Sue Ireland

It seems incredible, but I’ve been in ELT for almost 40 years now. After a degree in German, I spent a year teaching in Sweden before taking a PGCE in EFL. I then taught in London, Europe, Africa and Japan before returning to the UK.

My interest in the exams side of ELT started in Japan, where I did some oral examining for UCLES, as it was then. On my return to the UK got I involved with marking the written papers, which in turn led to item writing. Over the years I have worked on almost every aspect of the exam process. I contributed to the development of the KET exam and have worked on it since its very earliest days. Of course it has continued to develop and change, as has the PET exam, my other main area of involvement.

Nowadays I am a free-lance materials writer and language consultant. I still work for Cambridge English on papers at all levels, and have co-authored a number of coursebooks.
I live in a 300-year old cottage in the depths of rural Suffolk and when not sitting in front of my laptop meeting the latest deadline, can be found tramping across the fields with my daughter’s dog.