About
Jason Smith is an English tutor based in Brisbane. He has been tutoring privately since 2014, working with senior school students and adults — in person and online.
(3 × 4)
I trained as a teacher and have worked with English students of all kinds — senior school, university, and adults learning English as an additional language. Before founding BrightStead I taught secondary English in regional Queensland; teaching is what stuck.
The students I work with are roughly evenly split between senior school candidates (QCAA, IB, and other curricula) and adults working on their writing, speaking, or general English. The work is similar in both cases: we look at what's in front of us — an essay, a text, a paragraph, a presentation — figure out what it needs, and improve it together, week by week.
What I think about teaching English.
English is a skill, not a talent.
Most of what we call gifted reading, writing, or speaking comes from paying attention to small things — a comma, a tense, a word repeated three lines apart, a pause before the right answer. These habits can be learned.
Writing is rewriting; speaking takes practice.
Few sentences are right on the first try, and no presentation is fluent on the first attempt. We draft, revise, read aloud, and reshape. Progress shows up in what gets thrown away as much as in what stays.
Grades follow real skills.
Students who learn the language for its own sake — close reading, clear writing, clear speaking — tend to do well on exams. We aim at the underlying skills, and the marks usually follow.
Qualifications and experience.
Diploma of Speech and Drama (in progress)
Graduate Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Master of Justice (Advanced)
Master of Education
Founded BrightStead, a private tutoring practice
Secondary English teacher, regional Queensland
Bachelor of Arts (English, First Class Honours)
“If a student understands how one sentence works — how to read it, write it, and say it — they have the tools for every sentence they'll meet next.”
What a typical lesson looks like.
Each lesson lasts an hour (or ninety minutes for senior students preparing for exams). We meet either at the Brisbane studio or by video call. Before the lesson I send a short preparation — usually a text to read, a paragraph to draft, or a passage to read aloud — so we can use the time well.
The lesson itself is a working conversation. We focus on whatever the student needs that week: reading a set text, planning an essay, working on a grammar point, preparing an oral presentation, or doing a timed exam response. By the end of the hour the student has produced something concrete — a piece of writing, a marked draft, or a rehearsed speech — and I send written notes by email afterwards.
Between lessons I recommend about half an hour of reading and a short written or spoken exercise. Nothing intense; the key is consistency.
- Duration
- 60 minutes (or 90)
- Format
- In person or online
- Group size
- One-to-one
- Levels
- Year 9 – Adult
- Materials
- Sent in advance
- Frequency
- Weekly, by arrangement
If this sounds like what you're after, just get in touch.
The first chat is free and usually decides whether we're a good fit.