Meet the English for Success team

Who we are

English for Success is a team of teachers and business professionals who develop personalized English programs for professionals and companies.

Through live classes, self-paced practice, and the EFS Classroom platform, we help people use English with greater confidence – at work, while traveling, and in everyday life.

We are united by one vision: English should never be a barrier for people who already know their job and have something valuable to say.

That is why we do not offer the same program to everyone.

Some people need regular one-on-one training. Others benefit from a small conversation group. Some need the freedom to practice whenever their schedule allows. Companies, in addition to high-quality content, also need clear insight into employee engagement, needs, and progress.

Our role is to find the level of support that truly works for each individual and each team.

Our core values

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Application matters more than perfection

Knowledge only becomes valuable when you can use it.

That is why our goal is not simply to help learners master another grammar rule, but to help them participate in meetings with greater confidence, explain their ideas, ask questions, or simply have a conversation without constantly translating in their head, or worrying about making mistakes.

We do not wait for perfect English before we start communicating. We build better English through communication.

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Flexibility brings consistency

We believe English development should fit into real life, not make it more complicated.

That is why we offer different learning formats, levels of support, and ways to practice, so everyone can choose what best fits their goals, commitments, and schedule.

 

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Real support creates room for growth

Progress does not come from pressure, guilt, or the fear of making mistakes.

It comes when you have the space to try, receive honest and useful feedback, and understand what your next step should be.

That is why we want the people we work with to feel safe enough to speak, ask questions, make mistakes, and try again – because that is how lasting confidence is built, both in and beyond the classroom.

From an online school to the EFS Classroom platform

English for Success was founded in 2018, driven by its founder’s desire to bring the knowledge and experience she had gained working for international online schools to learners in our region.

From the very beginning, we wanted to create something different from a traditional course where everyone follows the same textbook and a predefined program.

Our training programs have therefore always been built around the people taking part in them: their work, interests, goals, and the situations in which they genuinely need English.

Over the years, we have worked with individuals, small groups, and companies through workshops, training programs, and asynchronous learning formats. We observed what truly helps people make progress, but also what most often prevents them from staying consistent.

One or two classes a week are not always enough. Fixed schedules can be difficult to fit around work and family commitments. Generic content quickly loses relevance. And without regular practice between classes, new knowledge rarely becomes part of real communication.

EFS Classroom grew out of those experiences — a platform that brings together live classes, self-paced practice, personalized content, AI tools, assignments, notes, and teacher support in one place.

Today, EFS Classroom allows us to offer different levels of support: from self-paced practice without scheduled classes and conversation practice with a teacher to group and one-on-one training.

English for Success is therefore no longer just an online school. It is an English development system designed to adapt to different people, teams, roles, and ways of life.

The English for Success Team

Behind our programs, content, platform, and client communication is a team that brings together expertise in teaching, business development, and marketing.

Each of us has a different role, but we share the same goal: to create a learning experience that is relevant, practical, and flexible enough to become a genuine part of our clients’ everyday lives.

Olivera Matović

Founder & English Trainer

Olivera – or Teacher Oli, as her students usually call her – is the founder of English for Success and the person behind its methodology, programs, and the development of the EFS Classroom platform.

After studying journalism and working as a writer, she began her teaching career at a Mexican online business English school. She later worked with schools and students from different parts of the world.

Working with adults who have established careers, clear goals, and a genuine need to use English shaped the way English for Success still works today.

Oli designs programs and content, leads one-on-one and group training, works with companies, and contributes to the development of new EFS Classroom features.

What interests her most is the moment when someone stops trying to speak perfectly and starts communicating with confidence, clarity, and a voice that feels like their own.

Her journey with English began long before English for Success — from the first word she learned to spell at the age of four, through Karlovci Grammar School and journalism, to the idea for a school that came to her in a dream.

Marijana Gilić

English Trainer

Marijana is an English teacher who works with individuals, groups, and corporate teams at English for Success, supporting them in building confidence in conversation, improving their grammar, expanding their vocabulary, and developing clearer pronunciation. She plays an especially important role in working with beginners and lower-level learners, as well as with teams in group training.

With more than 30 years of experience in teaching, she has worked with both adults and children, across all proficiency levels, in one-on-one and group settings. This makes her an invaluable member of our team.

Her training sessions are built around conversation, patient explanations, and the positive energy that keeps clients coming back.

By helping clients improve their grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, she enables them to use English with greater confidence. Within the EFS Classroom platform, she teaches, creates lesson and practice content, and provides feedback to clients enrolled in asynchronous programs.

She also happens to be Olivera’s mother – and the grandmother of two boys and one little girl.

Milica Staletović

Business Developer

Milica is responsible for developing partnerships with companies and connecting their needs with the right EFS programs and levels of support.

In conversations with HR, L&D, and other company representatives, she works to understand what employees genuinely need: their current level of English, the situations in which they use it, the challenges they face, and the type of support that can realistically fit into the way they work.

Based on these insights, she helps create tailored partnership proposals that may include EFS Classroom memberships, self-paced practice, teacher support, group or one-on-one training, as well as custom-designed workshops and training programs.

Our clients love Milica’s enthusiasm and eloquence, while we value her for her sense of humor and remarkable persistence.

Milica is also a devoted mother of one – soon to be two – young boys, as well as a highly talented and award-winning writer.

Miodrag Matović

Brand & Marketing Manager

Miodrag is responsible for marketing, visual communication, and shaping the way English for Success presents its programs, values, and new ideas.

He has been part of the EFS story almost from the very beginning: he created the first logo and visual materials, and for years has contributed to the development of our content, website, and brand through its many stages.

He is the creative force behind much of what we do, but also the mathematical mind who checks every calculation in our proposals – in short, the person who helps hold everything together.

Today, he is involved in planning and carrying out marketing activities, developing our visual identity, and presenting the EFS Classroom platform to individuals and companies.

And, as you may have guessed from the surname, he is also Olivera’s husband and the father of their three children.

Our Methodology

We don’t start with a ready-made course

We do not try to fit every learner into a predefined program.

The first step is to understand the person or team we are working with: why they need English, how much time they realistically have, and what level of support would help them most.

Only then do we choose – or, more often, create – the right way of working.

We encourage mistakes

We know it may sound contradictory, but experience has taught us that the biggest obstacle to speaking, at any level, is the fear of making mistakes.

That is why one of our main goals is to help you accept that everyone makes mistakes, that mistakes are completely normal, and that making them during class matters because that is how you learn from them.

As one of our clients once put it: “Now I make mistakes with confidence!”

And from there, improvement becomes much easier.

Progress should be visible

EFS Classroom was not created to replace the teacher.

It was created from our desire to give clients everything that can make their progress easier and faster, all in one place: classes, practice activities, assignments, feedback, notes, self-paced practice, and AI tools.

This allows learners to continue practicing between classes, while teachers can provide more relevant and better-targeted support.

Progress should be visible

It is important to us that learners understand what they are already doing well and what they should focus on next. We set goals together and track progress along the way.

Companies, on the other hand, need clear insight into employee engagement, learning needs, and progress.

That is why we aim to make English development more than something that is simply “maintained.” It should be a process whose impact can be tracked and recognized in real communication.

Our vision: Professionals making the same impact in English as they do in their native language.

Find the right service based on your needs.

Looking to improve your English?
  • Explore our one-on-one, group, and flexible English programs for professionals, and find the one that best supports your goals.
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Looking for a solution for your team?
  • Discover how EFS Classroom, personalized content, and different levels of support can be tailored to your company’s needs.
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