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Find out more about Marié

• Do you speak this language fluently because of your origins or because a teacher inspired you to learn it?

  I speak English fluently because of my origin. I attended dual medium schools in Natal. My parents insisted that I should be fully bilingual and we spoke both English and Afrikaans at home. My first tertiary degree was obtained from an Afrikaans university whilst residing full-time in one of the university residences. The three other tertiary qualifications were obtained part-time from a long distance English university whilst I also had a day job. When I was a lecturer at the University of Pretoria my lectures were in both Afrikaans and English and my students were multi-racial.

• Can you name a living, historical or fictional character that you think is the emblematic representative of the language's culture?

  Internationally and historically: William Shakespeare. Also, a more recent international hero and a native of South Africa: Former President Nelson Mandela. He was a former lawyer who studied at three different universities. Apart from his own native languages he had great command of the English language and could therefore have written and verbal communications with leaders and ordinary people from all over the world.

• Is there a typical word, phrase, tradition or behaviour in the language that you particularly like?

  Yes, saying “Thank you very much” and “You are welcome”.

• Why does speaking this language matter to you?

  Speaking English properly and fluently matters a lot to me. English is the current “lingua franca” of the world, including the A.I. world, international trade, politics and diplomacy. Speaking English should matter to everybody.

• What is the main difficulty in learning this language, and what can help students with the learning process?

  English is a Latin and the Anglo-Saxon based language. Therefore it is a complicated language with many rules. The main difficulty is to master all the rules of grammar and the exceptions thereto. This includes tenses, plurals, pronouns, adjectives, idioms and syntax. The list goes on and on but practice makes perfect. Reading, listening - and speaking to native English speakers and anyone else that knows the language as often as possible will do the rest.

• Could you share an anecdote related to your language learning or your student days?

  In my first marathon, around the 20th mile, I felt like giving up. Just then, a child on the sidelines shouted, “You can do it”. That simple encouragement pushed me to finish the race.

• How has travel or a specific experience helped you to increase your understanding and appreciation of the language?

  During my travels in Europe, Asia, China and the United States of America I learned that the English language is the most common denominator. That encouraged me to make the learning, the understanding of and communicating in English one of my lifelong journeys.

• What makes you a Superprof?

  I studied from a young age and achieved success academically. Of greater importance is my emotional intelligence and the fact that I know how to pass my knowledge on to others successfully. Because of my vast life experience and daily contact with persons from others cultures and languages I can communicate with many people with ease and understanding. In my opinion my best personality characteristics are kindness, patience and compassion. Combined with dedication, perseverance and belief that nothing is impossible for me, and others, I know that I can guide, support and inspire all my students. I also know how to assist and guide the parents during my journey with their children, if needed, so that they can relax knowing that things are taken care of and that their children are is safe and competent hands. I aspire to have mutual trusting relationships between myself and the family for the benefit of my students.