Authors

Alan Wass

Alan is a writer/editor who has been writing for over a decade. He currently lives in SE-Asia but was born and raised in the heart of England in the Midlands. Alan has worked as a writer for some of the world's largest cryptocurrency news websites and a large number of magazines and newspapers across Asia. Working as a writer, and a columnist, Alan has a reputation for fun and engaging blog posts always written in a reader-friendly style. Alan is currently the Managing Editor of Language Traders, which is one of the largest language learning websites in the world.

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!

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.

Bala Chambers

Bala is a true Latin American enthusiast who is deeply enamoured by the whole continent. He has made it his quest to cover every inch of Latin America, to posses insight into every Hispanic dialect and to unearth all if its cultural gems. He is also a Boca Juniors (Argentina) fan.

Benjamin Harris

Originally from the southeast of the US, born in Virginia and raised in Georgia, Ben left for greener pastures as soon as he was able. After studying several of the Romance languages—Spanish, Portuguese and French—at the University of Georgia, pursuing job opportunities abroad became his guiding light, first living and working in Quito, Ecuador for a brief period of six months, and then a much longer stint of four years in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In January of 2017, after already working for a year and a half from home, Ben decided to take his work on the road. After travelling around Latin America and the Caribbean as a digital nomad for the first six months, in search of a more stable working space to work remotely and routine, he started to pet-sit around the world. First in New York City, then six months in Europe and North Africa and then another five months in Asia and the Pacific. So much time travelling overseas and living in other countries saw Ben pick up even more languages and, in August 2018, given his multilingual skillset and previous experience in communications, he started working in New York City with the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research (UNU-CPR) on a project working to end forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and child labour. After working there for a year, his contract with UNU-CPR was extended, with the added benefit that he could work remotely. Taking full advantage of this flexibility with work, he is currently studying Arabic in Beirut, Lebanon for the foreseeable future. For Ben, languages, linguistics, and language learning have always been driving forces and his hope is that the more languages he can master, the more insight and knowledge he will gain with regard to other cultures and ways of living. To see what Ben is up to in his personal time, feel free to check out his Instagram.

Clare Hopping

Clare has been writing for ten years and although she hasn't quite mastered writing in another language, she can speak conversational Spanish and a little Portuguese.

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.

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, including travel, culture, history, vocabulary, sustainability and environmental issues, family life, and psychology—all while getting paid. Her ultimate goal is to become 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 everyday purchases impact the planet or what cool technology is about to hit the market. 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 traveller 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 makes 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 Scrabble.

Deb Cress

Deb lives in Liverpool, UK and is a counsellor who works with children and young people. Before working as a counsellor, she worked for a large communications company and especially enjoyed her time training employees in India. She is a governor at her local primary school and does a lot of charity work in her spare time. Her first degree was in English and American Literature and her passion for reading and writing have never left her. She writes part-time and is a keen blogger with a passion for food and travel writing. Deb likes to write poetry when she is in the right headspace but has yet to be brave enough to read aloud to an audience. As well as writing about food and travel, Deb writes for a parenting and education site in the US and regularly contributes to local education and mental health websites in the UK. She loves to learn about different cultures and listen to stories from around the world, and is a certified book geek. Deb is married with one daughter who shares her passion for books, travel, and a good quiz. Unfortunately, Deb cannot speak another language but she is trying really hard to learn Italian. Deb’s favourite places to visit are Tuscany, Paris, the Greek Islands, Isle of Skye, and Wales, where she loves to camp. She left a little bit of her heart in Kenya many years ago when she worked with children from disadvantaged backgrounds and she would love to return again soon. Her list of top places that she would like to visit include Japan, Iceland, and Morocco. She is hoping to tick Morocco off the list in 2020 and is also looking forward to finally passing her driving test. Deb’s other interests and hobbies include listening to music and attending gigs, cooking, baking, playing scrabble, walking, and more reading!

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.

Emma-Louise Bond

Emma is a freelance writer who is currently writing and eating her way through South America. She studied journalism and theatre at NYU, and is currently roaming through the continent, looking for ideas for her next novel.

