About the authors

Andrew and Hugh run Lexicallab.com, and specialise in teacher development courses both abroad and as part of their London summer school programme. Their website is also home to their popular Chunk of the Day posts, designed for learners and for teachers to use in the classroom.

They have been colleagues and friends for twenty years now, first working together as teachers, trainers and course directors at the University of Westminster. As well as Outcomes, they also wrote the series Innovations, which was shortlisted for the ELTons and the ESU Duke of Edinburgh award. They have also recently finished work on a new National Geographic Learning secondary course called Perspectives, which features TED talks.

In terms of teaching methodology, they have written many articles for publications such as ETP and IATEFL Voices and are popular speakers at conferences all over the world. They have delivered training courses and workshops in over 30 countries. They have written a TESOL-validated course for ELT Advantage and in 2016 published Teaching Lexically as part of Delta Publishing’s multi-award-winning teacher development series.

But Hugh and Andrew are individuals too! Here’s what they have to say about themselves:

Andrew: I’m married with two children and live in North London with my partner and son, now my daughter has left home. I grew up in Birmingham and went to Nottingham University, where I studied English Studies. After that I went to Spain to teach English ‘for a year’ while I decided what I wanted to do with my life. It turned out I wanted to teach English! After that, I returned to the UK where I worked in various language schools and adult colleges and completed a DipTEFLA and trained to deliver CELTA courses. I then worked at the university for 17 years, with a four-year break when I went back to Valencia with my family. When I am not working, I play football twice a week, I cycle around the city and enjoy London, I grow vegetables on an allotment, I cook, I collapse in front of the TV.

Hugh: I’m also married with two kids and live only five streets away from Andrew in North London. I grew up on the south coast of England and in South London and graduated in English Literature from Goldsmith’s College, part of the University of London, in 1991. Like many native speakers, I then drifted into language teaching, only really becoming serious about it during a four-year stint in Indonesia in the mid-90s. I returned to London to do my DELTA and then an MA TESOL and moved soon afterwards into coursebook writing. I worked initially with Michael Lewis and Jimmie Hill, the two men behind The Lexical Approach, a book that influenced me enormously. In my (far too limited) free time, I continue to play in a band called The Beatpack. I write for a music magazine and DJ occasionally. I read voraciously, I enjoy cooking, and am a life-long Arsenal supporter.