Z

Zekeriya Özsevik

ESL/EAP instructor · university lecturer · founder of ZekPrep
22+ years of international teaching — Turkey, the United States, the United Kingdom, Qatar, Uzbekistan

MA TESL, University of Illinois PGCert, University of Westminster BA, Boğaziçi University Cambridge ESOL Examiner Instructor, Middle East Technical University Prep programme coordinator, KTO Karatay University
22+
Years teaching
5
Countries
90%+
Student satisfaction
4
University degrees

I went through the same
journey abroad.

After graduating in English Language Teaching from Boğaziçi University, I began teaching in Uzbekistan. From there the work took me to the United Kingdom (University of Westminster), the United States (University of Illinois) and Qatar (Qatar University).

Along the way I taught SAT, IELTS and TOEFL preparation and academic English to hundreds of students, and watched closely which difficulties recurred, which errors were systematic and which strategies actually worked. ZekPrep is that twenty-two years of observation turned into a platform.

The aim is straightforward: to keep language from being the obstacle that stops a Turkish student from studying where they want to study — and to make the measurement behind that advice honest, adaptive and open to inspection.

Academic path

2021 — present · Istanbul
ESL Teacher — Freelancer
SAT, IELTS, TOEFL and academic support courses; design and development of the ZekPrep platform.
2012 — 2017 · Doha, Qatar
Lecturer of English — Qatar University
ESL/EAP teaching in the Foundation Program; student satisfaction consistently above 90%.
2011 — 2012 · Ankara, Turkey
Instructor of English — Middle East Technical University
Full-time instructor, School of Foreign Languages, Department of Basic English.
2008 — 2010 · Urbana, United States
MATESL — University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
GPA: 3.93/4.00 · High Honors · Graduate College Fellowship
Taught academic writing; named on the university's "Teachers Ranked as Excellent" list.
2007 — 2008 · London, United Kingdom
PGCert — University of Westminster
Postgraduate Certificate of Special Study in Teaching and Learning (Level 7).
2004 — 2008 · Tashkent, Uzbekistan
ESL Teacher & Program Coordinator — Tashkent International School
Coordinator of the primary ESL preparation programme; manager of the TOEFL iBT test centre.
2000 — 2004 · Istanbul, Turkey
BA in English Language Teaching — Boğaziçi University
· Honors
Teaching practicum at Robert College; ranked 57th nationally in the state language exam.

Certifications & awards

🎓
Cambridge ESOL Oral Examiner
Oral examiner for FCE, BEC and other Cambridge English Language Assessment exams
🏆
Graduate College Fellowship
University of Illinois — awarded for academic standing and research potential
Teachers Ranked as Excellent
Listed as "excellent" in University of Illinois student evaluations
🇹🇷
National ranking
Ranked 57th nationally in the Turkish university entrance examination (2000)
📊
90%+ student satisfaction
Above 90% in every course over four years at Qatar University
🌍
International conferences
Presentations and participation at TESOL International, CALICO and WISE

Let's work together.

I can help with SAT or IELTS preparation, academic English, or the application process itself.

One-to-one tutoring → Get in touch →