Felix Funes

Felix is a freelance writer and language enthusiast. After getting his B.Ed. in English, he has worked as a writer for clients from all over the world. His love for languages has led him to learn Spanish, English, and a bit of Italian and he is currently studying Portuguese. In his free time, he enjoys reading books and watching soap operas. He is currently living in Argentina but loves to travel when he has the chance.

Immanuel Byoma

I was born and raised in Nigeria, until I moved to England as a teenager. That was when I discovered my love for writing. This passion continued when I went to the University of Southampton, where I studied economics. And yes, if I had known soon enough, I probably would have studied writing/communications instead. I began as a freelancer, writing on anything and everything I could find. It wasn’t until I teamed up with Language Trainers that my passion and ambitions to write really started to take off. 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 travel experience and the clients I had worked with around the globe, I have been able to make meaningful contributions to Language Trainers. It is always an honour writing for businesses dedicated to making life easier for others and Language Trainers does just that; so, I am glad to be a part of their story. I speak English fluently and have picked up some words and phrases in French, Spanish, Hausa, Swahili and Yoruba. I enjoy travelling and discovering new things, especially new cultures and foods…I LOVE food! The joy of visiting foreign lands and discovering amazing stories and new ways of looking at things is immeasurable. When I’m not writing, I enjoy reading the news, watching basketball, watching movies and playing with animals. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a pilot but I was afraid of heights. As a result, I could not become a pilot, but now that I’m older, I still hope to become a helicopter pilot one day! Wish me luck! But until then, and even afterwards, I hope to keep making learning fun for people by writing amazing content, including encouraging people to travel and learn new languages.

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.

John Verling

I am a writer, producer of radio programs and a lover of cooking. Getting the time and space to do all three, while also earning a living is where the problem lies. My interest in language comes from listening to others and from my father, who was an old-school Greek and Latin scholar. I speak a little French, some German and can hold a conversation in Irish. I began a blog in 2012, which became very popular. The same year I did a year-long course in radio production and journalism. In 2013, I took the step to becoming a full-time writer and producer, something I had always wanted to achieve. The timing was right, though it did not seem so in those years. Fortunately, Lisa, my wife of 24 years, is a patient and wonderful woman, and without her I would not be writing. It is a difficult road to travel but I enjoy the writer’s life and, despite a few ups and downs, I’m still at it. I write for newspapers, magazines and news websites on subjects from agriculture to personal features and general interviews. I also write stories with an Irish angle for non-English news agencies, such as Italian current affairs websites and magazines. My work appears in Irish newspapers, magazines and websites and I work as a fact-checker for UK companies. I do a lot of ghostwriting work, including autobiographies for private clients, which are proving popular in the current market. I also ghostwrite blog and marketing content for clients in Ireland, the UK, Australia and the USA. If I have time, I write pieces on what I see and hear when on my walks. Someday, I will get around to publishing it. When not writing, I love to walk my dog, Daisy, and be with the family. I am the father to three children: Thomas, Ruby and Freddie. Other interests of mine include sport, especially football, hurling, tennis, rugby and cricket, TV drama, reading and listening to the radio. I am a passionate Arsenal fan and lover of Cork hurling. My other loves include cooking and grocery shopping, which may sound odd but we all have our quirks. My portfolio is at: https://www.clippings.me/johnverling

Juan Nario

Juan is a blogger with a passion for foreign cultures. After completing his studies in English, he has been freelancing as a content writer for clients from the most distant countries. His passion for foreign languages has also led him to translate plays for independent theatre companies. In his free time, Juan enjoys reading great novels, writing poetry, and watching foreign films.

