Alex Pugno

I am a CELTA-qualified English as a Foreign Language tutor (Pass A) with over 10 years of teaching experience, and I offer both English and Italian language tutoring.
Variety, creativity, professionalism, and even a touch of humour are guaranteed in every lesson.

- English as a foreign language lessons: I offer tailored lessons to improve your fluency, conversation skills, grammar, and exam preparation.

- Personalised Italian lessons focusing on speaking, reading, and writing for all levels (native speaker). For those looking for a faster route to conversational fluency, I provide an innovative immersive approach that emphasises natural communication and real-life dialogue. The method prioritises language use over traditional grammar-heavy teaching, helping you build confidence and fluency quickly and effectively.

CV assistance for roles such as admin, management, retail, and catering: comprehensive support, from basic reviews to complete overhauls. Mock interviews. Cover letters. I can provide tips on job search.

Proofreading services for essays, websites, PhD papers, personal statements for university and job applications, and more. I will ensure clarity, accuracy, and professionalism.

Translation services: Italian - English and English - Italian


About me:

I'm a naturally empathetic and creative individual with a passion for connecting with people from all walks of life. With a background in mindfulness, lateral thinking, and habit formation, I enjoy exploring new ways of thinking and helping others unlock their potential. I’ve spent years delving into topics like brain plasticity and philosophy, including recent studies on free will and personal development.
I’m approachable, humorous, and enjoy deep conversations about life’s complexities. I also co-host a quirky, surreal podcast full of interesting characters, so I bring a light-hearted and creative approach to my work.
Whether engaging with people from diverse cultural, political, religious, or personal backgrounds, I’m always open to different perspectives and find joy in meaningful communication. My friends and family often come to me for advice, as I’m a good listener with a knack for offering practical insights.
I love languages: I am bilingual in English and Italian, which is my mother tongue. I have also a fairly good level of Spanish. I am working on my French, German, and Dutch, which are all at a fairly basic to elementary level.


Testimonials and references:

Minoo (English lessons): I enjoyed every moment of my lessons with Alex because he is a really good teacher. I felt that he was paying attention to my needs. Our lessons were really fun and we were laughing a lot. He knows exactly what is needed.
Thanks Alex for your lovely lessons.

Kenia (English lessons): I improved my grammar with Alex and he helped me improve my pronunciation too. I liked my lessons with Alex cause they were always different and fun. He is patient and explains well.

Elisa and Michele (English lessons): We've done some English lessons with Alex last year and we've found him very clear, polite and professional! I would recommend him to anyone who wants to learn English! Thanks Alex.

Ricardo (English lessons and I also helped him find work): I enjoyed very much my lessons with Alex. He also helped me create a successful CV and cover letter. I said it was successful because after creating it and sending it over a few job openings, I got lots of phone calls and job interviews.
Finally I got the job I wanted within a couple of weeks.
Thanks Alex for your help!

Suraj (I helped him find work): I was told by one of my friends about Alex. I was struggling, even after gaining a qualification, to find work but after my CV was reviewed by Alex I got what I wanted. He's reliable, trustworthy and very convincing. I would recommend to have your CV reviewed by Alex.

Thierry (Italian lessons): Alex has been teaching Italian to me for the past 2 years. I am taking a one-to-one class once a week for a full hour with him.
Alex is an outstanding teacher: he is very creative and imaginative coming up with new material each time, using a wide variety of support (TV, radio, blackboard, etc.) and implementing many different ways to catch the student's attention (e.g. games, questionnaires, etc.). All aspects of the foreign language are covered (reading aloud, pronunciation, listening, understanding, speaking, dictation, translation both ways, etc.). He takes notes of weaknesses in order to specifically address them later whether they relate to grammar or vocabulary. His explanations are comprehensive, precise and clear. In addition he is an excellent educator: he constantly listens to you, he creates a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, he is flexible and does not ever bother about going over time and taking additional questions. In a nutshell, I would strongly recommend Alex to anyone looking for a very reliable, professional tutor.

Julia (Italian lessons): I can't recommend Alex highly enough as an Italian teacher. I wanted to learn as much as possible in a short space of time and Alex rose to the challenge of that way of working.
He is patient and easy to get on with and so lessons were a real pleasure. He is also very skilled at language teaching; he has an in-depth understanding of Italian and English grammar and is able to both anticipate likely difficulties and to find ways of explaining tricky areas. Alex uses a range of methods of teaching that I found kept my interest and were really effective.

Kouassi - Director of Focus Organization (proofreading/ translation of website): I have known Alex for many years now.
From being a work colleague to having him to translate my website, Alex has always been professional and very efficient.
I would recommend Alex to anyone for a high standard service.

Andrea (proofreading and translation of website): Dear Alex, thank you very much for helping write and translate the contents of my website. I appreciate your professionalism and expertise. I would definitely recommend your services to others.