Alan Wass

Alan is a professional writer and editor with over 10 years' experience working for a myriad of newspapers, magazines, and websites. His vast intersets include anything sporty, cryptocurrency related things, ancient history, and quantum mechanics. Originally from Nottingham, England, but has been living in South-East-Asia for 14 years.

Alexis Humphrey

Alexis is a solo travel junkie, having slowly migrated across 45 countries in the past ten years. Playing with words makes Alexis a very happy girl, but if at the end of the day it can be washed down with a daring cocktail and an unidentifiable plate of food, then she's really living the dream. Currently dabbling in content creation and travel journalism, she is a Twitter fanatic and a optimistic linguist!

Alexis Sheldon

Alexis Sheldon is the CEO of Language Trainers. For more information or to contact Alexis, please go to his LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexissheldon/

Anna Snyder

Anna is a freelance writer who studied creative writing at NUI, Galway and used to work as an English teacher in Moscow. She enjoys knitting and travelling and is currently exploring South America looking for ideas for her novel.

Anna Hill

Anna enjoys visiting climbing and diving hotspots in a whole range of countries. Whether it's sport climbing in El Chorro or trad. lead climbing around the UK and Ireland, a good place to climb will always be of interest to her. Her favourite cuisine is Moroccan and she hopes to visit Kauai, Hawaii due to its ties with Raiders of the Lost Ark, King Kong and Jurassic Park.

Cailyn Cox

African-born Cailyn Cox has been a lover of words all her life and she has an untamed spirit that has led her to travel across the globe and document her passions. Experiencing new places, people and cultures is an important part of her personal growth, and the benefits of being able to comprehend more than one language in our globalized economy is a major pro.

Chloe Shill

Claire McEnrue

Claire is a language and culture enthusiast who has been living in Brussels, Belgium and getting her Masters in International Relations and Political Strategy for the past year. Being in the capital of the European Union, Claire spends her time honing her ear and tongue in Belgian French, consuming obscene amounts of pomme frites out of paper cones, eating bags of some of the most delectable chocolate in the world and washing it all down with La Chouffe, her favorite Belgian Blonde beer. She hopes to eventually work in a multinational consultancy managing public relations and strategic communications for political candidates and campaigns in Europe, to promote policy change for a greener future. A (classic) middle child, Claire was born in Manhattan and grew up across the Hudson River in Frank Sinatra's hometown, Hoboken. For college, she nearly froze to death in Ithaca, New York, but loved the nature and gorges so much she spent multiple summers hanging out on Cayuga Lake and attending GrassRoots Music Festival. After graduating she spent four years living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, studying el castellano rioplatense, crushing steaks and red wine every night of the week, being photographed all over South America with llamas and coatis and working at a boutique recruitment firm with advertising agencies all over the world. After quitting her job and backpacking through the continent for several months, in 2016 she returned to New York to live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and worked at a global advertising agency in recruitment. When she isn't nose-deep in academic journals or sitting in an armchair pondering existentialism and political philosophy, she can be found running in Parc du Cinquantenaire, browsing used bookstores and vintage shops, smashing huge cappuccinos with cinnamon on top, checking out museums and photography galleries, writing in her journal, going to see live music of all kinds, dancing salsa, making herself laugh, traveling and playing football (ahem, soccer). She is intrigued by thoughtful design, fashion, NPR, psychographics, people, conversation, the ‘70s in general, iced coffee (in every season), making lists, checking off aforementioned lists, pondering the situations proposed in the NYTimes' Ethicist column, peppering/saucing/condimenting her food aggressively and keeping track of the moon. She also has a brilliant toddler niece who keeps her endlessly entertained through FaceTime. Claire’s current motto is: I can and I will.

Clare Hopping

Formerly International Editorial Director at a large UK publisher, Clare has experienced a wide range of cultures around the world, including Mexico, Spain, Germany, India and Brazil. She speaks conversational Spanish and a tiny bit of Brazilian Portuguese and has been writing for Language Trainers since May.