Katie Collom

Katie was born in the US but spent the first 17 years of her life growing up in Mexico. To this day, her hometown’s biggest call to fame is that one of the most notorious drug lords in the world was once captured there. Katie’s first big move overseas happened when she travelled to Cuba to train at the National Ballet School in La Habana. As a life-long expat, Katie has a serious addiction to travel and expat life, and has lived all over the world. Her love of languages led her to obtain a dual BA from UT Austin in Chinese and Asian Cultures and Languages. After graduating, Katie took her passion for ballet and languages abroad and danced and taught in the Philippines and Singapore. During a year-long stint living in Taiwan, Katie gained experience as a language learner, as well as an ESL teacher. She’s familiar with the ups and downs of learning a new language and loves sharing tips and tricks with others. The nuances of expat life are something else Katie enjoys exploring and sharing with readers. She learns more every day on how to balance life as a third-culture adult living abroad. A firm believer in staying connected to your roots, even as an expat, Katie visits the USA annually and is even involved in US elections and politics from overseas. Making the transition easier for newbie expats, first-time language learners and travellers (both seasoned and not) is one of Katie’s main goals in her travel writing. Knowledge is power and travel is addictive, and she wants to combine the two for you! Currently, Katie resides in the UK where she works several side-hustles, including freelance writer, pet-sitter and dog-walker, and small business owner. Katie is also an aspiring (as of yet) unpublished novelist who enjoys reading, browsing bookstores and sipping the occasional pint of Guinness at the local pub.

Katy Morton

Katy is a 29-year-old freelance journalist who can speak English (native), French and German.

Kelly Wang

Hi, I'm Kelly, I'm a CELTA qualified ESL teacher and freelance writer from the UK. I've taught as a private tutor in kitchens, cafes and restaurants across Europe, and in various classrooms prepping students for all kinds of exams, including the CAE and IELTS. I've tutored in the offices and board rooms of some of the biggest businesses in Europe, as well as in many smaller and growing companies. My specialty is teaching English for a specific purpose (business, for example) and exam preparation. I have never had a student fail an exam! Also, I write freelance, writing about a variety of subjects for a range of different clients. In particular, I enjoy writing about languages, travel, the environment and the health and welfare of wild, domestic and farm animals. These latter two have always been great subjects to discuss with language students to practise vocabulary and make for interesting conversations with fellow passengers while travelling, because everyone has so many different opinions and views. Exploring Europe has been one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. It's been great to move from city to city, learning about different histories, cultures and, of course, cuisines! Europe has some truly beautiful capitals to visit, my personal favourite being Berlin. Though I much prefer the smaller towns and villages either in the countryside or on the coast. It's harder work when you don't speak much of the language but is by far the best way to really get to know a place and its people. Above all, I think the main thing travelling, teaching and writing have taught me, is that kindness and compassion are more important than anything else we do in this world. I really do believe that learning other languages is the first step in better understanding the people and cultures in this world that are so different from ours.

Kyra Bonsu

My favourite pastime is sitting down with a new friend and getting to know all about them and their background, as well as the cultural nuances that pertain to them: it fascinates me. This is one of the reasons why I like writing for Language Trainers. Currently, the languages that I speak fluently are Spanish and English, and I have an average level of Twi, but I’m working on the latter. I grew up listening and speaking Twi but due to the common law advice by most educators of first-generation students, my parents were advised to stop speaking to me in Twi for fear of continual communication obstacles in English. 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. In my free time, I like going to plays, musicals and museums, and I like to keep my finger on the pulse of goings-ons in Brooklyn. I moved to this city because it offered a wide variety of options to engage with different cultures, languages, job opportunities and people. For those reasons and more, I’m creating a podcast that will enable me to tell the stories of others. 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. If you take one important tidbit of information from this bio, please remember one of my favourite pastimes is watching period pieces and getting to know about the life and times of my community.

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.

Nora Wallenius

My language learning journey began at the age of 14 when I entered my high school Japanese class. As I quickly excelled in the class, I found that, through language, I was able to connect with Japanese exchange students, enjoy Japanese music and movies, and appreciate the Japanese culture more than ever. I realised that language is the best platform to understand and appreciate another culture. After several trips to Japan in high school, I decided to major my undergraduate studies in East Asian Languages and Literature, with a specialisation in Spanish. Through my one year abroad in Spain and my semester abroad in Japan, I realised that my passion in life is to travel and immerse myself in other cultures. Language is the essential tool that allows me to do that. After graduating, I moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and worked at a Spanish language school, working in the admissions department. I travelled all over 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 do my master’s degree in Latin American studies. I learned German and enjoyed the classic German university experience in a small city in north-western Germany. Through my programme, I was able to spend a semester in Guadalajara, Mexico, researching for my thesis on women in Mexican cinema. After graduating from the MA, I moved to Tel Aviv, Israel, and began working as a content writer and studying Hebrew. Throughout this journey, language has been the most tangible skill set that I have used to adapt and integrate into multiple countries. I am passionate about connecting with people from different backgrounds, exploring new regions and tasting local food. I wish to continue travelling and expanding my horizons, all the while using language to do so.

