Ana

My name is Ana Niamh Torres and I am a bilingual speaker of both English and Spanish. Growing up in a bilingual household, my passion for language learning is not surprising. I am always determined to be a patient, encouraging and positive tutor for my students whether it be teaching Spanish, French, Portuguese or English as a foreign language. The qualifications and experience detailed in my profile demonstrates my diligence and sensitivity to other cultures.

Tutoring Experience

I graduated with a first-class undergraduate degree in French and Portuguese in 2022, and I was subsequently awarded the Ann Waterfall Award; which recognises the annual best student of Portuguese in the United Kingdom by the Anglo-Portuguese society. My university also recognised my hard work with the 'Professor Gilbert Waterhouse Prize 2022 for Languages'; awarded to the student who is considered by the Languages Undergraduate Boards of Examiners to be the outstanding honours student studying two languages based on their final degree result. I then completed a Masters of Research degree, also within the field of modern languages, and I graduated with distinction in December 2023.
During my undergraduate degree, the Instituto Camões Scholarship allowed me to study Portuguese in the Faculdade de Letras, Lisbon, for a period of one month in their 2019 intensive language course. I completed a second language course in the Lusa Language school in Lisbon in 2021 and achieved my C1 certificate.
I also completed a professional teaching placement in France in the midst of the pandemic in 2021. I taught English as a foreign language in Blois, France in the preparatory school ‘Notre Dame des Aydes’ as well as the private primary school ‘Monsabré Sainte-Marie’. During my stay, as well as being an English language assistant at the lycée, I was also an au-pair to a Chilean/French family with children aged 5, 7 and 12. Following this period, I was awarded a C2 level French certificate from OLS Erasmus Plus.
Since the end of my placement abroad, I began private tutoring languages from primary level to higher education, and I am currently completing a TEFL course in order to have a more holistic knowledge of teacher training in addition to my high-level proficiency in four different languages.

Tutoring Approach

I plan lessons specifically to the student's individual needs and language-learning goals. Generally, lessons will incorporate grammar, listening as well as speaking as I believe a holistic approach is the best way to move towards fluency. I have knowledge and understanding of both the CCEA and AQA exam boards if the student prefers an exam technique approach, and I can comfortably adapt if the student is working towards an Edexcel exam.