The Person Behind the Site

Hi, I'm Jason

Native English Teacher · Cambridge Specialist · Based in Czechia

I'm an American English teacher living and working in the Czech Republic. I teach high school EFL, prepare students for the Maturita exam and Cambridge Exam qualifications, and spend way too much time thinking about why certain grammar explanations click — and why most don't.

English Refresher is where I put everything I've learned — free for teachers and students, with premium materials for those who want more.

Explore Free Resources Browse the Shop

Jason

EFL Teacher & Cambridge Specialist
Freelance · Czechia

Cambridge Exam Teacher B2 First & C1 Advanced

Native American English Teaching American English spelling & usage

High School EFL B1 · B2 · C1 levels

Resources Used In 40+ countries worldwide

📍 Czech Republic · Send a message

My Story

I grew up in Northern California. Close enough to the ocean that a lot of my life happened on it.

Imagine sitting alone in a small boat in the Pacific Ocean, a few hundred meters off shore, fishing for halibut. A whale breaches in the distance. Takes a breath and disappears. A few minutes later, the same whale surfaces again. This time, it’s four meters from your boat. Close enough to see straight into its big black eye. You sit there staring eye to eye for several seconds. Then, it takes the deepest breath you can imagine. You hear its lungs filling with fresh air. Mist off the ocean getting pulled into its blowhole as you watch this enormous creature inhale. Then it sinks slowly under the water and disappears.

Those are the moments that stay with you forever.

Pacific Ocean coastline near Trinidad, California

Here’s what actually got me building this site. As an English teacher, I am always looking for new ways to teach material and wanted somewhere to find high quality teaching material. That is exactly what I am hoping to build for us. A site that will save us time with useful premium material ready to go for English teachers and students.

If you’ve noticed this site runs on trail language like waypoints, summits, paths, it is because I have blended my two passions — teaching and being in nature. It’s about work-life balance. You don’t arrive by staring at the summit. You get there one step at a time.

What I Believe

The Values Behind Every Resource

Free, Always

The core of English Refresher is and will always be free. Every teacher and student deserves access to good materials, regardless of their school’s budget. The premium shop exists to support the free side — not replace it.

Context Over Rules

Grammar sticks when it’s learned in real sentences about real topics. That’s why every lesson on English Refresher starts with meaning and purpose — and grammar follows from there, not the other way around.

Teacher-First Design

Every resource is designed to be picked up and used immediately. Clear teacher notes, realistic timings, print-ready format. If I’d hesitate to use it myself on a Tuesday morning, it doesn’t go on the site.

In the Classroom

How I Actually Teach

Speaking before writing

Students need to get the idea out of their mouth before they can put it on paper. Every lesson has a speaking component — even grammar lessons. Production first, refinement second.

Real-world topics only

No invented scenarios about people named “Tom and Mary.” My students read about climate policy, discuss AI ethics, and write formal letters to real organisations. It makes the language feel worth learning.

Grammar through contrast

Showing the wrong sentence next to the right one is worth 10 fill-in-the-blank drills. Students understand rules better when they see what breaks them — and why the correct version works.

Exam-aware, not exam-obsessed

Maturita and Cambridge prep runs through everything, but I don’t reduce lessons to tick-box practice. Students who can actually use English happen to be good at exams — not the other way around.

Warmers that actually work

The first three minutes of a lesson determine the next 42. Every plan starts with a quick, low-stakes activity that gets students into English mode — a question, a headline, a strange image, a prediction.

Feedback that builds confidence

I correct errors strategically — not every mistake, every time. Students take more risks with language when they’re not afraid of being corrected for every slip. More risk means more learning.