French - Beginner

Hi. My name is Tina, and I was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire. I grew up in Adel near Bramhope, but my maternal grandfather was French Canadian, which may explain my natural ability and affinity for French. I started to learn French formally when I was nine years old at Middle School and enjoyed it. The emphasis was on speaking and listening which built confidence immediately. I continued to love languages at high school and started Russian as well which I taught to my long-suffering dad every evening after school! Aged 13 I went to France for a month on a family exchange and after one week in Paris and three weeks in the Alps I was hooked. After A levels in French, Russian and English I went over the Pennines to Manchester where I completed my degree in French, Spanish and Russian. As part of my degree course, I lived in France and Spain for a year and made lifelong friends there. After university I did my PGCE course and started work as a Languages teacher in Primary and Secondary schools and I also worked as a lecturer in Further Education colleges. The pinnacle of my create was when I reached Deputy Headteacher level, my role being Director of Language College, which involved promoting languages across the local schools and extending languages provision across the wider community. I set up adult Spanish classes for parents in our schools and for adults in local libraries. These were well attended and enjoyed. I retired from full-time teaching a few years ago and I currently work part time teaching languages in a Whitby high school. I am passionate about sharing my knowledge, skills and experiences in a fun and friendly way and I'm looking forward to supporting you on your own languages journey. À bientôt and ¡hasta pronto!