Information About Marina - Brentwood teacher

Personal Description:

I’m an experienced MFL teacher, with strong leadership, relationship-building skills, bundles of energy and techniques, to motivate pupils, who taught Italian up to KS5 and French at KS3 in England.

I worked as MFL Subject Leader at the Sacred Heart of Mary Girls’ School, for 30 years and have successfully introduced Italian in the curriculum both to GCSE and A Level. I have also collaborated with the Italian Consulate in London to promote the teaching of Italian in England.

Due to the COVID situation, in August 2020, I decided to leave England and came back to my hometown in Sardinia where I started teaching English and Italian as foreign languages online.

Teaching has been my passion for many years, and I would like to continue to inspire future generations and bring the Italian language & culture across the world.

Languages:

Italian: Mother-tongue
English: Fluent (I have lived in England for 40 years)
French: Well spoken

Professional Highlights:
• Italian has had the highest number of A*’s at GCSE since its introduction (at the Sacred Heart of Mary Girls’ School in 1990) compared to other subjects.
• Won the EBACC award three times for the best MFL results in the London Borough of Havering.
• Trained PGCE MFL students, Italian Consulate teachers and Foreign Language Assistants, for over 25 years in collaboration with University College London.
• Helped, through contacts with the Italian Consulate, to introduce Italian as a foreign language, at primary level in 4 of local feeder schools.
• Created a now Well Established, Italian Consulate Prize, for every school year group that students receive at the school’s annual Prize Giving.
• Served as Chair of the Association for Language Learning (ALL) for 10 years and organized numerous inset days in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute and British Universities such as: Royal Holloway, York, Reading, Oxford and Cambridge.
• Helped produce the listening comprehension extracts for the Italian textbook “Rapidamente” for secondary schools as well as pilot the textbook “Pronti - Via!” with Sacred Heart pupils.
• Created teaching resources and Study Guides for Students of Italian and French.
• Won the British Council International School Award for Sacred Heart due to the many Educational Visits and Cultural Exchange links forged.
• Accompanied students and organized several school trips to: Italy, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and Prague as well as to British Universities, Museums and Theatres.

Teaching Experience:

1.Online Private Tuition September 2020 till now

2.Head of Modern Foreign Languages January 1990 – July 2020
c/o Sacred Heart of Mary Girls’ School, Upminster, Essex, England.

3.Tutor of Italian Language & Literature January 1986 – December 1989
c/o Basildon College of Further Education, Essex, England

4. Tutor of Italian Language & Literature September 1983 – December 1985
c/o Brentwood Adult **Contact Detail Removed**, Essex, England

Teaching Approach:

Engaging and motivating. My students get a full immersion in the Italian language and culture enabling them to excel in their learning. Throughout my teaching career I have consistently met all the National Teaching Standards of the appropriate ages I have taught. I address these through differentiated planning and resourcing that is tailored to the individual needs of the students in my classes, in order to effectively challenge and support them.

I am goal driven, which I show through effective observations, assessments and progression tracking to inform my teaching and further maximise pupils development. I have a range of teaching experiences as well as a dynamic and innovative understanding of teaching and learning gained through working with varying abilities, including gifted and talented pupils as well as students with differing special educational needs.

I have acquired a deep understanding of planning and delivering well-structured lessons, in which the learning objectives are clear and age appropriate. During my time working as a classroom teacher, I have substantially practised several AFL techniques in order to monitor pupils’ progress, such as class or individual questioning, use of peer and self-assessment as well as meaning deduction. These techniques have been very successful with all my students, as I could observe their progress and respond to their strength or needs.