Courtney Healey

Courtney is a freelance writer living in Cape Town, South Africa. Her traveling experience began with a school exchange to Argentina. In the last couple of years she has frequently travelled in Africa, particularly Mozambique and Malawi. Most recently, she has been lucky to experience Northern Italy and once she has finished her studies she intends to travel further in Europe and East Asia.

Dan Cross

Dan is a writer and editor with 10 years' professional experience. He is the managing editor at Language Trainers. He is from the UK and lives in Colombia with his wife and son. Dan speaks Spanish to an intermediate level. He has traveled throughout Europe, the Americas, and Asia. He'll visit Australia once the spiders have left. Dan is a twice shortlisted novelist who primarily writes historical fiction. He is a Fellow of the Historical Novel Society and an associate member of the Society of Authors. Also, he is the associate editor for "Write On!" a print and digital magazine that promotes creative writers and authors from all backgrounds, from all over the world.

Dani Barrow

Dani is a writer and traveller living in Buenos Aires but is originally from Texas. She collects post cards, languages, and tattoos. She can also find her way around a kitchen.

Daniel Dawson

Daniel is a freelance journalist who has previously covered the environment and UK politics and current events. He currently lives in Montevideo where he moonlights as an English teacher.

Daniela Solis

Daniela is a content writer and ELT teacher who has a passion for languages & food (spicy dishes are her favorite!). She also loves traveling to beach destinations, spending time with her family and pets, and learning Portuguese

David Recine

For nearly ten years, David Recine has been teaching ESL students ranging from Kindergarten tots to university grads. He is a test prep expert; writing articles for Magoosh, covering everything from tricky TOEFL vocabulary to complex TOEFL practice test problems. You can read more of David’s awesome blog posts on the Magoosh TOEFL Blog.

Dawn Hammon

Dawn has thrived in freelance writing and editorial roles for nearly a decade. It’s a career that allows her to explore all her interests -- namely travel, culture, history, vocabulary, sustainability and environmental issues, family life, and psychology while getting paid for it. Her ultimate goal is to take this experience on the road as a digital nomad, continuing to write while exploring the world. Dawn feels fortunate to have the opportunity to dive into a diverse range of topics, like how memory retention works or what we can do to reduce our environmental impact when we travel. She is a regular contributor to www.doityourself.com where she writes about the ongoing tasks required as a homeowner and helps to refresh aging articles on the site that need the dust knocked off and brought back to the surface, where readers can learn about DIY home improvement. She also writes for www.inhabitat.com, a resource for the sustainable community. As a habitual traveler with a serious case of wanderlust, it’s an uplifting opportunity to acknowledge the many people and companies around the world working to make an environmental difference. The daughter of small business owners, she loves supporting local small businesses through her work as a blogger, helping connect customers with hometown providers. Overall, she’s open to new writing challenges that help her continue to learn and grow. Being a wordsmith is a natural fit with a Passion for Words (professional website) that some say make her an interesting conversationalist at cocktail parties. She has lived, worked, and attended school in Oregon, USA for many years and currently spends her days convincing her children she is still smarter than them and creating new experiences with her husband of 25 years. Dawn holds a degree in psychology, which she feels gives her unique insight into the diversity of populations near and far. When she is not providing stellar online content for local, national and international businesses, you might find her backpacking the nearby hills and valleys, traveling to remote parts of the globe, or expanding her vocabulary in a competitive game of Words with Friends.

Dusty Fox

Dusty is a full-time freelance writer and world traveler who prefers not to sit still for very long. She's on a lifelong mission to perfect her Spanish and blend in with the locals as she travels through Latin America and beyond.

Emily Edgar

Emily is a Fordham University graduate in Psychology, and lives in New York City. She loves to learn and write about language, especially when it relates to her passions: art and culture.

Felix Funes

Felix is a writer and language enthusiast. After majoring in English, he has been freelancing for the past three years during which he has collaborated with clients from all over the world. His passion for languages has led him to learn Spanish, English, and a bit of Italian; he is currently studying Portuguese. During his free time, he loves to read books and comics and watch soap operas. He is currently living in Argentina but loves to travel when he has the chance.

