About Us
We founded Speak The World Language School in 2016 to provide fun and exciting language tuition to children and adults of all levels.
We founded Speak The World Language School in 2016 to provide fun and exciting language tuition to children and adults of all levels. We believe that learning a language is more than just studying grammar and repeating words; it should be a culturally rich and stimulating experience.
In our classes you will be immersed in culture and tradition, opening your mind and broadening your horizons as you learn. You will make new friends as you question, learn and discuss in the language of your choice.
We currently teach 13 languages: Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, German, Mandarin, Portuguese, Ukrainian, Polish and English as second language. Our teachers are qualified native speakers who are passionate about their role in supporting you to learn.
We prepare students for GCSE and A-levels and our teachers are affiliated with all the major exam boards. We also support students learning English to prepare for exams such as UKVI, IELTS and ESOL.
Our teachers
Marzio Bettega
Co-founder and Director
Marzio has been teaching foreign languages since he graduated from University with a BA First Class Honours in European Studies. Before founding Speak The World Language School, Marzio taught in a local Secondary School for 15 years. He has also been an examiner for a leading examination board 10 years. Marzio is passionate about teaching languages and is an enthusiastic polyglot himself. He is currently studying Russian at Speak The World. His hobbies are football, wine degustation, and spending quality time with his family.
Yulia Gudkova
Co-founder and Director
Yulia's background is in business. She ran a corporate hospitality company in London for 10 years before co-founding Speak The World. Yulia is fluent in English, Russian, German and Italian and is currently studying Spanish and French at Speak The World. Having studied languages all her life, Yulia understands very well the needs of students and supports the teaching team to understand the challenges of language learning from the student's perspective. Her hobbies are reading and travelling.
Maria Polo
Head of Spanish and Social Media and IT Manager
Maria has been teaching Spanish for 15 years and teaches both adults and children. Maria has a sensitive and supportive nature and her understanding of the needs of others is evident in her teaching. She is an examiner for a leading examination board and her GCSE and A-level classes are often oversubscribed due to the great results that her students achieve. Maria is an amazing Sevillanas dancer (Flamenco style dance). Attend her classes and she may just show you a few moves!
Alyona Bernans
Head of Russian Department
Alyona was the first teacher to join Speak The World back in 2017 and contributed largely to the growth of the Russian department. The department now offers Russian language teaching alongside subjects such as Chess, Art, Maths, Drama and Biology designed for bilingual children. Alyona is an Edexcel affiliate and enjoys preparing students to pass exams and reach their full potential. She is passionate about teaching the Russian language to both children and adults at all levels.
Emmanuelle Kabongo
French teacher
Emmanuelle has worked in several schools in Havering for the last 15 years and is well loved by her many students. Emmanuelle's secret to supporting her students to succeed is to create a relaxed learning environment and a friendly atmosphere. This helps build the confidence of her students who achieve fantastic exam results. In her classes for infants Emmanuelle supports young children to sing and play games in French. This method has proven successful in encouraging the acquisition of language through fun and play.
Sabrina Benitez
Spanish teacher
Sabrina has over 15 years of teaching experience. She is a passionate and enthusiastic teacher who is loved by all. Sabrina's optimism and positive outlook enables her students to believe in themselves and gain the confidence to persevere without the fear of making mistakes. Sabrina is skilled at finding an individual approach which works for each student. Her hobbies are Argentinian Tango and cooking ethnic dishes.
Egor Latypov
Chess teacher
Egor is a very passionate chess teacher, who has trained and prepared youngsters for prestigious Chess tournaments in the UK. He can count Essex Junior Champions and UK chess challenge Gigafinal winners amongst his pupils. Despite a high-flying career in the City, Egor always finds time not only to teach but also to organise regular exciting tournaments for our students, and all that on voluntary basis! Everyone from beginner to advanced feels challenged and motivated in his classroom. He has a real eye for "raw talent" and always makes sure the kids are being correctly guided.
