My name is
Will Clifton and I'm from Providence, Rhode Island
in the USA. It
is a stone's throw from both New York City
and Boston, though it
is a mid-sized multi-cultural city with plenty to offer in
its own right. I got the travel bug when I was young, even
travelling out
of the country with family when I was barely speaking. I grew up
speaking
Spanish alongside English, thanks to a clever experiment my parents had
planned
with some family friends from the Dominican Republic and have had a
great
appreciation for other cultures and languages ever since those early
experiences.
In
university I studied psychology and
psycholinguistics to pursue my fascination with the mind and languages,
while
additionally getting exposure to French and Greek and furthering my
Spanish
education. After completing my studies I worked in news media for
National Public Radio and spent some Saturday mornings volunteering to
teach
English to Latino immigrants who otherwise could not afford to learn.
Truly
enjoying the fulfilment of education, I decided to move to Madrid, Spain,
to earn my TESOL certificate and begin life teaching abroad.
I spent
almost 4 years in Spain
teaching a variety of students from children to pensioners, while also
working
as an English/Spanish translator. The time there was wonderful
and will
always occupy a special place in my heart but when I came across Finer
English
by chance last summer I saw an opportunity that I simply could not
miss. Moving
to Kassel and working
with Finer English has been a very exciting endeavour,
working with highly-motivated students. And learning a language from
level zero
has never provided a dull moment.
In
my free time here I like exploring the city on
my bicycle, marvelling at the seemingly endless sea of art covering the
city
and enjoying the picturesque landscape. At home I also enjoy
playing my
guitar, reading and entertaining friends. Some people collect
postcards,
trinkets, or tattoos, but for my friends and family learning about my
travels
is a more delicious proposition as I like to provide a culinary tour of
the
places I have been in evenings of food, drinks and rousing conversation.
Will Clifton