Gareth Greenidge

Gareth is an avid traveller and lover of sports. He has enjoyed frequent trips to South America, Spain and the Caribbean and is able to converse in and comprehend Spanish and German.

Heather Keagan

An explorer at heart, Heather has been working abroad as a teacher for the last 4 years in Jakarta, Donetsk, Budapest, London and currently Seoul, South Korea. She studied German and English, and loves writing, watching films, learning new languages and cooking.

Immanuel Byoma

As a little kid, I loved two things: animals and planes. My dream was to build an airplane with a swimming pool for animals. I was a weird kid. Even though I had a fear of heights, I always loved traveling. My first vacation to Europe as a little boy made me fall in love with exploring new countries. This passion continued when I went to the University of Southampton, where I studied economics. If I had known earlier, I probably would have studied writing/communications. I began as a freelancer soon after my bachelor’s degree, writing on anything and everything I could find. It was helpful, but it was not a lot of fun writing about things I wasn’t passionate about. When I teamed up with Language Trainers, however, everything changed. I loved my job and helping people make the most of their travel experiences was a dream come true. As a freelancer, I have worked for clients on every continent and I have enjoyed helping people launch new careers, businesses, and projects. Drawing on my traveling experience and the global clients I had worked with, I have been able to make meaningful contributions to LT. It is always an honor writing for brands dedicated to making life easier for others. Language Trainers does just that and I am glad to be a part of their story. Even though I only speak English fluently, I have picked up bits and pieces of French, Spanish, Swahili, Hausa, and Yoruba. When I’m not writing, I enjoy reading the news, watching sports (I love basketball) and movies, and playing with animals. I am a huge fan of Marvel movies and I love watching cartoons. I also enjoy learning about animals and cooking. I love baking my own bread and desserts. One of my grand ambitions is to become a helicopter pilot. Wish me luck!

Isabell Jacobson

Jessica Dillow

Jessica Dillow currently lives in Madrid and is a freelance copywriter and author of Be Your Finest Self. She is a vegan yogi who loves to run and read when she’s not in the middle of traveling. Right now she’s only fluent in English, but she loves the process of learning Spanish and French.

Jessica Hobson

Jessica combines her passions (traveling and writing) to present articles focused on conducting business abroad and travel tips.

Juan Nario

Juan is a freelance writer who is constantly learning new languages. After getting his degree in English, he has been working as a content writer for companies and clients from all around the world. His passion for English has led him to work as a literary translator for independent publishing companies. When he’s not busy with work, Juan enjoys reading novels, writing poetry, and taking pictures of people.

Justine Healey

Growing up in Cape Town, Justine was been able to explore a lot of Africa. She left South Africa to live in the UK, where she’s experienced life in England and Scotland, with some adventures in Italy, Spain and France. She now lives in South Korea where she is slowly but surely learning the local language and will share her adventures on Language Trainers along the way.

Katie Collom

Katie was born in the U.S. but moved to Mexico as a baby, where she spent her childhood in a town whose biggest claim to fame is the local capture of one of the most notorious drug lords in the world. As a teenager, Katie made her first big move abroad, to Cuba, where she lived for nearly four years while training at the National Ballet School. Following her stint in Cuba, Katie decided to return to the U.S. and pursue her love of languages. She obtained a dual B.A. from UT Austin in Chinese and Asian Cultures and Languages, while working as a dance instructor and performer. She went on to live in Taiwan for a year, where she studied Chinese and worked as an ESL teacher. Katie loves learning languages and is constantly looking for opportunities to add new ones to her roster. Along with Mandarin, she speaks French and Spanish, and is hoping to learn Russian next. These experiences as a language learner make her well-suited for sharing tips and tricks with other hopeful learners through her writing. Katie also enjoys exploring the nuances of expat life and sharing her experiences with readers. A firm believer in maintaining a connection with one’s roots, even as an expat, Katie stays involved with U.S. elections and politics, and visits the U.S. every year (just to check that it’s still there). One of her main goals in her travel writing is to make these types of transitions easier for others—whether newbie expats, first-time language learners, or seasoned travellers. Knowledge is power and travel is addictive, and she wants to combine the two for you! Currently, Katie resides in the U.K. where she works several part-time jobs and spends her time agonizing over her unfinished novel. In her free time, Katie can be found drinking Guinness at the local pub, browsing bookstores, reading, and hiking.

