Link Up

Login
Password
	Remember me on this computer
	Forgot your password?
	Register

Andrew Close

Hi! I’m Andrew and I joined Language Link in September 2008. I’m now the DoS in St. Petersburg (including the satellite schools at Peterhof and Pushkin). Though born in the Lake District in England, the family moved to St. David's in west Wales when I was very young. Influenced by its own unique culture and language, I consider myself Welsh, though this attracts a lot of strange looks on the streets and metro of St Petersburg when I wear a daffodil on St. David’s Day! I got my degree in Accounting & Finance from Leeds Metropolitan University in 1985, then worked for a finance company for nine years – first as a financial analyst, then migrating over to the IT Department. In 1994 I joined a large insurance company in Liverpool and for the next 14 years worked on a wide variety of IT projects. At which point I started to get a bit bored… I’d been to St Petersburg on holiday and loved the city. I’d also learned some Russian phrases to get by, and was interested in the structure of the language. As my employer offered career breaks, I applied for one. I found Language Link on the internet, and signed up for a 6-month Work-Study programme in St Petersburg so that I could both study Russian and teach English to cover expenses. When that finished I continued as an EFL teacher and, basically, never went back to the 9-to-5! As a more mature(!) teacher and with a wealth of practical business experience, I often teach in-company and business clients, whether general or business English, and legal English. I’ve taught all levels from elementary to advanced including FCE, CAE, BEC, ILEC and IELTS exam preparation courses. One of my most unusual students was a judge at the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation – getting in there every week was like going through steroid-enhanced airport security! I really enjoy the variety of people I meet – both age and background - and the possibility of finding out first-hand about this country from the people who’ve lived through its sometimes turbulent history. And I’m always overwhelmed by the warmth and generosity of Russian people when they get to know you. I enjoy travelling and did an 8-week round-the-world trip in 2001. I particularly like travelling by train and have done a number of journeys in Canada, New Zealand and Australia. In 2008, before joining Language Link, I did the Trans-Siberian route from St Pete’s to Vladivostok via Moscow, Ekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Ulan Ude, and Khabarovsk. Last year I returned to St Pete’s from Welshpool by train via London, Brussels, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Turku, and Helsinki (Stockholm-Turku by ferry). And this summer I did the short trip from the Welsh coast to Welshpool, thereby completing an Atlantic to Pacific Train Odyssey. Though St. Petersburg is a fabulous city, it is somewhat lacking in mountains so the hill-walking I used to enjoy has had to take a back-seat.  I still enjoy taking photographs and playing with websites, the products of which can be seen at CloseAfar Knowing the Welsh language proved helpful learning Russian, as some Welsh letters are pronounced like Russian letters. But I also find Welsh useful in the classroom: if students start complaining about English spelling or pronunciation I simply write up then say “Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch”*. Works every time^. *The longest place name in Britain, it translates as ‘St Mary’s church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio of the red cave’. ^This technique is not a recognized part of Language Link’s Communicative Methodology!