CLIENT CASE STUDIES

Listen & Learn: Hi Kathleen, thanks for taking the time to talk to us today!
Kathleen: No problem!

Listen & Learn: Could you please tell us a little about yourself?
Kathleen: My name is Kathleen Mathers, I'm 45, and I work for the Medical Research Council, having trained as a scientist although these days I'm more of a manager.

Listen & Learn: When did you start studying with Listen & Learn?
Kathleen: I started my lessons in September/October of 2013. I enrolled on a 12-week (24 hour) one-to-one course.

Listen & Learn: What language did you study?
Kathleen: I studied Swahili!

Listen & Learn: Why? What were your reasons and goals?
Kathleen: I travelled to East Africa many years ago and loved the experience, and in the summer I went back with my husband to Tanzania and Zanzibar and had an even better time! The people were so friendly and I tried hard to learn some basic phrases. So I just wanted to expand on that in order to visit again and be better able to talk to people. I wanted to make the effort to speak their language, rather than always expecting others to talk to us in English.

Listen & Learn: Why did you choose Listen & Learn?
Kathleen: I wanted one-to-one and fairly intensive tuition, as well as reasonably flexible starting dates and times etc. I spent some time looking on the Internet - Listen & Learn was one of the few companies that offered Swahili and met my other criteria.

Listen & Learn: Was Listen & Learn helpful?
Kathleen: Extremely. My initial enquiry on the Internet was responded to very quickly and the personal contact with the course organiser and my teacher via phone and email was great. All details were sorted our efficiently and always with a friendly voice.

Listen & Learn: What was the most helpful thing?
Kathleen: Gosh - everything was great! My teacher was great fun! He was encouraging and adapted the lessons to my individual needs as we went along, so that I got exactly what I wanted from the course at a speed that suited me.

Listen & Learn: Would you recommend Listen & Learn?
Kathleen: Absolutely!

Listen & Learn: And on a final note, what's your favourite saying in your new language?
Kathleen: “Nina furaha kuongea na wewe”, which means, “I am happy to speak with you!” - both to you just now but I also hope to be able to use this phrase in Africa in the near future!