Katy Morton

Katy is a 29-year-old writer who has travelled the globe, visiting North Africa, South and central America, Bulgaria and the Mediterranean. On her travels she has picked up many different languages and learnt about different cultures.

Kelly Wang

Hi, my name is Kelly, I'm a freelance writer and CELTA qualified ESL teacher from the UK. One day, when I am a real adult, I might even take on the DELTA, though my interests lie in helping individuals rather than managing a staffroom, so we will see. I've taught as a private tutor in living rooms, bars, and offices across Europe, and in a number of classrooms prepping students for all kinds of exams, from locally regulated to Cambridge certified, such as the CAE and IELTS. I've helped students in the labs, board rooms, and canteens of some of the biggest businesses in Europe, and also in many SMEs and startups. My focus tends to be English for a specific purpose (business, for example), and exam preparation. I am yet to have a student fail an exam! I am also a freelance writer, covering a range of subjects for a variety of clients. My main focus in writing, aside from language and travel, is the health and welfare of wild, domestic, and farm animals, and the environment. It is always interesting to hear opinions on these as they vary so much from country to country, and make for great conversation starters while in the queue waiting for my latest overnight bus taking me to wherever I'm traveling next. Traveling across Europe has been one of the most amazing things I've ever done. It's been great to move from city to city, learning about different histories, cultures, and of course, cuisines! I've found I like smaller places off the beaten path far more than sprawling cities; You really get to know the people and the way of life of a place better that way, in my opinion. Though this is also true of countries beyond Europe, it is a far different experience spending time in Jilin in northern China than in Beijing, Shanghai, or Shenzhen! Above all, I think the main thing traveling, teaching, and writing has taught me is that kindness and compassion are more important than anything else we do in this world.

KeQing Lee

Kyra Bonsu

I was born in Dallas and raised by two immigrant Ghanaian parents. My community surrounded me with people from Central and South America, Eastern Europe, India, East Asia, and Jewish communities, allowing me a breadth of knowledge of cultures distinct from my own. As a result, I thrive in spaces where I’m constantly stimulated by differing cultures and distinct interpretations of human relationships. Whether it be living in the outskirts of Boston, Brooklyn, Madrid, Buenos Aires, or Deli, I have learned to navigate through the unique nuances that cultures generate and festooned my own way of communicating. I’m a diligent researcher and take pride in exploring as much as possible the places and spaces that are new and old to me. For those reasons and more, I’m creating a podcast that will enable me to tell the stories of others, like I have grown accustomed to doing myself. Being a Texan, Spanish has always played a major role in my life while Twi has always been in the ether. As a result, my escape and travel to Latin American countries took me to many Spanish-speaking nations and Latin American political classes. African history was taught to me in school as well, but the rich contexts of an oral story or books, from Encyclopedias to written accounts, are where I developed my knowledge of Africa. It is my hope that Twi will be my future second language to be spoken as comfortably as Spanish; as I embark on this journey, you will read about my struggles with adaptation and language learning. Also, be on the lookout for more writings from me in other publications. If you take nothing else from this bio, please remember one of my favorite pastimes is dancing like no one is watching, absolutely anywhere: on the subway, in my bedroom, on the dance floor, in front of my computer or wherever I’m feeling compelled to do so.

Lauren Harrison

Lauren Harrison is a full time writer and part time free spirit living in the UK. While her love of travel and language has seen her board some of the longest flights known to mankind, she is at her most content soaking up the history, the sights and of course the sounds of Europe.

