He has previously lectured at both Aston University and University of Birmingham. He has experience in Hong Kong, Japan and Europe in both English Language Teaching and teacher development. He completed his PGCE at the University of Warwick in 1984 and worked in schools in England teaching English and Drama before turning to ELT in 1985. In Hong Kong, Steve worked in schools in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island in two-year British Council Teaching Scheme. In Japan, Steve worked in schools and developed specialist materials for teacher training and workplace interaction. His growing interest in the development of English in professional settings led to a two year project with American Express, Tokyo. His work at Aston University was mostly in the area of ELT Methodology. He worked at the School of Education at the University of Birmingham before coming to Warwick.