Hanno
School:
Radley College
A-Levels: French (A*), Spanish (A), English Literature (A*)
University:
University of Edinburgh
1st Class Degree in French and Portuguese with a minor (minimum 2 years) in Spanish. Distinction in both French and Portuguese speaking.
Teaching experience:
January-April 2020: I taught full-time at Gehandu Secondary School in Tanzania Here is a school website I helped to create whilst there (https://gehandusecondaryschool.mystrikingly.com/) .
At Gehandu I taught English to year 7s who joined the school having never learnt a word. It was hugely satisfying seeing their progress both in classroom participation and in their exam and test results. The students in the later years must use English as the primary teaching Language so this role was very important. I also taught English literature to various classes and drew inspiration from the incredible teachers I had at secondary school in order to make their learning experience engaging. Every class I taught had about 35 students, so making lessons exciting and informative was essential. I particularly enjoyed using drama and theatre when studying various texts, asking students to act out certains scenes or generate creative responses to texts, in order to make sure every student was focused and actively interacting with the subject.
My experience in Tanzania was by far my most formative experience in teaching. At first the prospect of teaching huge groups of students with just a black board and chalk was very daunting. However, I soon came to use my skills from my drama GCSE and love for acting, my public speaking skills gained from studying languages and more generally my enthusiasm for forging connections with my students, whether that was while coaching and play for their football team, or through conversations during various prep and homework sessions that I coordinated after school.
February 2024- Present: French Tutor @ Spark Generation - Online High School.
Since February I have tutored 7 GCSE level students through Spark, an online school which has students from all around the world studying for IGCSEs and other international qualifications. One of my students was from Lagos and the others all were from Romania, studying French IGCSE with an aim to do A level. The experience has been really special. I have forged real friendships with my students as every week we have gone through their homework or assignments and done activities together using Spark's unique platform. I could talk about any of my students at length, but one sticks out in my mind, whose French when I first met her was very basic. Over the months we worked on how we could move up from a C grade to an A. Through creating a list of 'Golden Rules', supervised by myself, she managed to create an extensive bank of sophisticated phrases and techniques that she could adapt to any oral or written exam. I learnt this technique from a teacher I had during GCSEs and found it to be so useful, and it was very satisfying to see how I could help someone else create such a support technique within their subject. Through the Spark online platform, I have to write regular reports on students' progress, which are sent to parents, and I'm pleased to say that all of my students have gone up at least two grades. The job also taught me valuable skills for online learning such as effectively using google meet and screen-sharing.
Teaching style & philosophy:
When teaching languages, like with many other subjects, it is essential to put yourself in the students' shoes. My best teachers at senior school, for example, would always tell us anecdotes about their early days struggling to learn the language. This modesty and recognition of the difficulties of learning is an essential skill for any teacher. Foreign languages can be very daunting, so my teaching approach is one that recognises my students limitations and emphasises acquiring a linguistic skeleton which can be fleshed out with time and hard work. This often will come in the form of a list of 'golden rules' or 'A* constructions' which students can refer to in any situation to ease them into an oral exercise or piece of written work. Once the basics of this list are learnt (tenses, important verbs/vocab) I like to let the student work out organically how they can use the language to talk about topics they are interested in. I really base this technique off a Spanish teacher I had at school who, instead of tediously saying 'if you learn all of these phrases then you will pass', would be so enthusiastic, even excited, if they heard students using these golden phrases in class. This brings me on to my main quality as a teacher which is enthusiasm. I try to see part of myself in every student grappling with a new language. When I see them make progress or try to push the boat out and try complex A* expressions, I really reward them because I remember how satisfying it was when my own teachers did the same. Whereas these techniques are especially suited for GCSE students who need more framework, the same philosophy applies to A levels and beyond. I still even find myself today referring to the linguistic frameworks I learnt at school for example. The difference with post-GCSE is the introduction of discussion led learning and freedom to explore personal interests. As someone who avidly follows the news and cultural events, I really try to use current sources for A level students and attempt to send students down interesting rabbit holes. If I can foster enthusiasm in the student for learning, then the rest comes more naturally.
Additional information:
For the last year I have been a Tour Guide in University holidays of my home town of Oxford. To begin with I wrote my own script and would take friends, family members or mutual friends around the town, until in june 2024 I officially joined Footprints Walking Tours Oxford as a guide. As one of tripadvisors highest rated tourist attractions in the UK, people from all over the world come on Footprints tours to learn about the city. Both my tutoring and acting experience really combined to help me give educational and entertaining tours of Oxford's ancient streets and institutions, with very positive reviews from my clients. I love this job as it allows me to create a sense of a narrative across 2 hours, a very useful tool in fact when teaching. I meet people from all over and often speak in Spanish, French and Portuguese with them, a language practice opportunity I never miss up on.
Since September 2021 I have been a free-lance journalist and reviewer for Sounds and Colours, an online publication which focuses of Latin American cultural production. Through this role I have read and reviewed unreleased books from Chile and Argentina, interviewed Bolivian film directors and reviewed Latin American theatre productions at the Edinburgh fringe. I love writing about a continent I am so passionate about and often have let the topics I write about inspire new avenues of thought in my tutorials.
I love translation. Whether translating brazilian song lyrics, signs I see in the street or just small idiomatic expressions, the practice gives me immense satisfaction. I studied various translation modules at University, however in August 2023 my hobby became a job as I was asked to translate for Hirondina Joshua, a prominent Mozambican poet. Hirondina was invited to the Edinburgh International book festival to talk at an event for and about contemporary female african writers, with Leila Slimani and Lucia Mbomio Rubio also present. As well as translating one of her poems for the event, I also did live interpretation for her whilst she was being interviewed. The experience was daunting but so exciting and after Hirondina asked me to translate all of her poetry collections into English, a task I have been working on ever since. In Sao Paulo at the moment, I am helping young cinema students at FAP university to give their films English subtitles.
I am based for now in Sao Paulo, Brazil so I am willing to teach online through google meet or zoom. From May 2025 onwards I will be available in the UK living in Oxford.