My friend and colleague John Sutter, who has died aged 67 of cancer of the oesophagus, was a respected specialist in Esol (English for speakers of other languages) and adult literacy.
He was a brilliant teacher, trainer and thinker, championing social justice in education and promoting respect for migrants learning new languages.
Born in London, John was the first of two children of Kaja (nee Cang) and Eric Sutter, an accountant, and attended John Lyon school, Harrow on the Hill.
After completing a BA in philosophy at York University in 1980, he gained a Tefl (teaching English as a foreign language) certificate at St Giles College in London in 1991 before going on to take a Tefl diploma in Poland and an MA in English language teaching and applied linguistics at King’s College London (1999).
After working as a Tefl teacher in Greece and Poland in the early 1990s, John began working as a teacher trainer while in Ecuador (1995-97). On returning to the UK, his career and reputation developed through his work as a lecturer for the Open University (2003-05) and Hammersmith & West London College (2000-04), as course director at the London Language and Literacy Unit (LLU+), London South Bank University (2004-11), and at University for the Creative Arts, Farnham. From 2011 he was a founding member and director for Learning Unlimited, a not-for-profit social enterprise.
John played a key role in many significant national projects, including the development and rollout of the online Adult Esol Core Curriculum (2008-09), the LLU+ teaching basic literacy to Esol learners course and its successor, the teaching Esol literacy learners (Tells) course at Learning Unlimited.
He helped to define modern Esol through his rare ability to connect theory with practice – making others feel capable, inspired and valued. A witty contributor to the online Esol-Research forum, John also wrote numerous engaging articles for Language Issues, Reflect and NATECLA News.
All of this was in addition to John’s other main passion – being the leader, guitarist and producer of the Hastings-based reggae band Mighty Sounds. John will be remembered not only for his intellect and dedication but also for his warmth, humour and generosity of spirit.
He is survived by his partner Samantha Guertin, and their daughters, Yolanda and Esmé, his daughter, Eve, from a previous relationship, a stepson, Luis, and sister, Hannah.
