Author of two books published in 2025

Hi, I’m Damian - a self-taught creator, lifelong learner, and the founder of English Gateway Limited, now an officially registered UK company (Company No: 16499002).

With over 25 years of international experience in the travel, airline, and hospitality industries, I’ve had the privilege of working across the globe and immersing myself in many different cultures. One truth has always stood out:

🌍 English fluency opens doors - to connection, opportunity, and growth - wherever you are in the world.

But my journey didn’t begin with privilege, titles, or degrees. It began with curiosity, creativity, and the courage to break free from the system.

🚀 My Self-Taught Path

I left school with minimal qualifications, not because I lacked potential, but because I realised early on that traditional education was designed to produce obedience, not originality.

While others memorised facts for exams, I taught myself using real-life experiences, free resources, and a focus on what actually mattered.

🎭 Drama | 🎨 Arts | 📷 Photography | 🏞️ Nature | ⚽ Sport - I excelled in everything creative.

I didn’t chase certificates - I built a real, successful career through grit, resourcefulness, and self-education.

✍️ What I’ve Built (From the Ground Up)

🧑‍🏫 Taught English for 7+ years, including:

• 3 years at an international school in Myanmar

• Nearly 4 years in Sri Lanka, teaching at a meditation centre
  
  

📚 Created the entire English Gateway curriculum:

• Activity books

• Grammar workbooks

• Short storybooks

• Topic-based workshops
  
  

🌐 Built two websites, including englishgateway.online, entirely self-taught

📖 Published two books in 2024:

• 
  

• Understanding the Mind – Breaking Free from Suffering – Inspired by Buddhist philosophy and the Abhidhamma,

🧒 My Early Years Phonics Programme

I’ve also created a dedicated Early Years Phonics Programme to support young learners in developing strong English skills from the start.

This programme includes:

• Phonics-based storybooks

• Songs and movement-based learning

• Interactive games and printable worksheets

• Creative drama, drawing, and roleplay activities
  
  

It’s designed to build:

✅ Clear pronunciation
✅ Phonemic awareness
✅ Early reading confidence
✅ A joyful, engaging love of learning

We’ll be offering training for early years teachers, giving them full access to materials and printables.

The programme will be launching soon.

💡 What I Believe

We are our own best teachers.

Education should be accessible, creative, and empowering - not locked behind fees or rigid systems.

English Gateway is built on a human-centred model that values:

• Creativity

• Curiosity

• Real communication

• Critical thinking

• Self-motivation
  
  

It’s not about memorising grammar. It’s about living the language.

🎯 My Teaching Philosophy

English Gateway is:

✅ Activity-based
✅ Speaking-focused
✅ Student-led
✅ Fun, interactive, and full of creativity

We use storytelling, real-life conversations, video creation, workshops, and teamwork to build confidence and fluency.
We don’t just teach English - we make it come alive.

💻 Why English Gateway Works

Our platform is practical, flexible, and built for the modern world.

Students learn by:

🎥 Recording roleplay and story videos
🌐 Building their own Google Sites
🎨 Creating presentations and posters in Canva
🎤 Practising speaking in small groups
🤝 Connecting with others via our Digital Pen Pal Platform

While grammar can be studied at any time, speaking requires practice, feedback, and confidence and that’s what we focus on.

🌍 From Sri Lanka to Myanmar – and Beyond

English Gateway was born at Meth Bo Sewana Meditation Centre in Sri Lanka, where I taught English to monks, students, and the local community.

Now based in Myanmar, I’m focusing on launching English Gateway Learning Hubs across the country - starting with facilitators and grassroots communities.

In 2025, I registered English Gateway Limited as a UK private limited company (Company No: 16499002) to give us greater credibility and global outreach.

🌱 What’s Next

Our long-term vision includes:

🎓 Facilitator training & sponsorship
🏫 Local learning hubs and home-based education
📚 Early years phonics and creative English programmes
🌐 A global Pen Pal Buddy system
💼 Career-based English courses for hospitality, travel & business

🔑 One Final Thought

English Gateway isn’t just a course.
It’s a movement.

A movement to reimagine how English is learned.
To unlock hidden potential.
To inspire independence, creativity, and community-driven learning.

And I’m living proof that it works.

Damian Lee Dowie
Founder, English Gateway Limited