Some of our team members tell us about themselves and what they love about teaching at The Marlow Language Centre. Meet…
Paola
Teacher of Italian
I started teaching artistic disciplines in Italian public high schools, right after my graduation. Always in love with knowledge, with teaching, I had the opportunity to share Italian art and culture through language teaching. I deeply love teaching and I try to instil in my students a love of the Italian language. At the same time, I like to know other languages and cultures and whenever I can, I try to dedicate myself to it… I love to discover their culture and society.
The interest my students have in everything that concerns Italy is music to my ears; it allows me to be able to share my knowledge on the history and current affairs of Italian culture. By teaching I learned that each student is unique so you have to prepare your Italian lessons with love, transmitting passion and not just information. Only in this way, can students be motivated; the musicality of our language and culture are a great help in this because they generate magic and beauties unknown to them.
Fiona
Teacher of English
Following a career teaching business and finance in both schools and the adult education sector, I spent some time in marketing for a major British computer company. I joined the MLC in 2012, having previously been a student there, studying Spanish. My daughter lives in Paris so I’m brushing up my French skills these days. In my free time, I have a love/hate relationship with golf but my very favourite thing is going on a Parisian carousel.
Hannah
Teacher of Spanish
I got my Bachelor of Arts degree in Madrid, where I have lived for most of my life. My mother tongue is Spanish and it has always been one of my passions, especially when it comes to reading and writing.
In 2000, I had the opportunity of living in São Paulo, Brazil, and this really was an unforgettable experience. It was there that I enrolled in a language teaching course at the Spanish Instituto Cervantes. Since Portuguese citizens have an enormous affection for the Spanish language, I soon had the chance to work as a Spanish teacher at the Montessori School teaching adults.
In 2006, my life and family situation changed yet again, and since my daughters were soon to become teenagers we took the opportunity of moving to England. Since my father is English, the UK has always been a permanent feature in my life and I have been spending summer holidays here from a very early age. I love England, its countryside, its seasonality and its customs even when it rains! I won’t deny, that in the beginning it was hard, especially for my daughters, but now they are so fully integrated into British life that although I have British genes they are certainly a lot more English than I am. They think in English now.
After I first arrived in Marlow I was delighted to be able to work at Great Marlow School, helping kids with their GCSE and A level studies and shortly after that I enrolled as a student at the Marlow Language Centre to help further my English studies. Due to my knowledge of Spanish and my previous teaching background they encouraged me to start teaching Spanish at their school and little by little I started to teach groups of adults, individual adults and lots of wonderful children. I am really thrilled to see all of my students grow in confidence and make continual progress. Being able to help people with their language skills, and also teach them about Spanish culture is wonderfully rewarding and it really fascinates me.
Sophie
Teacher of French
I have over 10 years of experience as a French teacher and joined the MLC in 2013. Previously I worked as a teaching assistant in Peru and helped children at primary and secondary levels to learn English and French. I have always had a passion for languages and for discovering different cultures. I speak fluent English, Spanish and learned Arabic for 5 years. I studied Ibero-American civilisation at the Sorbonne university in Paris where I obtained a degree. I teach French to all levels, in the private and corporate sectors. I love teaching, there is nothing more fulfilling than seeing how fast your students progress and achieve excellent results. Teaching and personal interaction in one-to-one or small groups are of great value to me! I am very enthusiastic, passionate, funny, creative and sociable. I am a nature lover and love photography in my spare time. I am looking forward to pursuing this amazing experience with you if you are willing to immerse yourself in a French journey with me.
Vanessa
Teacher of French and English
Foreign languages are something I have grown up with – I spoke German before I spoke English, graduated in French and Spanish from Bristol University and moved into a career in international finance. After a period living in Lyon, France with my family we returned to the UK. I passed my CELTA English Teacher’s qualification and have been teaching French as well as English as a Foreign Language at the MLC since September 2018. My youngest student is nine and my oldest is 100!
I love helping people learn languages. Everyone learns differently and it’s so important to find out what works for them – it’s not just about grammar, verbs and sentences, it’s also about rhythm, sounds, trying things out and not being afraid to get things wrong. It’s about finding out why someone wants to learn and then helping them achieve their goal, whether it is converting a barn in France, making themselves understood in a foreign culture, interacting with business colleagues, or being more confident to look after children in a UK family. And it should be fun, a class where students look forward to coming, meeting others or concentrating on improving their own skills. If I can achieve that then it makes my day! Merci and thank you!
Masae
Teacher of Japanese
Hello. Konnichiwa. I am a Japanese native speaker and I love teaching Japanese. I was born in Hiroshima, Japan and have lived in the UK since 2006 and I have taught Japanese at The Marlow Language Centre since September 2019. I teach Japanese on a one-to-one basis as well as to small groups of students. I am thrilled to say that all of my students are so passionate about learning Japanese that they are a delight to teach and that’s why I love this job! I especially love teaching beginners, since learning a new language can sometimes change our lives for ever in a very exciting way! I love art, gardening, walking in the countryside, discovering nature. Come and join me and let’s enjoy language learning and Japanese culture together!