My friend and colleague Alun Rees, who has died suddenly aged 83, enjoyed a long and distinguished career in teaching English as a foreign language. Alun worked for more than 40 years in schools, universities and ministries of education in 16 countries. He specialised in teacher education, and was well known for his inspirational training sessions combining deep scholarship with humour and imagination.
Born in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, to Joan (nee Watts), a piano teacher, and Thomas Rees, a works manager, Alun went to Haverfordwest grammar school. In the early 1960s, after graduating from University College Cardiff with a degree in English and philosophy, Alun set off to Spain to teach at the Berlitz school in Burgos for three years. In those days few commercial teaching materials existed and Alun began developing his own wide range of innovative teaching ideas.
After four years teaching at Trujillo University in Peru and three at the National University of Laos, in 1977 Alun moved to Senegal, where he worked for six years as English language teaching adviser to the ministry of education, setting up in-service teacher education programmes. During this time he won the English-Speaking Union prize for an article on teacher observation. In 1983 he returned to the UK to begin a doctorate at the Institute of Education in London.
Throughout the 80s Alun was in great demand to teach on residential teacher training programmes, particularly in Spain, invited by the British Council and the Spanish ministry of education. The teachers loved him for the original way he delivered serious content, and for the evening shows he organised and compered, full of original sketches, songs, puppets, magic tricks and prizes.
After completing his doctorate, Alun taught at the West Sussex Institute of Higher Education (now the University of Chichester) and then Exeter University, where he met Ekuko Narushima; they married in 2000. Colleagues speak of Alun’s popularity and how much students appreciated his courses. He ended his career at the University of Gloucestershire as a highly successful head of the international office.
Alun enjoyed 20 years of retirement in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, with Ekuko, involved in fishing, organic gardening and applying his mind to the non-chemical deterrence of pests, from squirrels to slugs. He maintained a regular correspondence with many former colleagues and students, sending insightful emails on language teaching, fishing, horticulture and the state of the world.
Alun is survived by Ekuko.
