Professional English
One-to-one Professional English lessons with experienced British teachers, focused on the tone, vocabulary and small phrases that mark out a confident professional voice. For non-native English speakers who already speak English well and want to sound like the professional they already are. Online across the UK and around the world, face-to-face in London.
Tell us where your English needs to land more cleanly at work and we will match you with the right teacher.
Who Professional English lessons are for
Professional English at PS English is for non-native English speakers who already use English at work and want to sound more polished doing it. Most of our Professional English students already have the vocabulary for their job. What they want is the next layer up: the tone, the register, the natural turn of phrase that makes English read as confident rather than overly careful. If you can read this page comfortably, you are very likely the right level for us.
Professional English lessons work especially well for:
Mid-career professionals whose English is functional at work but who want their written and spoken English to match the seniority of the role
Senior managers and leaders whose English needs to carry authority in meetings, presentations and written communication
Specialists and consultants whose technical work is strong but whose English is the thing clients and colleagues notice first
Anyone preparing for a step up where the bar for written and spoken English is about to rise (a promotion, a client-facing role, a more senior employer)
Professionals who feel "stuck" at a plateau despite years of using English at work, and want a fresh, focused way to move forward
What you work on in Professional English lessons
Every Professional English lesson at PS English is built around the way you actually sound at work, in writing and in conversation. We do not work through a fixed syllabus. In your first lesson, your teacher listens to how you speak and looks at examples of how you write, then plans the lessons that follow around what will move your English forward fastest. Most students focus on some combination of the areas below.
When to be formal, when to relax, and how to read the situation. The difference between English that sounds blunt and English that sounds confident; between English that sounds anxious and English that sounds calm.
The natural, well-used words that good professional English reaches for. Not jargon, not textbook phrases, but the language that fits the work without drawing attention to itself.
Clearer emails, sharper messages, better-structured documents. Writing that reads as professional rather than translated, and that lands the way you intend.
Small pronunciation adjustments, natural intonation, the connecting phrases that make spoken English flow.
British English PronunciationThe phrases that move a conversation forward, the polite hedges that soften a disagreement, the language that signals agreement, doubt or interest without effort.
English for MeetingsThe English you reach for when you are tired, stressed or under time pressure. Often the gap between intermediate English and genuinely professional English is here, not in the vocabulary.
Small habits and self-checks that you can carry into your own writing and speaking long after the lessons stop, so that progress continues without us.
How our Professional English lessons are different
Built around your voice, not a curriculum
Professional English at PS English is not a packaged course with a fixed syllabus. It is a series of one-to-one lessons built around the way you already speak and write, and the way you want to sound. Two students working on Professional English with us will rarely have the same lesson plan. The starting point is always you.
Experienced British teachers
Our teachers are native British English speakers with years of experience teaching adult professionals. You learn natural, current British English from someone who has taught it for a long time, not from a platform that has matched you with the next available person on a global roster. The model of "professional" you are learning is a real one, used every day in UK working life.
Honest, attentive feedback
Most professionals using English at work do not get honest feedback on their English. Colleagues are polite, clients are busy, and the small things that hold an otherwise strong professional back stay invisible. Our teachers are kind about this and direct about it. You get to hear, clearly and constructively, the patterns that are working for you and the ones that are not.
Flexible, online or in person
Lessons fit around your schedule, not the other way around. Take them online from anywhere in the world, in person in central London, or mix the two as it suits you. Reschedule when work gets in the way; that is normal, not a problem.
As a doctor practising in the UK, vocabulary was never my primary issue. I knew the medical terminology and could write clinical notes, but I often felt a bit lost or hesitant during spoken interactions. I also struggled a bit knowing how to switch registers – what words to use to patients and what words to avoid.
PS English helped me with all of this. In the lessons, we practised real-world clinical scenarios, improving how I explain complex matters both to other doctors and to patients. I liked the fact that I could practise explaining the types of situations I have to deal with, not generic dialogues from textbooks.
How it works
Book a free consultation
Tell us a little about your role, the work you do in English, and the way you would like your English to sound. We will match you with a teacher at a time that suits you.
Meet your teacher
Your first lesson is a real lesson, at a discounted price of £20 for 60 minutes online. You and your teacher talk through your goals, look at some of your actual working English (an email, a recent meeting, a message you wish had landed better) and agree what to focus on. No commitment, no pressure.
