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Kathryn Tutor Interview
- Q. Hi Kathryn, I heard that you are quite the nomad, moving from country to country every four years or so! According to your profile, you’ve just moved to the south of Spain at the beginning of July. How’s life there?
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A. Hi! Well we have been here for about two weeks now, so the majority of our time has been spent unpacking, arranging our utilities and trying to ‘find our feet’ as us English would say. The Spanish way of life is even more relaxed than the Caribbean, so even the most basic tasks can take days or even weeks to accomplish!
- Q. How did you originally come to choose this sort of life?
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A. I caught the travelling bug when I travelled around South America for four months in my early twenties, and introduced this passion to my husband. He had only been on holiday to European countries that were close to the UK, but within the first few years, we travelled to Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Mexico, the Gambia, the Bahamas and New York. Having had a glimpse into what the world has to offer, we both agreed that life is too short to stay within the close proximity of our home town (which was about 15 miles from Central London). The time was right for us to emigrate, and with two suitcases each, we got on the plane to Cayman, waved goodbye to England and never looked back.
- Q. How many countries have you lived in so far? Please tell us about any interesting experiences you may have had.
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A. have lived in London, UK, Grand Cayman, and now Southern Spain. My interesting experiences in Grand Cayman have included becoming a certified diver and swimming with Southern stingrays in the wild, which is Cayman’s main tourist attraction. In addition, memorable occasions included our wedding and the birth of our daughter Elsie in Grand Cayman, in April 2009 and October 2010 respectively.
- Q. I’m very envious of the way you travel from place to place because I think you could absorb a lot from so many different cultures. But what, in your point of view, are the biggest advantages of having such a lifestyle?
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A. I believe that different countries offer different advantages. Grand Cayman offered us the chance to live affluently in a tax free haven with good jobs (I worked there as a Head of Department at a High School teaching English and Drama). It offered us the opportunity to save money, to explore that side of the Atlantic (Florida, Jamaica and Cuba were only an hour away by plane) and to appreciate some of the most beautiful beaches and scuba diving opportunities in the world.
- Q. Are you able to successfully adapt to life in a new country very quickly? Or do you have to overcome a lot of obstacles?
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A. It always surprises me how adaptable we are as humans, if we are prepared to take a leap of faith and embrace new life changes. Of course, nothing ever runs smoothly, no matter how much planning and effort you put in. As an example, we had three flights to catch to get from Grand Cayman to Spain. We missed the first flight due to problems with my husband’s USA Visa equivalent, had a daughter that refused to sleep on a 9 hour overnight flight, and when we did arrive in Spain, due to problems with shipping, we had no furniture for five days! But would this stop me from doing it all over again? Absolutely not! Never regret the things that you did not do.
- Q. Right. Next, I’d like to ask about your lessons. How would you characterize them? Are there any special methods or features?
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A. For my lessons, I have taken all the components that I have learnt from the seven years that I have spent as a high school English teacher, as well as the understanding of being a language learner myself, and have put them into fun and productive lessons. I also like to offer my students lots of opportunities to prepare before the lessons in order to maximise their learning during the time that we spend together. I try to ensure that every lesson has a specific objective (for example, ‘idioms that you may come across in a restaurant’) and that this is achieved by the end of the lesson. And humour. Never underestimate the power of laughter and enjoyment!
- Q. Your lesson, “Made to Measure English,” sounds quite interesting! Could you give us some details?
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A. Initially, I send all new students a very quick survey to enable me to understand their capabilities and learning requirements. I then look at my resource bank of over 1500 worksheets and tasks, and send them the activities in advance tailored to their interests and requirements, in order for them to familiarize themselves with the topic for the lesson. The lessons are then a mixture of informal chat, and more structured activities like ‘odd one out’ and ‘fill in the gaps.’ For more advanced students, I also like to include video clips using screen sharing software, in order to study the vast palette of dialects and accents that the English language has to offer. As the title suggest-these lessons are ‘made-to-measure’ – these sessions completely adapt to the requirements of the student; my extensive experience has taught me that the most progress is made when students are studying topics that they genuinely enjoy, whether it be British Culture, sport, food or travel.
- Q. Before we finish, would you like to leave our students with an inspiring message.
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A. Every student on this website has taken the first step towards exploring new territory, and opening new doors for themselves, both culturally and academically, and for that I congratulate them. Learning a language is a great and fulfilling experience, and will present new and exciting opportunities every step of the way. Challenges make a person stronger, and should be embraced, overcome and seen as a positive part of a wonderful learning experience.
