Katherine Sansom

I am passionate about language learning and understand the importance of building confidence in order to speak fluently.

And I know it can be especially frustrating when your reading and writing skills are developing well, but you feel blocked when it's time to talk.

Our conversation will be an opportunity to practise and develop your skills. You will build vocabulary and test the grammar you are learning in theory. You can choose our topics yourself, or we can just chat about your day. You can share your thoughts and opinions, describe your day-to-day experiences, or discuss the language itself. We can talk about politics or the weather – whichever is more useful for you.

The conversations will be relaxed, informal, and non-judgemental. The goals will be (1) speaking time for you and (2) comprehension: you understand me and I understand you.

And then, at the end of the session, you will receive structured feedback that you can take away and build on. I will highlight where you are doing particularly well and note any areas where more work is needed, providing links to useful online resources.

About me:

I have a bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in Creative Writing. For 20 years, I have been an academic copy editor and proofreader, working mainly with ESOL students studying at universities in the UK and US.

I am fascinated by language – linguistics, literature, language development, language learning, etc. I speak French at an upper-intermediate level (B2/C1) and am currently learning Ukrainian (A1–A2).