I am passionate about languages and have been since I was young. I completed GCSEs in Latin, German, French and Russian at the age of 16. I subsequently concentrated on Russian, gaining a thorough grounding in translation, literature and linguistics combined with Polish at Oxford University. Working in conference production provided rigorous business experience to couple with my thorough, highly-motivated approach to written translation, spoken interactions and composition in the target language and the deep cultural awareness gained in my university studies.

The subtleties of translation were a core part of both the language and literature elements of my degree. This approach gave me the basis, which, when combined with several years of experience as a teacher of English as a foreign language, enabled me to improve my French to the levels I had achieved in my Russian, although I did not have the luxury of university studies to help me. Reading and translating world class literature in target languages and managing extensive vocabulary acquisition systems have enabled me to have a similar degree of literacy and exactitude in translation in French and Spanish, as I have applied the same levels of commitment and thoroughness to these languages.

The application of my linguistic skills has primarily been in teaching which has enabled me to achieve the goals I had for those parts of my life. It also gave me the opportunity as a French teacher to deepen my cultural and linguistic knowledge during regular visits to France. Teaching and volunteering in South America and Spain allowed me the same chance to improve my Spanish. Now I am ready for the new challenge of earning my living as a translator, which will enable me to work towards the goals I have for the next ten to fifteen years. Eventually I will specialise in one area and am considering the Dip Trans for my career development.