Matthew de Wilde

次世代型こども英語講師 / English Uplift Program producer＆trainer

Australian, resident of Japan since 1994, currently lives in Tokyo.

I began teaching soon after arriving in Japan from Australia in 1994.

My interest in this field deepened the following year in a small Eikaiwa in

Tokyo’s Sumida-ku. My co-workers and I bonded to form a team of teachers who supported each other, observed each other’s lessons and shared ideas. 

I became the curriculum designer and eventually the teacher for Tokyo’s very first public elementary school English programs. I continued developing my teaching in this environment for 11 years. It was during this time that my colleague Ron Martin and I first hit upon the notion of “Non-Target English”, which represented true English communication in the classroom. Because teachers need their students to experience as many opportunities as possible to genuinely communicate in the classroom, English Uplift sought to help these teachers through showing them the Non-Target English Approach®︎. 

My partnership with Hiromi began when we found ourselves working together at a pilot school in Tokyo’s Arakawa Ward. The similarities in our thinking towards student output, student creativity, student-centered learning, critical thinking, and self-esteem, as well as many other aspects of education, surprised even us. In 2006 I left public education and became a full-time teacher at Hello Kids, a private Tokyo preschool, teaching a daily class of 3~6 year olds, as well as after-school classes for elementary school kids. I had, by this time, become an experienced presenter at major and local teacher development workshops and seminars, and I became a regular and popular presenter at APRICOT PUBLISHING’s Learning World Workshops. Participants at these workshops often expressed surprise at video footage of my classes, showing so many of my students, even those who attend classes just once a week, communicating in English so naturally. This initial surprise sparked interest in my teacher-training abilities. 

In addition to teaching and teacher-training, I have also contributed teaching ideas to APRICOT PUBLISHING’s and SANSEIDO’s English education materials.

The interest throughout Japan in the Non-Target English Approach®︎,and a desire among the country’s English teachers to make changes to their teaching in ways that have students feel success in genuinely using English led to me formalizing my partnership with Hiromi in English Uplift.

For two years from 2021 until 2023 I represented English Uplift in my role as Director of an English Immersion Preschool in Tokyo.

 I'm currently the Head Teacher at Oshiro Kids Eigo Kyoshitsu.

My partnership with Hiromi continues supporting teachers’ ongoing development for the benefit of students' future.

Bachelor of Music Education/Diploma in TESOL/Certificate in TESL Introductory/

信州小学校英語指導力検定etc