Language Tutor; French and Spanish First Class Queens Graduate giving lessons to all ages in Belfast

Megan's CV

A Queen’s University, first language graduate, French and Spanish. Currently completing a Masters in French and English Literary Research. Experienced in teaching and working in international settings.

Employment History
Exam Invigilator, Queens University Belfast
January 2017
Working as an Invigilator for Queens allowed me to improve my organisational and administration skills. Preparing the exam hall, assisting students, making announcements as well as collecting the exams in a meticulous manner meant maintaining acute organisational skills throughout the exam period in order to ensure the process ran smoothly for both the students and the university alike.
Sales Assistant, The Disney Store
October 2016-December 2016
This role was a temporary Christmas position which involved meeting and greeting customers, assisting them with their purchases, tidying the store, answering telephone enquiries and providing a high level of customer services at all times.
Team Leader/ Assistant, Solas Autism and Additional Needs Charity Belfast
August 2016
This role involved working with a wide-range of teenagers with Autism and assisting them in both confidence building activities as well as team building exercises. This work took place both prior to and during a residential trip over three days/nights. The trip aimed to promote and enhance not only the confidence of our teenagers but also their self-esteem and independence. In order to help build confidence in the children involved it was necessary to assist them individually at times, encouraging them to participate in group activities, such as orienteering, horse riding and archery. I found the experience enjoyable as it not only gave me the opportunity to build upon my childcare experience but also allowed me to establish supportive relationships with the children involved.
Classroom Assistant, St Joseph’s College, Enniskillen
May - June 2016
After completing exams in May I commenced work as a classroom assistant at St Joseph’s Secondary College, Enniskillen. This role involved working with two students who had learning difficulties, helping them with literacy and communications ensuring they stay focused and encouraging them to do their best. Working as a teaching assistant not only allowed me to gain experience with a variety of team members and students but it also required some independent research on learning acquisition which has helped me to improve my understanding and relations with the students and teachers alike. Working with a wide range of teachers has also allowed me to integrate into part of a team and improve my interpersonal relations with people of all ages.
Au Pair, Madrid
June - August 2015
Having worked as an Au pair twice before, I found this experience the most enjoyable. That is to say, the experience previously gained in Spain allowed me to develop a better teaching approach when working with children. My main responsibility as Au Pair was teaching English to the three children each morning, which involved speaking with them continually in English from 7am up until noon each day, doing a range of activities and games to feed their interest in the language and ameliorate their perception of language acquisition as a whole. It also involved household work, such as cleaning bedrooms, the kitchen and bathroom every morning. As it was summertime, I had the opportunity to teach the children English outdoors. The experience allowed me to immerse myself in Spanish culture and definitely helped my language improve as the family spoke Spanish with me from noon onwards and introduced me to their friends too which gave me the opportunity to have more complex conversations in Spanish. However, the experience also introduced me to a multinational range of people as I participated in a Spanish language course three evenings a week along with a variety of people, all of different ages and nationalities, which allowed me to become more informed on wider, global cultrues not only with regard to Spanish culture but also with regard to German, Chinese, Australian and American culture.
Teaching Assistant, Gonesse, Paris
October - May 2015
During my year abroad with the British Council, I worked as a language assistant in three different schools in the suburbs of Paris from 8am to 4pm teaching English to children aged between 6 and 11. This was a great challenge as I in fact almost always ended up teaching the class myself without the assistance of a class teacher. I spoke French fluently all day with the students and teaching staff. However, we spoke in English when carrying out the tasks and activities in order to enhance their linguistic comprehension and oral ability in their target language. In order to so, I often used visual aids with the pupils, such as pictures, games and videos so that the language became more enjoyable for them. Also I found that using both visual aids and interactive learning were the most effective and efficient teaching methods in terms of language acquisition, so I used a variety of these as well as some English songs, which worked particularly well with the younger children. In this role I developed lesson planning and project plans for each term and also did a lot of research to deliver my lessons. It was a great learning experience.
Au Pair in Asturias, Gijon
July -August 2014
My main responsibility was teaching English to the three children individually in the morning; however I also participated in family outings and brought the children to the park and the beach when the weather was good. The experience allowed me to immerse myself in Spanish culture and definitely helped my language improve as the family spoke Spanish with me at home and the parents introduced me to their friends too which gave me the opportunity to have more complex conversations in Spanish too.