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 was good at languages in high school and studied French, German and Italian at university, along with the culture of those countries. I worked as an au pair girl for an actress in Paris, a Count in the Auvergne and on a colonie de vacances in Brittany. What different and fantastic places! Then I just had to add Spanish to the mix and studied it mainly at adult evening class, just like you! I marvelled at the sheer speed of native speakers and the diversity of the French and Spanish speaking worlds. 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 historic 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, French and English to adults in various further and higher education contexts, as well as having had a career in exhibitions and tourism. 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 France and understand their replies.