About Us
The Language Ramble was born in the Spring of 2024, with the idea of making language learning accessible. We're a comunity-based academy dedicated to the teaching of French and Spanish as second languages. We're driven by a passion for language, by a genuine curiosity about its multiple forms, variations and ever-changing nature. But most of all, we are fasicnated by the process of learning. We work hard to share the joy of learning a new language with the members of our growing community.
Hi there, I'm Leo and I created The Language Ramble. I’ve been living in Scotland since early 2023 and this academy is my humble attempt to make language learning open, fun and interesting. I’m an experienced and qualified Second Language teacher from Bogotá, Colombia. I’ve been teaching English, French and Spanish for quite a few years now and I love to share my passion for language with other enthusiasts.
Experience
I became a teacher in Bogotá, where I finished my undergrad in Modern Language teaching at the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional. A couple of years after that, I moved to France where I obtained my Master’s degree at Avignon University. It was at the same university where, a few years later, I would complete my PhD in Language Science.
I’ve had the pleasure to teach in many different contexts, from public schools and private institutions in Colombia, to lecture halls and community spaces in France.
Academic background
The time spent in academia has been incredibly formative. The knowledge of specific teaching methods and strategies has been useful when planning a class or choosing the right type of resource in the classroom. But it’s mainly the development of critical skills that has influenced me the most. And I certainly spend some time and attention thinking about ways to deconstruct normative stereotypes and harmful myths around the goal of becoming fluent in a second language.
We rely on our academic background to do what we do. And we can humbly say that we know what we’re doing :)
Teachers, first of all:
We've always had a passion for teaching, way before we became teachers. For us, this means a genuine curiosity for the intricacies of language, an interest to share with others, and most of all, a belief that everyone can always learn new skills and become a little better.
As language teachers, we like to see ourselves as engaged learners and as active members of our community.
Linguists at heart:
We think one could spend endless hours learning about new expressions, the origin of words or the immense variety of accents.
If you are a language user - you speak/use a language - and are curious about this you might also be a linguist at heart.
And one of the most fascniating things about this is that a linguist doesn't judge or points fingers. No no, that's too easy. A linguist describes and tries to understand.
Practice makes 'better':
You read that right, let's not bother with perfect. There's no such a thing as a "perfect" way to use a language, so let's not lose any sleep on that.
What's worth losing - some - sleep on is that significant improvement is very achievable. Getting rid of notions such as "mastery" and "perfection" is liberating and lets us focus on developping language skills and building up confidence.
In our experience as learners and teachers we've witnessed the benefits of regular practice, conscious effort and curiosity - about culture, music, expressions, etc. - in achieving remarkable results.
Purists:
We are not the gate-keepers of tradition and purism. Our linguistic approach seeks to describe and understand, rather than judge and condemn.
We see the correct use of a language in terms of its efficacy in communication, rather than the subjective norms of "right" and "wrong".
Heartless advertisers:
Nothing wrong with advertising (ahem), but we think that making baseless promises is misleading and problematic.
As an avid learner, it may be very tempting to hear that you can sound like a Spanish native speaker in three months, or learn French in your sleep, with no effort required.
(Un)fortunately, things are not that simple. And we know this because we understand that everybody's learning process is different and a little more complex than that.
So it might take a little longer than three months and a little more effort than just snoring. But isn't that true of most things that are woth it?
Solid experience:
We rely confidently on many years of teaching experience. We've had the chance to teach English, French and Spanish in a variety of contexts: from public schools in Colombia to lecture halls and conference rooms in France. We know what to look for in the materials we use and what to include in the worksheets and content we create.
And yes, even after years of doing this, we still get a little nervous at the start of every class - which is a good thing.
Academic background:
Having spent quite a few years in academia, it's only natural for us to be critical about teaching practices - including our own.
Ours is a research-based approach that takes into account the theory and changes behind the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages), as well as the accuracy of audio-visual resources and differences in progression from one learner to another.
We enjoy theoretical developments and academic discussions. But we like even more to be able to put theory into practice and see how that makes us better teachers.
Multicultural approach:
A core element of our teaching is the passion to discover new languages and cultures. This learning experience is not just about language, but about open-mindedness and acceptance of differences.
Curious & fun-loving:
One of the reasons that we love what we do is that we have lost of fun doing it. From the second we start to plan our classes to the moment we're in the classroom with our learners, we're constantly thinking of creative and engaging ways to deliver content.
Our experience shows us that if we have fun teaching, our students will have fun learning.
Who are we not?
Why us?