Start your lessons
When you are ready, book a block of lessons online or face-to-face in London. Your teacher tailors each lesson to the patterns they hear and read in your English, and adjusts as you progress. Most Professional English students book lessons in blocks of ten or twenty and adjust as their needs change.
Related lessons
One-to-one Business English lessons built around the work you actually do, from emails and reports to meetings and presentations.
Find out morePractical lessons in spoken English that build natural flow, confident conversation and a more relaxed everyday voice.
Find out moreTargeted work on accent, intonation and pronunciation, for professionals who want their spoken English to sound cleaner.
Find out moreProfessional English at senior level, focused on the language of leadership, board-level conversation and high-stakes communication.
Find out moreFrequently asked questions
What is Professional English?
Professional English is the English used by people doing skilled work, in writing and in conversation, when the way they sound matters. It is not a separate dialect of English and the grammar is the same as any other variety. What is different is the register, the vocabulary, the tone, and the small habits that mark out a confident professional voice. Knowing when to be formal and when to relax, how to write an email that lands cleanly, how to disagree without sounding rude, and how to sound interested in a meeting are all part of Professional English. At PS English, we teach Professional English in one-to-one lessons built around the way you already speak and write, so that the things you want to change can be heard and worked on directly.
How is Professional English different from Business English?
The two overlap, and many of our students work on both. The clearest way to draw the line is this. Business English is mostly about the work itself: emails, reports, meetings, presentations, the daily running of a business in English. Professional English is mostly about the voice you use to do that work: tone, polish, register, the small phrases that make your English sound confident. If you came to us and said "I have to chair a meeting next week and I do not know how", that is a Business English conversation. If you said "people listen to me in meetings but I never feel like I sound like myself", that is a Professional English conversation.
More on Business English What is A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2 in English?
Those are the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which is the most widely used way of describing English proficiency. A1 and A2 are beginner and elementary; B1 is intermediate; B2 is upper-intermediate; C1 is advanced; C2 is proficient. Professional English lessons at PS English are most useful from B2 upwards. If you are already comfortable using English at work and you can read this page without effort, you are very likely B2 or above, and we will be able to help you. If you are below B2, Professional English is the wrong starting point and we will say so honestly at the assessment lesson.
How do I practise Professional English between lessons?
Real working life is the best practice ground, used deliberately. After every lesson, take one small thing your teacher has flagged and use it in the work you are doing that week: a clearer email structure, a better way to open a meeting, a phrase to soften a piece of feedback, a different way to handle silence in a conversation. Notice when it works and when it does not. Reading and listening to current British English, in podcasts, articles or work materials, helps too, but the strongest gains come from putting the small changes from lessons into real situations as soon as possible.
Why learn Professional English?
Most non-native English speakers reach a point where the basic learning has been done and the gains stop coming as easily. Professional English is the layer that keeps progress moving after that plateau. The honest answer to "why learn Professional English?" is that, for most people, it is what unlocks the next step at work: a job they were close to but did not get, a promotion that did not happen, a client relationship that never quite landed. The technical English is rarely the problem at that level. The way it sounds is.
What level do I need to be to take Professional English lessons?
We work with students from upper-intermediate (CEFR B2) upwards on this page. If you can hold a fluent conversation at work, follow most of what is said back, and write a clear email without too much effort, you are the right level for Professional English lessons. If you are below B2, Business English lessons or general English lessons are a better starting point, and we will tell you so honestly at the assessment lesson.
How much do Professional English lessons cost?
Our pricing is on the Pricing page. Lessons are priced per hour and most Professional English students book in blocks. Some of our students fund their own lessons; others are funded by their employer. If your company is paying, we are happy to invoice directly.
See our pricing Are lessons online or face-to-face?
Both are available. Most students choose online, which makes scheduling around work easier. Face-to-face lessons are available in central London for students who prefer them, and many students mix the two. Online lessons use Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, whichever you already use at work. You can read more on our Online English Coach and Face-to-Face Lessons in London pages.
Ready to start?
Tell us where you want your English to land more cleanly, and we will match you with a teacher. Your consultation is free, with no commitment either way.