In our Lingoda ‘meet the teacher’ series, we’ve met Spanish, German, and French teachers. Now meet Emily. An English teacher who hails from a small town in the south of the country. Find out what makes her tick and why she just loves English grammar. No, seriously, she does!
About Emily – Lingoda English teacher
My name is Emily, and I am from England. I live in a small town with my husband and my dog, and I regularly travel to my hometown of Bristol to visit family and friends. I’ve been teaching with Lingoda for a year, but I’ve been an English teacher since 2006 (I’m showing my age now!).
When I’m not teaching, I love keeping fit, especially swimming and running. I also love baking, and there is nothing better than a huge slice of cake after a workout!
I was fortunate to spend four fantastic years living and working in Spain in my twenties. As a result I speak fluent Spanish (and intermediate Portuguese). I am currently learning German, which is hard! It’s a great challenge, though, and I love the buzz of speaking to a native and being understood.
An average day for Emily
No two days are ever the same with Lingoda. I generally teach in the evenings during the week and at weekends when I am not swimming, running or eating cake. I teach all levels and all types of class, but I am one of those teachers who LOVES grammar! Seriously I love it, and I really want my students to love it too.
No matter what I’m teaching, I try to make my classes fun as well as educational. Laughter is an important part of learning, so I can make you smile, then great.
I don’t think my dog enjoys my classes so much, though. He is normally lying by my feet, but more often than not he is fast asleep!
What Emily most likes about Lingoda
The Lingoda materials have been so well developed. They follow a logical path, each slide building on the one before and this is really what sets Lingoda apart. It’s great that I can view the materials before committing to a class; that way I can be sure that it’s a class that suits me, I can prepare properly, including any supplementary materials, and I can do my best to make sure that everyone has the best experience during the hour.
With Lingoda, I get to meet people from all over the world, which is fantastic. I have learnt so much from the students, and our different cultural experiences and opinions can lead to really interesting conversations.
So, what is it about language learning that you really enjoy?
There are two main reasons why I love learning languages.
The first is that speaking another language opens up a whole world of experiences that you may not otherwise be able to have. Not only can you immerse yourself in a different culture when abroad, but being bilingual can lead to more opportunities in the workplace, too.
The second is that I simply love words and the structure of language – I am a true language geek! I studied Latin and classical Greek for seven years at school, and being able to read original texts by some of the great classical poets, dramatists and philosophers was simply amazing. Through the study of these languages I also learnt so much about others, including English!
Native English speakers are famous for not speaking other languages – everyone speaks English, right? – so it’s great to be one of the relatively few who do.
What do you like most about the English language?
You mean, apart from grammar? Well, English pronunciation is fascinating. Of course, I understand that it can be challenging, especially when you realise that there are actually eight ways to pronounce “-ough” (seriously) but this is part of its charm.
Emily’s language learning tips
My number one tip is: be kind to yourself. When learning a language, you will have good days and bad days. Sometimes things will come easily and sometimes you will feel like you will never “get it”. Sometimes it will feel like you are not moving forwards, and this is completely normal. But I promise that with every class you will make progress, even if you don’t realise it straight away. I used to get so frustrated with myself when I couldn’t remember vocabulary or when I struggled with grammar, but it does come with time, practice and patience.
Words of wisdom
Just do it (sorry, Nike!). Learning a language is an incredibly rewarding thing to do. It can lead to new experiences and new friendships. It can improve your memory, your self-confidence and your job prospects. Even if you are one of those people who say “I’m terrible at languages”, give it a go and you will surprise yourself. Whether you just want to be able to order a coffee in Spanish or whether you want to start a business in France, take the opportunity and go for it – you won’t regret it.
