Michael Clarke obituary

My mate and ex-husband Michael Clarke, who has died aged 74, was an qualified in the industry of instructing English to speakers of other languages. He not only taught for many several years but grew to become associated in trainer instruction and also assisted to devise many programs at house and abroad.

Mike was born in Liverpool, to Eileen (nee Sinker), a barmaid, and Mike, a bricklayer, and had two youthful sisters, Elaine and Jan. He attended St Francis Xavier’s Jesuit faculty – wherever his adore of languages, hillwalking and soccer commenced – and went on to Westfield College (now Queen Mary College of London) in east London, graduating with a degree in classics in 1969.

Following toying with educating classics he made the decision that training English to speakers of other languages was a greater solution, and went on to work in Italy, Bradford and Kuwait. Soon after getting an MA in utilized linguistics from Leeds College in 1977, he took up a put up at the University of Leicester School of Education in 1980, creating an English language instructor teaching programme for Saudi pupils and teaching on MA and MEd programmes for language academics.

He subsequently worked on very similar programmes at the University of East Anglia and the University of Nottingham, and at the two institutions also took element in the improvement of English language classes in other nations, including Algeria, Swaziland, Malaysia, Brunei and Hong Kong, usually training on them much too. He took a specific desire in, and wrote articles on, the subject matter of cultural imperialism in English language educating.

Following taking early retirement on grounds of unwell well being in 1999, Mike travelled greatly, such as to India, Greece and Italy, and managed to finish the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage wander in Spain.

Mike was a captivating and clever companion with a sharp wit and a good understanding of literature, songs, faith, politics – and soccer. No one particular was ever bored in his corporation.

In his later several years he grew to become a significantly-valued close friend and neighbour to lots of people in Leicester, encouraging some others in any way he could. He was also a devoted father and grandfather who cherished to share his pursuits with his offspring.

He and I ended up married in 1969 and divorced in 2000, but remained good friends. He is survived by our three little ones, Harriet, Adam and Rachel, 4 grandchildren, Amelie, Naomi, Kye and Isobel, and his sister Jan.