management and curriculum development, having developed English language curricula that have been rolled out to tens of thousands of students, and managed a school with an annual net income of over $4 million.

Furthermore Brad is an experienced executive English coach, having trained CEOs and high level executives in English and business skills in numerous corporates, including Bulgari, Nestlé & Exxon Mobil. Brad has also trained government staff of numerous departments, and developed and taught English courses tailored to specific contexts, such as nursing English, legal English, and financial English.