Who I am Hello, my name is Anna Frances Lo Mastro, I was born in Tunbridge Wells in Kent, South East England.
I have loved foreign languages since a young age, even going so far as to try to create my own. It was an ambitious project for a ten year old and needless to say it didn't catch on! Most of my adult life I have lived abroad ( France and Italy ) and I have been in beautiful Caltagirone in Sicily for eleven years now.
Obviously I love the simple things in life and apart from my family, the sea and good food and wine, my other passion is reading classic novels. Classic novels contain important life lessons and beautiful language to explore. As a student I fell in love with language through stories. I had a real passion for French, in fact I lived in Paris for five years reaching a near-native level in French. I used to dream of sitting outisde a French café having long discussions with Sartre or the American authors of the Lost Generation like Hemingway or Fitzgerald. Then I had more time and fewer responsibilities. I must admit that over the years with fewer opportunities to practise I have become very rusty. As an English teacher some of my my favourite lessons have involved reading parts of novels with my students and talking about the themes raised. I believe that the emotional connection in reading an involving classic novel aids long term memorization and so is the perfect way to learn. If you see a particular aspect of language used by your favourite fictional character it has more sense and meaning for you. The beauty of it is that a book is the ultimate portable lesson, and you don't need wi-fi! You don't even need to read the whole thing, when each line is rich with meaning and colour.
For a year now I have been trying to involve existing and potential new students in developing a deeper relationship with the English language through reading.
Do you love the English language? Are you mad about classic novels? Do you have a language degree? Are you an English teacher or do you use English every day at work? Are you looking for a way to practise or improve your English for your own personal or professional development that is not just grammar or exam preparation?
If you would like my help in rekindling your love for languages and reading classic novels, to remember what motivated you to learn English in the first place and how exciting that felt, I would love to hear from you.