Specialist Teacher: Pate's Grammar School

Languages: French, German

Current role: NCLE Specialist Teacher in the Isbourne Language Hub, Head of French at Pate's

Experience
I studied French, German and Italian at university and taught English as a British Council language assistant in Germany as part of my degree. I moved back down south to complete my PGCE in Oxford in 2008 and have been teaching French and German ever since. After beginning my teaching career in a school in Oxfordshire, I have been fortunate to work at Pate's since 2010. My current role is Head of French in the MFL faculty. One of the most exciting aspects of the NCLE work for me is the opportunity to bring language specialists from different school settings together. There is such a wealth of ideas and experience in our Hub, that it is a privilege to be able to invite people to work collaboratively in support of each other and our students. 

What was your initial motivation to learn another language?
I spent many summers as a child in a Welsh-speaking seaside town. Snatching at the words I understood, and trying (well, mostly failing) to pronounce words and phrases from year to year was both frustrating and deeply satisfying. It was Mme Maywood, guitar in hand, who truly sparked my interest in French. Her teaching approach combined a good dollop of silliness with encouragement to take risks and have a go. My world grew little by little from that first encounter with language learning and I developed a life-long fascination with the interlinking of language, history and culture. When I finally got the opportunity to travel abroad for myself, I realised that a whole other life was mine to explore.