Not everyone who wants to improve their English is preparing for an exam. Some readers want to speak more confidently in meetings, sound natural in a job interview, write emails that land the right tone, or simply stop translating in their head before they answer a question. That is what General English coaching with Band Booster IELTS is for: private, one-to-one sessions in Hanoi with Mike, a CELTA-qualified teacher (July 2017), with no test format and no band score attached.
Who this is for
This page is for professionals who want stronger business English for meetings, negotiations and emails, job seekers preparing for an interview in English, university students who want to sound more fluent day to day, expats and returning Vietnamese speakers who want practical conversation practice, and anyone who wants steady, corrected speaking practice without sitting a test. Because sessions are online over Google Meet, it makes no difference whether you are in Hanoi, elsewhere in Vietnam, or abroad.
What a session covers
General English sessions are built around what actually comes up in your work and daily life, not a fixed textbook order. Depending on what you bring to the session, that can include:
- Everyday and workplace conversation - small talk, meetings, phone calls, and the kind of exchanges that happen outside a classroom.
- Pronunciation and fluency, corrected in the moment as you speak, with feedback given during the session itself rather than written up and sent back later.
- Job interviews - practising how you answer common interview questions in English, with feedback on clarity, structure and phrasing.
- Presentations - structuring what you want to say and rehearsing it out loud with a real listener before you deliver it for real.
- Professional email - tone, structure and the phrases that make written English sound natural rather than translated.
There is no fixed syllabus and no set textbook to work through in order. Each session is built around what you actually need that week, whether that is a specific meeting coming up, a habit you want to fix, or general fluency practice. If work email and interview preparation matter more to you than small talk, that is what you will spend your time on.
What a session looks like
Sessions are one-to-one and live over Google Meet - never a group class. You work with the same teacher, Mike, every time, so he already knows what you have covered before, rather than starting from zero each session. Feedback happens during the session, in the moment, not written up and sent back days later. Sessions can be recorded on request, and written progress notes are added to your account after each one, so you can look back at what was corrected. You book your own time from a live calendar shown in your own timezone, which matters if you are studying from outside Vietnam.
Booking works the same way for every service on the site:
- Pick a time from the live calendar - it shows your own timezone automatically.
- Pay by PayPal, VietQR or USDT; the site never sees your card details.
- Your Google Meet link and calendar invite arrive by email immediately, with a link to set up an account.
- Join the session and tell Mike what you want to focus on that week.
- Read your written progress notes afterwards and book the next session whenever you are ready.
Price and how to book
General English coaching costs 450,000 ₫ per hour. Booking three sessions together brings a 10% discount, and five or more brings 20% off; full pricing for every service, including the IELTS options, is on the pricing page. A 30-minute trial session is available for 150,000 ₫, once per student, on your first booking only.
Payment is by PayPal (cards work through PayPal's guest checkout), bank transfer in Vietnam via VietQR, or USDT (TRC20 or BEP20). The site never sees or stores your card details, and you get a receipt from both the payment provider and the site. You can reschedule free of charge up to 12 hours before a session; there is no subscription and no package to commit to, so you only book what you want, when you want it. Book a General English session to see live availability and any current offers.
General English vs IELTS coaching
Not sure which page you need? The table below sums up the difference.
| General English | IELTS coaching | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Everyday and workplace English | A specific IELTS skill or band |
| Structure | Tailored week to week | Built around the four exam skills |
| Format | No test, no band score | Real exam format and timing |
| Price | 450,000 ₫ / hour | 500,000 ₫ / 60 minutes |
About the teacher
Mike has taught English and IELTS for 12+ years across Vietnam, Turkey and Iran, at nine schools in three countries, and currently teaches 250 students across 10 classes at Newton Grammar School in Hanoi, alongside private one-to-one coaching - 500+ sessions so far through Band Booster IELTS. He holds a Cambridge CELTA (July 2017) and previously taught at Çevre Koleji, Gökkuşağı Koleji and Bahçeşehir College in Turkey. He also sat the IELTS test himself, scoring 7.5 overall with 8.5 in Speaking. More background is on the about Mike page. The site interface itself is available in English, Vietnamese, Chinese, Arabic, Korean and Japanese, though teaching is in English throughout.
Vietnamese-speaking readers can find the same service described in Vietnamese on tiếng Anh giao tiếp tại Hà Nội. To get started, book your first session or a 30-minute trial - Mike will ask what you want to work on and build the session around that from the very first meeting.