Why Most English Courses Fail Artists and Designers
If you’re an artist, you already know: most language school courses don’t fit you.
You have sat through courses that vaguely promised ‘fluency’ but gave you little that helped you talk about your work.
Even English lessons at art school, while at least aimed at building language for an art career, often miss the mark. One teacher guiding a large group can’t offer the individual conversation, nuance, or practice you need. It’s not the same as real dialogue. Mistakes get fossilised if they are missed (and how can one teacher drill a mixed-level group without waiting time?
It’s why many artists turn to 1:1 coaching.
The assumption is that 1:1 is best, and that 1 single teacher is best.
Because often, in language education, team teaching is a compromise.
The Flaw in Private Coaching
And while private lessons can help, they can only ever give you one teacher’s style, one perspective, and one voice. For artists, that’s not enough.
What I’m offering is something new: a team working within a system designed from the ground up for artists. It delivers the full range of language experiences—formal and informal, conversational and professional, structured and creative. Because that’s the reality of your practice: presenting work to a jury one day, chatting with visitors in your studio the next.
That’s the foundation of The Sketchbook Course. It’s the foundation of our Language Consulting for Art Schools. It even threads through our Portfolio Mentoring for International UK Art School Applicants.
Why Most Courses Don’t Fit
Unlike accountants or pilots, there is no fixed “English for artists” syllabus. Every artist needs to say different things about their work: explaining concepts, describing processes, or speaking about their vision.
Generic courses don’t provide that. They’re designed for “general” learners. They often promise unrealistic outcomes—“perfect fluency,” “speak like a native”—and when learners fall short, they blame themselves.
Instead of moving you forward, these courses can set you back, leaving you doubting your English.
But your English isn’t broken.
It doesn’t need fixing.
It just needs practice, attention—and above all, to be loved.
Why 1:1 Lessons Aren’t Enough
Many artists understandably turn to independent teachers. And yes, 1:1 coaching can be valuable.
But even the most skilled teacher can only ever offer one perspective.
Artists need something bigger:
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exposure to different voices, accents, and registers
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a balance between formal and informal English
- practical (not theoretical) connection to their work
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safe practice across professional and social contexts
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and language experiences that mirror the variety of their real-world interactions.
That can’t all come from one teacher alone.
It requires a team.
Proof of Concept: English Holidays
I first discovered this while running English language immersion holidays in Scotland.
These holidays weren’t a “fix.” They were a bridge—helping learners take classroom English into real-world use. And they worked. Learners came away not only more confident but re-energised about English.
One reason was the people I brought in: a songwriter leading a lyric-writing workshop, a comedian running improvisation, a pronunciation specialist reshaping how learners felt about their voice.
This wasn’t the frustrating, fragmented “team teaching” of traditional schools. It was intentional, curated, and designed to serve learners’ needs. Learners thrived because the system held everything together while different voices enriched it and energised it.
By focusing on a different client group, I had fixed the problem in my course for artists: creatives don’t need one teacher—they need a team working within a system designed for them.
Team Teaching, Redesigned for Artists and Designers
I’ve had the idea of delivering English training to artists and designers for the last 10 years. (Previously, I spent 3 years working in art, architecture, and design schools doing just this).
This means that for 13+ years, I’ve been collecting ideas, methods and experience to shape a course for artists, architects, and designers.
But English for artists and designers isn’t like other “niches.” There are no standard language requirements.
Artists all need to say completely different things about their work. The common ground is the need to express certain things with accuracy—and to know when to sound adamant, and when to sound curious.
It’s easy to help an individual, but it takes strategy to build a course.
I got stuck designing the course because I ignored the huge potential of team teaching. I didn’t see past team teaching as a compromise.
But what if I cherry-picked the best experts and brought them together to coach specific skills: presentations, pronunciation, improvisation, poetry?
The Sketchbook Course: English for Artists and Designers
That’s exactly what The Sketchbook Online Course for Artists offers.
It’s not a collection of private lessons. It’s a course designed from the ground up for artists—bringing together multiple teachers with diverse expertise within a single, coherent system.
That’s what The Sketchbook Online Course for Artists became: only 1/3 my original concept.
- 1/3 a practice-led creative course with live coaching
- 1/3 expert ELT skills coaching
- 1/3 real ‘studio-to-studio’ conversations with UK artists and designers (NOT Englsih teachers, artists!)
A Different Path
If you’ve already ruled out language schools, and you’re not convinced 1:1 lessons are enough, then this is your unique alternative to learn English for your creative career.
Not a single teacher. Not a generic syllabus. But a course redesigned for artists—built on a system, strengthened by a team, and focused on helping you use English as part of your creative voice.
The Sketchbook Course doesn’t claim to do everything— it ‘fix’ your English, but it does more than most.
And it’s designed to do the things that matter most for artists.
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