Lottie Hanwell

Lottie Hanwell is a behavioral analyst, writer, and travel-addict from London. She has a degree in Spanish and English Literature from Durham university, a tiny city of cobbled streets in the north-eastern corner of the UK. Her passion for Hispanic languages and culture has led her to Buenos Aires, where she spent time working with an NGO, and Barcelona, where she worked at a magazine covering events and cultural happenings across the city. Whilst in Argentina, she fell in love with how sharing is such a central part of the culture, and put this into practice herself over many a glass of Malbec or afternoon spent in the park sharing a Mate. After a few months, she even— somewhat begrudgingly — learned to love Reggaeton. She enjoyed her time in the Americas so much that, upon leaving, she vowed to herself that she would return to this side of the world. And so she has, twice (so far): spending time on the south-east coast of Brazil, and backpacking by herself through Mexico. Always guided by her stomach, both countries provided many culinary delights, with highlights including tlayudas in Oaxaca and fried fish in Paraty. In London, she currently works as a behavioral analyst and trend researcher, helping brands to understand people through in-depth cultural analysis. Her research looks into a wide range of topics and issues, from the impact of climate consciousness on travel, to the way in which social media is transforming our family lives. In her spare time, she runs, reads, and writes, occasionally hosts dinner parties, and spends many an hour on her commute to and from work planning her next escape from the bitter British winter. Amid Brexit chaos, she’s increasingly feeling the pull of warmer, sunnier climates, and moving back to Buenos Aires seems increasingly on the cards.

Mary Olinger

Mary Jean Olinger holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education and has taught English in the public school system. Mary works with a number of international English schools in China, Russia, Taiwan and the Philippines and teaches ESL via Skype to students around the globe. In her free time, Mary enjoys traveling to various locations to run half-marathons.

Matthew Fallon

Matthew loves travelling, photography and books. Every place is unique, each culture is so different that it needs to be captured either in colors or letters. Writing about those little but unique things is his destination on each journey.

Matthew Dancis

Matthew is a freelance writer who studied Communications with a special focus in public relations and media studies at Drexel University in Philadelphia, USA. Matthew also works as an English teacher in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and spends his free time exploring South America. He is passionate about music, politics, and travel.

Matthew Hamlyn

Matthew has traveled to various exotic locations such Mozambique, Mauritius and Haiti, and he has worked in some of the safer areas of Afghanistan, where he learned that language isn't always the most obvious barrier to communication

Michelle Cancellier

Michelle, 25, lives in San Francisco and spends her weekdays interacting with all sorts of YouTube creators. She's inspired by languages and cultures that aren't her own and by her endless stacks of magazines, but is plagued by wanting to write more frequently than she does. Recent extended trips have taken her to Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines, but, when work doesn't allow for it, she searches for pockets of quirky American culture on domestic trips.

Nancy (Qing) Xia

Nancy is a UK-born Chinese girl, fluent in Chinese and English, currently studying French, German and a little bit of Japanese. She dabbles in a bit of everything, including music, doodling, and video games, but is most passionate about writing and would love to travel the world one day - not only for the new languages and culture, but for the food, too!

Nathalie Tarkowska

Nathalie Tarkowska, was born and raised in France, and moved to Vancouver, Canada in 2009, to teach French as a second language, to adults and youth. Columnist and editor for the bilingual French/English Canadian cultural newspaper The/La Source from 2009 to 2012, she also broadcasted on Radio-Canada for a year.

Niko Nelson

Niko comes from a multiracial background, and grew up speaking English and Spanish. She is currently pursuing a Creative Writing MFA focused in translation and international writing. A self-professed nomad, Niko is interested in discovering natural hidden destinations, both locally and abroad, as well as finding the connecting threads between international cultures.

Nora Wallenius

My own language learning journey began at a young age when I started to study Japanese in high school. As I excelled in the class, I found that I was able to connect with Japanese exchange students, listen to Japanese music and movies, and appreciate Japanese culture even more by using my language skills. After multiple trips to Japan in high school, I decided to major in East Asian Languages and Literature, with a specialization in Spanish. After one year abroad in Spain and a semester abroad in Japan, I realized that my passion in life is to travel and immerse myself in foreign cultures. After graduating from university, I moved to Buenos Aires and worked at a Spanish language school in the admissions department helping students study Spanish in Argentina. I travelled across South America and perfected my Spanish abilities. After two and a half years, I decided to continue my higher education and moved to Germany to complete my MA degree in Latin American studies. I learned German and enjoyed a classic German university experience in a small university city. I also taught English classes and US cultural classes to German students. Through my university program, I was able to spend a semester in Guadalajara, Mexico researching for my master’s thesis on women in Mexican cinema. After graduating from the master’s program, I moved to Tel Aviv, Israel and began working as a content writer and learning Hebrew. Throughout this journey, language has been the most tangible skill set that I have used to adapt and integrate into many countries. I am passionate about connecting with people from different backgrounds, exploring unique regions, and enjoying local food. I want to continue to travel, expand my horizons, live life to the fullest.

