Poprad · Vysoké Tatry
You don't need more English lessons. You need practice.
An hour of real English conversation in a Poprad café, with someone from England. The coffee's included.
- Adults only
- A café in Poprad
- Coffee included
Could we push the deadline to Friday?
Not grammar drills. The sentences your week actually contains.
Why this exists
The gap nobody talks about
Translation is solved. You can send a perfect English email to a German customer in four seconds, in better English than mine.
So your written English has never been better. Your spoken English hasn't moved.
The customer reads your email, decides you're fluent, and asks for a call. And on the call you go quiet. Not because you don't know the words. Because there's no time to check. In those twenty seconds something gets decided about you that has nothing to do with how good you are at your job.
Five years ago your slightly rough email set expectations honestly. AI has taken the warning label off.
That gap is the only thing I work on.
How it works
Why a café
No classroom. We meet in a café, and the coffee's part of it.
You are never going to have to speak English in a classroom for the rest of your life. Every real conversation you're worried about happens in a café, an office, a hotel lobby, or on a phone. So that's where we practise.
Why this works
Someone from England, and no way out.
The whole hour runs in English. My Slovak is bad enough that you can't fall back into it when it gets difficult, which turns out to be the point. Most people here understand plenty of English. What they've never done is spend an hour with no escape route.
The machine does the homework, I do the hour.
You get a written summary within an hour of every session: what we covered, what you got wrong, one thing to practise. Your practice material comes from your own emails and documents, not from someone else's textbook.
What we practise isn't really English, it's business.
No coursebook, no levels, no certificate. We work on the things you actually have to do: the call with the supplier, the email you've been avoiding for three days, the interview next month. I spent fifteen years on the other end of those conversations, as the British customer. I know what makes someone trust you on a call and what makes them go cold, and it's almost never your grammar.
Who it's for
Four people I hear from most.
You understand English but freeze when you have to speak it.
The most common problem, and the most fixable.
You need English at work.
Emails, calls, meetings, customers, a head office abroad.
You've got an interview, a trip, or a move coming up.
Focused preparation, short timeframe.
Your company or hotel needs it for a team.
Small groups, on site, invoiced properly.
Adults only. I don't teach children or teenagers.
How it works
From first message to first phone call.
- 1
A free 20-minute coffee.
We talk. I find out where you actually are and what you need it for. No commitment, no charge.
- 2
A plan.
What we'll work on, how often, and what it costs. In writing.
- 3
The hours.
A café in Poprad, or at your workplace if it's a company group. Built around what you actually need English for.
- 4
You notice it working.
Usually first on a phone call, when you stop rehearsing the sentence before you say it.
Prices
No packages you have to ask about.
Coffee included, every time.
Peak English prices in euro
Start here
First coffee, 20 minutes
Free
Nothing to prepare, and the coffee's on me.
Founding 10
Four hours, paid up front
€100
€25 an hour
The ten-hour price, without buying ten hours. Only for the first 10 people, until 31 December 2026.
One hour, one to one
€28
Ten hours, paid up front
€250€25 each
Two of you together, per person
€18per hour
Coffee or a soft drink is included in every one-to-one and pair session. Blocks are paid up front, single hours monthly. 24 hours' notice to move a session, otherwise it counts.
I'm not the cheapest English in Poprad and I'm not trying to be.
For companies: a 4-week pilot at your office, from €90 per session. Details (in Slovak)
About
Who you'll be sitting with
I'm Richard Patey. I'm English, I live in Poprad, and for fifteen years I built and sold businesses online in the UK and internationally.
That matters more than it sounds. When we work on a negotiation, a difficult email, or a call with a supplier, I'm not working from a book. I've been the British customer on the other end of those conversations for fifteen years. I know what makes someone trust you on a call, and what makes them go cold, and it's almost never your grammar.
My Slovak is basic and I'm learning. The hour runs in English, which is the whole point. For arranging times and anything administrative, we'll manage fine.
Questions
The things people ask before booking.
Where does this happen?
In a café in Poprad. Your drink is included. For companies, I come to your office.
Isn't a café too noisy to concentrate?
A little, and that is good. Real conversations at work are not quiet either. If you want a quiet room and a whiteboard, a language school in Poprad is a better choice.
Do you speak Slovak?
Only a little. I am learning. At the table this helps you: you cannot switch to Slovak, so you really speak English. To arrange a time, we will find a way.
What if my English is bad?
Then please write to me. The free coffee is there so you can try it with no pressure and no embarrassment.
Do you do this over Zoom?
No, never. Online practice is easy to find, and it is cheaper. This is a real table, a real coffee and a real conversation.
Do you teach children or teenagers?
No. Adults only.
Do you do exam preparation?
No. If you need a certificate, choose a school that runs official exams. This is practice for using English at work and in daily life.
How do I pay?
By bank transfer. Companies get a proper invoice.
Book a coffee
Twenty minutes and a coffee.
Tell me roughly what you need English for and when you're free, and I'll come back with times. No commitment, nothing to prepare, and the coffee's on me.
Got it. Thank you.
I read these myself, and I'll reply within one working day with two or three times that fit what you've told me. Twenty minutes in a café in Poprad, the coffee's on me, and there's nothing to prepare.
If nothing arrives, check your spam folder before assuming I've ignored you.
Start with a free coffee.
Twenty minutes, no commitment. You find out where your English really is, and if this format is right for you.