Celta Certified IELTS 8.0 Tutor, 13 years of experience in teaching English to all ages. IELTS and general English

Find out more about Fatima

• Do you speak this language fluently because of your origins or because a teacher inspired you to learn?

  I was 15 when I first started learning English, I had a teacher which I didn’t like at all, so I had decided to stop learning. However, only after 2 months, a very nice teacher started teaching me and that was the time I fell in love with the language and she inspired me to learn.

• Can you name a living, historical or fictional character that you think is the emblematic representative of the language's culture?

  I think William Shekspeare is the most emblematic representative of English language culture. His works had a huge influence on the language by introducing many words and expressions that are still used today. Beyond language itself, his plays and poems reflect universal themes such as love, power and ambition which even centuries later, are still famous and popular.

• Is there a typical word, phrase, tradition or behavior in the language that you particularly like?

  I’ve always loved the word happy. I believe happiness and being happy are the two very important parts of everyone’s life. Only with them can people enjoy their lives.

• Why does speaking this language matter to you?

  Travelling, making new friends, reading various articles and teaching the language to students are the four main reasons for learning English.

• What is the main difficulty in learning this language and what can help the process of learning?

  Listening skill has always been a challenging skill for a large number of students and the reason is that they mostly like reading and writing in the language, not speaking to others. To solve the issue I always recommend students to listen to podcasts and watch movies suitable for their levels.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your language learning or your days at school.

  When I was at school, I struggled with the listening task. One day my teacher suggested that I listen to songs while looking at their lyrics. At first, it was difficult, but soon I noticed the change and realized I could understand people easier. This experience taught me that language learning is more effective when it is meaningful and creative, not just based on books.

• How has travel or a specific trip helped you to increase your skill and knowledge of the language?

  Several years ago, I came to Malaysia to live and here I came across with a lot of people from different nationalities. It was a very good experience for me to learn about their culture and various English accents.

• What makes you a Superprof in language?

  I have been a teacher for a long time, so I know how to teach new vocabulary and grammar to a student with the least amount of complexity. I am also patient which I believe is the key for a teacher to succeed because we might face cases where a student needs a part of language to be explained to them several times.