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.

Qing (Nancy) Xia

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

Rachael Brandt

Rachael is a writer, currently traveling through South America. She enjoys learning new languages and constantly carries a notebook and camera with her, always ready to record new memories.

Sam Brinson

Born in a small town on the East coast of New Zealand, Sam went on a holiday to South America in 2013, to explore the magic and wonders of Argentina, only to meet a girl, move to Uruguay, and form a career in writing. While Uruguay has been home ever since, it hasn’t cured the travel bug, which has sent him to Europe, Indonesia, Brazil, New York, and Peru. Intrigued by the mind and our relationship with technology, Sam’s writing has explored subjects as diverse as psychology, philosophy, artificial intelligence, and neuroscience. In 2016 he self-published Connecting the Dots, a book about learning how to learn. In 2018 he wrote a series of articles under the name the Digital Brain, which explored the effects of technology on the brain and what might develop in the future. He’s now in the process of finishing his second book, titled Mental Effort, which searches for the reasons behind the seemingly unpleasant experience of effort. Beyond writing, Sam also composes music. He studied music technology at Otago University, and has a love for film and game soundtracks. This compelled him to produce soundtracks for a few different media, including several iPhone games. In 2014 he released his first full album, The Flaws of Perception. As if he doesn’t have enough creative outlets with writing and music, Sam has recently been digging into digital illustration and photography. He has a fondness for night-time shots of starry skies and cityscapes. While these are for the moment only hobbies, one day, perhaps, he’ll be able to put everything together. As for the future, Sam hopes to eventually move back to New Zealand, somewhere in the countryside, near a lake and mountains, where he’ll continue to write and compose and design, along with any other hobbies he picks up along the way.

Sean Goodier

Sean is half Australian, half Thai who relocated to Bangkok, Thailand from Sydney, Australia four years ago where he now attends an international school and experiences the various cultural spectacles the city has to offer.

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.

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.

Tracy Thomas

Tracy is passionate about the power of language and how it can make our lives more meaningful. She uses introspective storytelling techniques in her life coaching practice and combines this with her love for travel and foreign culture, to explore why travelling and working abroad is such a life-changing experience. Infected with the travel bug, her urge to never stop searching and exploring is both a blessing and a curse.

Wendy Wong

Wendy grew up on the south coast of the UK, in Brighton, facing out to the sea, and spent many summer holidays visiting relatives in Hong Kong. These two aspects of her childhood have had a lasting impact on her personality, as she possesses a deep passion (some say, “obsession”) for travel. The damage was truly done after she took a gap year to teach English in Hong Kong, where she developed her love of teaching and backpacking. After returning to the UK briefly to complete a bachelor’s in English, she set out again. She has since travelled and taught in many countries throughout Asia, including a stint in China, and then longer periods in Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Laos. Recently, she also spent some time in Perth, Australia, teaching English to foreign language students. She returns to England regularly, but rarely stays for long, instead preferring to use her time to explore various countries and cities in Europe. Berlin is still her favourite city, although she believes every destination has its own unique charms. Despite her extensive travel experience, she is yet to visit Central or South America, or any of the Caribbean, so she is currently trying to improve her Spanish in preparation for a future trip. As well as her limited Spanish and Cantonese, Wendy also speaks a little Thai, Vietnamese and German. She might be an expert English teacher, but she is far from fluent in any of these other languages; though she knows enough to get by! As well as teaching, Wendy has worked with Language Trainers by designing course curriculums for their teachers around the world to use. Furthermore, she has written a number of blog posts for the company. This allows her to earn a little extra on the side while continuing to share her passion for travel and language teaching with others. She has a few passions outside of travel, mostly involving hiking, dogs, and reading, although she prefers it if she can combine these with travel, too!