Fallowfield / French

I first got hooked on languages whilst living in Dover, Kent as a child. It was so easy to hop across the Channel to France, Belgium, Holland and beyond. I was fascinated by how each country had its own language, culture and back then, currency. I excelled at languages in high school and studied French, German and Italian at university, along with the culture of those countries. But then I discovered my real passion – Spanish! I studied it mainly at adult evening class, just like you! I marvelled at the sheer speed of native Spanish speakers and the diversity of the Spanish speaking world. My passion grew so much that I just had to study for a degree in Spanish. This included a term living in the wonderful city of Santiago de Compostela, with its wonderful cathedral and Galician Celtic traditions. A far cry from the heat and culture of the south – there are so many Spains! I was very lucky to go on to do PhD research in Cuba, such a unique country. I’ve also been a learner like yourselves and found Portuguese a challenge. I have a teaching qualification and have taught Spanish and English to adults in colleges of further education, as well as having had a career in exhibitions, tourism and higher education. I can’t wait for you to be as thrilled as I was to be able to communicate simple questions and comments to people in Spain and understand their replies.