Hi, I'm
Shirley.
I’ve been teaching English for over 27 years now, and if you’d told me back in 1997, when I started out as an English Second Language instructor in New Delhi, that I’d still be doing this three decades later — helping people across the world speak with more confidence — I probably wouldn’t have believed you. But here we are.
I’ve been teaching English for over 27 years now, and if you’d told me back in 1997, when I started out as an English Second Language instructor in New Delhi, that I’d still be doing this three decades later — helping people across the world speak with more confidence — I probably wouldn’t have believed you. But here we are. English With Shirley grew out of a very simple frustration: too many people who actually know English well still hold back because they’re scared of getting it “wrong.” I’ve taught kids who could write a perfectly correct sentence but froze the moment they had to say it out loud. I’ve coached professionals who ran entire departments but dreaded speaking up in a meeting because their grammar wasn’t “polished enough.” That gap between what people know and what they’re willing to say — that’s really what this whole thing is built around closing.
Over the years I’ve taught in a lot of different settings. Kids call me “the grammar teacher,” and that’s a title I’ve earned properly — years of breaking down sentence structure, tenses, and vocabulary in ways that actually stick for young learners. Since 2018 I’ve also been coaching IELTS students, helping them prepare for an exam that’s honestly as much about strategy and nerves as it is about language skill. And I’ve spent a good chunk of my career working with corporate teams, helping professionals sharpen how they write emails, run meetings, give presentations, and just generally sound like themselves — only clearer and more confident.
Somewhere along the way, this turned into a proper practice. Over 25,000 students and working professionals have gone through my classes at this point, and the classroom moved fully online a while back so I could actually reach people wherever they are, on whatever schedule works for them.
English With Shirley
Confidence • Communication • Growth
27+
Years Teaching Experience
1 Lakh+
Students / Community Reach
5–8
Students in Small Batches
360°
Language + Confidence Focus
What you can actually learn here
Spoken English classes
for anyone who understands English fine but freezes up when it's time to actually speak. We work on pronunciation, flow, and just getting comfortable talking without mentally translating every sentence first.
Grammar for kids
this is where I started, and it's still something I love teaching. Kids learn best when grammar doesn't feel like a punishment, so the lessons are built to be engaging rather than a slog through rules.
Corporate and business English training
for teams and individuals who need to write better emails, run better meetings, and generally communicate with more authority at work. This isn't theory-heavy stuff; it's built around real workplace situations.
IELTS preparation
covering Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking, with real feedback and practice tests, aimed at getting you the band score you actually need, not just a general improvement.
Communication workshops
shorter, focused sessions on specific things like interview prep, accent work, or getting past public speaking nerves.
How I actually teach
No two students learn the same way, so I don’t run a fixed script for everyone. The first thing we do is figure out where you actually are — not where you think you should be — and build from there. I care a lot more about whether you can use English than whether you can recite a grammar rule. So lessons lean heavily on real conversation, real writing tasks, and situations you’ll actually run into, whether that’s an interview, a client call, or an IELTS speaking test.
A lot of my students come in a bit embarrassed about their English — years of being corrected harshly, or just feeling behind. I don’t run my classes that way. Mistakes are just part of learning here, and there’s no judgment attached to them.
I also believe feedback only works if it’s specific. So instead of vague “good job” or “needs improvement” comments, you’ll always know exactly what to fix next — a particular sound you’re mispronouncing, a sentence structure you keep tripping over, whatever it is
Who ends up in my classes
Honestly, it’s a mix — school kids working on grammar basics, teenagers prepping for exams or studying abroad, working professionals who want to sound sharper in meetings and emails, whole corporate teams sent through structured training, IELTS candidates chasing a specific band score, and adults who just want to speak more naturally in everyday life. Different goals, different starting points, but the same underlying need: to communicate without second-guessing themselves.
Why people stick with these classes
27+ years of hands-on teaching experience, not just theory
25,000+ students and professionals taught across kids’ grammar, spoken English, corporate training, and IELTS
Lessons built around real use, not rote memorization
Fully online, so it fits around your schedule rather than the other way around
A teaching style built on patience — because confidence doesn’t come from being corrected harshly, it comes from being supported through the mistakes
The bottom line
English isn’t really about ticking a box for school or a job application. It’s about being able to say what you mean, when you mean it, without hesitating or apologizing for your grammar first. That’s what I try to build with every student — not just correct English, but the confidence to actually use it. If that’s something you’re working toward, I’d love to help. Take a look at the courses and let’s get started.