Hi! I’m Shane Mackey, the leader of English For Success, a global community of thousands of people from all around the world who are focused on improving their English communication skills, so they can make their dreams a reality!
This is my story…
I studied a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronic Engineering at university in Ireland. I’m Irish by the way! Although, this experience gave me a wide variety of skills like innovation, critical thinking & problem solving, I didn’t feel like engineering was what I was born to do. It wasn’t my passion!
I had started travelling and thanks to the long summer breaks while studying I was able to visit different countries from Germany to the USA and Mexico. It was truly exhilarating for me to experience different cultures and ways of life, so I knew that once I finished my five-year degree I had to take some time to travel the world. This became my number-one priority. I realized that being a native-English speaker gave me a huge opportunity to follow this dream as I could teach English almost anywhere in the world to finance this adventure! I enrolled in a programme to become a certified (TESOL) teacher of English to speakers of other languages, and to my surprise it was during the first couple of days that I realized this was my true calling. There was an energy and excitement in the classroom because the one thing these students needed to access a world of opportunity was available: the ability to communicate! I was hooked.
A few months later, I was lying in a hammock between two mango trees in my garden in Thailand. I had found paradise! Europeans were extremely rare, so I got a lot of attention. I applied to teach at the best two schools in the town and they both wanted to hire me immediately.


The Problem
Teaching English in Thailand seemed great at first, but something wasn’t right. I did my best to teach the students according to the curriculum. I had found creative ways to teach all of these grammar rules, etc. and my students did well on the exams, but there seemed to be no time for the most important thing: real communication! I was shocked to find out that most Thai students studied English in school from the age of about four. Why was it that almost no one (including most of the Thai English teachers) could speak? After only a few months in Thailand, my Thai was better than most people’s English.
Following my Passion
I got a job in a great school where I earned the trust of management and started to do things in a new way. The focus was on communication, and results were amazing. Eventually, I founded my own private school with a good friend and business partner. Power English quickly became the #1 place for everyone who wanted to be able to speak English! We helped people from the age of 4 with our KindyKids Programme to adult professional and corporate training for banks, businesses and hospitals.


Moving Online
My new plan was to expand and start schools all around Thailand. However, the Covid pandemic turned the world upside down, and things changed. Since doing a Master’s Degree in Online & Distance Education a few years earlier, I had been enthusiastic about creating an online programme and this was my chance. The big mistake people make when providing online education is that they try to recreate traditional methods in an online setting. However, the truth is that online programmes have the potential for a much more valuable learning experience. I believe that the traditional methods of education need to be revolutionized and this was my chance to put almost 20 years of experience into one transformational programme that could help people around the world to follow their dreams.
English For Success!
I started by creating a purpose-driven community in the form of a Facebook group. This was to be a place for people who need English to meet, communicate and help each other move forward. And from the conversations in this group, I was able to truly understand what those people needed. I then started my full coaching programme, English For Success, and now I help professionals from around the world master the communication skills they need to communicate with confidence and achieve their goals in business & in life. Through a combination of over 20 years of experience and analyzing what works, a focus on important real-life skills (like how to inspire people with your message) and listening to my clients specific needs, we are achieving true transformations and getting real results. My clients then use these skills to achieve their goals in life and that it my dream!
