REFRESHING LEARNING & REFRESHING PUBLISHING
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About me

I have always enjoyed working in the field of education so it felt natural to set up both Refreshing Learning and Refreshing Publishing to help clients with their digital learning and publishing needs.

And here's why:

I spent almost 10 years teaching English to speakers of other languages, a big part of which was showing people how to be better writers. After all, writing is such an essential part of communication. 

Following on from English teaching, I moved into educational publishing where, as an editor, my organisational skills and attention to detail were very much put to good use. 
Derek Philip-Xu sits on a large circular seat in front of a floor to ceiling window. A large modern building can be seen in the background.
Alongside his passion and knowledge for the subject, Derek brought with him an eagle eye for detail, impeccable organisation skills and a can-do attitude.
Publishing Manager, EF Education First
I have had the opportunity to work with Derek on several projects and the first thing that comes across is that he is passionate about language learning; and when you work with him you also realise how professional, detail oriented and meticulous he is to ensure that the final product is perfect. He is extremely knowledgeable in his fields of expertise as well as open to new ideas.
Head of Delivery, Oneclick
My publishing experience has also provided me with a great deal of project management experience - working to tight deadlines and to budget as well as being able to effectively solve problems quickly.
I had the privilege of working with Derek on a couple of projects, but the biggest was the second edition of a young learner English language course. Derek was an asset and essential to the project, frequently going above and beyond his responsibilities to ensure that we met tight deadlines.
Former Project Manager at EF Education First
Furthermore, I mentored authors and editors, providing feedback to help develop effective digital English language learning materials. I did this for EF Education First in Shanghai and then Macmillan Education Ltd (part of the Springer Nature group) in London.
He is a true professional and explained the aims of the project very clearly. His feedback was constructive and supportive. I look forward to working with Derek again in the future and cannot recommend him enough.
Author and ELT Materials Writer
My publishing experience has similarly provided me with experience in UX design and UX writing which is very useful when it comes to reviewing digital content in platform (and during earlier editorial reviews).

​Please do 
get in touch and we can have a chat about how I can best help you. ​
derek_philip-xu_cv.pdf
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Accredited Accessible Learning Practitioner by the eLaHub
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Icon of the Association for Project Management showing that Derek Philip Xu is an associate member.
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Image stating Derek Philip Xu is a registered member of ELT publishing professionals.
Icon of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading stating that Derek Philip Xu is a Professional member.
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Refreshing Publishing
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Maidenhead
​SL6 3NW
​Berkshire, UK
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  • Home
  • About Me
  • Learning design
  • Publishing
  • Contact