Oliver Cox

Oliver Meredith Cox is a freelance writer from Liverpool, UK. He is currently studying English at the University of Liverpool, whilst writing for the University news site.

Patrick Haddad

Patrick currently lives in Berlin, where he first moved to and explored two and a half years ago. He has worked in education for seven years, wears black as much as possible, and writes because he likes it.

Paul Mains

Paul is a New York-based expat living in Buenos Aires. He enjoys playing piano, watching tango, and eating dulce de leche by the spoonful.

Remi Yamazaki

Remi Yamazaki is a trilingual journalist and performer, currently learning her fourth language. She grew up in Japan, came to the US for college and has spent summers in Paris and Kampala, though she usually sounds like she's from somewhere in the former and/or current Commonwealth.

Rose Ramraj

Rose studied writing and business studies, and now combines the two into her love for blogging. She currently lives in New York City with her husband and two mischievous toy poodles.

Salvador Padilla

Salvador Padilla is a Spanish Teacher and Cambridge Certified ESL Teacher as well as an experienced translator/Interpreter for English and Spanish.

Sophia Jones

Born in London from artistic parents of multi-ethnic descent, Sophia spent most of her childhood dancing and creating comic books. After studying Japanese and Spanish at University, she was inspired to explore and work in Europe. She now spends her time teaching dance, writing and exploring Spanish culture in the vibrant city of Barcelona.

Sophie Davies

Sophie is a blogger of all things fascinating. She studied writing and business, and currently resides in Buenos Aires with pen and paper.

Tabitha Naylor

Tabitha Jean Naylor is an avid world-traveler who loves venturing “off the beaten” path when planning her trips. From learning how to salsa dance on the beaches in Cuba to perusing Paris on a bike, her eclectic interests always make for interesting story-telling. While her international language skills are a continual work-in-progress, she ALWAYS has a great time along the way...

Tanya Stankeva

As an M.A. in British and American literature, Tanya has always been interested in language – from pronunciation to etymology and from recent developments to loan words. With her passion for the role of language in communication, power and negotiation, Tanya provides valuable insight for the community of Language Trainers.

Teresa Mupas

Teresa Mupas is a writer and poet currently surviving the rain, teaching EFL, and stumbling through the learning blocks of the Spanish and Galician languages in Northwest Spain. Previously she taught English in central Thailand and the United States. She likes paper books, daydreaming, jigsaw puzzles, long mealversations, and compact items that fit neatly and quietly in carry-ons. You can follow her travels on IG @teresamupas.

Tola Emiola

A Houston-native, Tola cultivated her love of language and literature as an English major at Princeton University. She speaks English and Spanish, and is in the process of learning Yoruba to get in touch with her Nigerian roots.

Trisha

Trisha is an IELTS blogger at Magoosh. She has a B.A. in Foreign Language and Literature and an M.A. in Applied Linguistics at UMASS Boston. Before blogging for Magoosh, Trisha taught Spanish and English to students of all ages, helping them master their foreign language or writing and reading comprehension skills. She writes and works as an academic editor from Bali, Indonesia where she enjoys yoga, slogging (slow jogging), and practicing her Indonesian with stray dogs.

Veronica Siverd

Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Veronica lives in Manhattan where she appreciates the cultural diversity. She first fell in love with the power of language when she majored in English at Princeton University. A speaker of French and English, Veronica has travelled the world and studied abroad in the Netherlands.

Williams Allen

Allen is a traveler, a writer, and lover of all things cultural. He enjoys combining his interests to write for magazines and blogs.