Claudia Pennycook
German teacher
Claudia teaches children and adults and prepares students for exams. Claudia works hard to ensure each student gets the maximum benefit from each lesson. She has a real talent in explaining even the hardest grammar points in an accessible and simplistic way. Learners leave Claudia's classes with a smile on their face and a sense of achievement that keeps them coming back term after term. Claudia is studying Russian at Speak the World and is raising her children to be bilingual.
Rosalba Faraci
Italian teacher
Rosalba is an amazing Italian teacher, loved by the children and adults she teaches. She has successfully prepared numerous students for GCSE and A-level exams, some of whom are currently studying Italian at Russell Group Universities. One of Rosalba's many hobbies is cooking Italian cuisine and her "cannoncini siciliani" is the best dessert you will ever taste!
Jennifer Smith
English and Spanish teacher
Jennifer is a talented bilingual teacher. She was born in England but spent a large part of her life in Spain. Her varied life experiences are reflected in her successful and unique approach to teaching. Jennifer's online classes are very popular and the feedback from both her online and classroom-based students reflects her ability to bring languages to life.
Selene Stefanini
Italian teacher
Selene is a passionate and resourceful teacher who expertly researches new teaching techniques to ensure her lessons remain as current and as stimulating as possible. Selene creates an intellectually rich and supportive classroom. She brings a bit of sunshine of her native Tuscany to each lesson, so students are able to immerse themselves into Italian culture whilst improving their understanding of the Italian language. Selene is a passionate cook and loves experimenting with worldwide cuisines. She also loves the outdoors and climbing.
Natalia Simonova
Russian language and Mental Math teacher
Natalia is a qualified Primary school and Mental Math teacher with years of experience. She adores being in a classroom surrounded by her young pupils and children always feel a magical atmosphere of discovery in her lessons. What makes Natalia so distinctive is her drive to constantly acquire new skills to challenge her students. In her Mental Math lessons, students thrive not only learning how to calculate fast, but also developing logic and imagination and training their memory. Attending her lessons will give any child an indisputable advantage not only in primary school but also in further education.
Tatiana Kryukova
Art teacher
Tatiana is a creative teacher joining our team. She has been working with children since graduating from University. Being a talented painter herself, she has specialised in 'right hemisphere drawing'; a method that allows everyone, children and adults alike, to discover their creative vein and complete a real masterpiece each lesson. We are amazed every week to see what children can achieve within such a short period of time and we always have more adults asking for Art classes. Watch this space, new Van Goghs and Picassos are in the making!!
Ximena Colmenares Fuentes
Teacher of Spanish
Ximena has been teaching Spanish at all levels for over 16 years. She has been teaching in Mexico, her country of origin, and in London. Ximena's passion is teaching children. She is able to create a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere in her lessons and children love it. Ximena is capable of using Spanish during her teaching sessions from the very first class and the progress children make is impressive. Ximena's hobbies are painting and crafts and she absolutely adores animals, in particular dogs.
Dongying Wang
Mandarin teacher
A native Chinese speaker, Dongying is a journalist-turned language tutor. She has developed her unique way of teaching Mandarin Chinese, thanks to her three decades of expertise in cross-culture communication. Dongying obtained BA and MA degrees in China and the UK, and has worked in many countries. She sets high standards both for her teaching as well as for the requirements of her students, trying to help them acquire the all-round skills and be able to use Chinese efficiently in real life. You will be thrilled to have a language teacher like Dongying to help you build a good foundation as a beginner or improve your skills vigorously as an intermediate learner.
Katarzyna McGrath
Polish teacher
Katarzyna has over 25 years of experience teaching the Polish language, working with students of all ages and abilities. She is dedicated to helping her students achieve the best possible results. Specializing in preparing students for their GCSE Polish exam, she has a proven track record of guiding most of her students to achieve top grades. Additionally, Katarzyna works as an examiner for AQA, assessing and conducting Polish language exams. In her free time, she enjoys swimming and traveling.
Ready to start learning?
Browse our languages or get in touch to find the perfect class for you.