aboutME
I’m Kate and I'm the founder of SpeakMyLanguage. I've been obsessed with speech and accents since I was little. As an adult, this fascination has led me to some really exciting (and some unusual!) career choices /life experiences.
​
Whilst studying modern languages at university, I began teaching English as a foreign language. I went on to live in several different countries and learned a few more languages myself. It was then that I started noticing a pattern: Pronunciation skills are not prioritised enough in language teaching!
It bothered me. I knew how important pronunciation was. I had a good accent in Spanish and people mistook me for a native speaker, even though I made plenty of language mistakes! My best friend was a genius and incredibly fluent in Spanish but had a strong English accent. People often talked to her in English as a result. I knew that this was a problem that needed fixing. But, by then, I had already started my next adventure, retraining as a speech and language therapist.
After years working as a speech therapist, helping clients with their speech and language difficulties, I came back to teaching: firstly lecturing in phonetics and phonology at a university and then teaching English as a foreign language in private academies. It was then that I fully realised that:
1) People LOVE learning about pronunciation!
2) People STRUGGLE to improve their pronunciation on their own
3) I had lots of useful knowledge and tips that could really HELP people
It was a no brainer that I should set up SpeakMyLanguage: the culmination of all my personal and professional experience. Pronunciation skills really are important and learning to speak clearly and confidently should be achievable and fun if you have the right support.
I look forward to working with you!
Cheers,
​Kate​
​
Kate Middleton
Specialist Pronunciation Trainer
Speech and Language Therapist (MSc)
EFL Teacher (CELTA)