Case Studies: Teachers

Hi, Flavia! Let’s start with a broad question: why are you a teacher?

Hello! Well, I started teaching Romanian right after graduating. I have always been passionate about languages, so a career in teaching seemed to fit. That being said, when I first started teaching, I didn’t think that I would necessarily stick to it. But, five years down the road, I am still teaching, still learning from my students and still finding joy in helping others discover a new language and culture.

That’s great! It sounds like teaching chose you, rather than the other way around. And what are your qualifications and experience?

I have a degree in Philology, majoring in Japanese and English. At university in Romania, I took the “Teacher Training Module”, which is the equivalent of the UK QTS. After graduating, I started teaching Romanian as a foreign language and English. After 2 years, I moved to Japan and taught English as a second language in cram schools, nurseries and colleges. My youngest student was 3, while my oldest was 70 years old. After another 2 years, I moved to London, worked as an Early Years’ Practitioner and, later on, I started working for Language Trainers.

Wow, quite the globe trotter! Speaking of Language Trainers, that brings us nicely on to what attracted you to the company.

My brother recommended Language Trainers. Initially, I needed a part-time job and the work this company offered was the perfect solution. But I was really impressed by their care for the students and teachers: the detailed, monthly reports; the assessments; and the overall care for both parties really appealed to me.

So, would you recommend students wanting to learn a foreign language to enrol in a language course with Language Trainers? What can our clients expect from teachers like you in their classes?

Language Trainers is a very good option for people who want to discover a new language. The classes are tailor-made, and the company always makes sure that both the students and the teacher are pleased with the teaching experience. As a teacher, I like to have fun in lessons to spark the students’ creativity and make them think outside of the box. I also believe that learning a language cannot be separated from learning about its specific culture. So, I always teach students not only the grammar, but also how to think in the distinctive way specific to that culture to aid language development.

How interesting, can you give me an example?

Sure. Every year in March, people in Romania celebrate the coming of spring, offering each other a small object that symbolizes good luck, called “Martisor”. I taught this custom to some students, who then surprised me with a hand-made Martisor. It brought home a little closer to me, while also helping them to remember the vocabulary and expressions associated with this particular event.

That’s lovely! What a nice memory to have from your teaching experience. Besides receiving the occasional gift [laughs], what else do you look for in your students? How do you know if a student will do well in your lessons?

As long as there is a desire to learn; I think that all the rest can be built on that. Patience, passion, creativity or perseverance can all come along the way.

That’s great! Very open-minded of you! Finally, will you please tell me a fun Romanian expression that you like to teach your students?

The Romanian language has lots of “interesting” phrases. We, as native speakers, don’t really think about the meaning behind the words when we use them, but translating them for my students made me realise how interesting is our way of thinking. To give you an example, if we want to say that we are annoyed, we use the following expression: ”Ma scoti din pepeni”. The literal translation is “You take me out of the watermelons”. Another example is the expression for “I am surprised”. In Romanian, we would say “Mi-a picat fata”. The literal translation is “My face has fallen off”.