So what style of music do you play and sing?

“Well, I was part of a band during my university days. Once we had graduated, we started touring around New Zealand. It was really fun and a great experience to have as a young person. We were classic musicians on tour; just living off the smell of an oily rag, oh lovely! But it was great. During this time, we recorded mainly rock music. Later down the line I became a singer and wanted to find something I could do solo. I realised I had a good voice; the right style for singing jazz, particularly Frank Sinatra. I had grown up on jazz music, so I combined my love of it with my style of vocals and my music career developed further from there.”

Have you toured elsewhere or just in New Zealand?

“Yes, I’ve played around Australia too, as well as the UK and USA. I recorded an album a couple of years ago of Big Band Swing.”

You seem like a talented musician, so what brought you to English teaching?

“As much as I love being a musician, I decided one day that I wanted to use my brain in a different way. I went back to university in New Zealand and gained an English Language Linguistics degree, then began my career as an English teacher, helping learners from different cultures learn and strengthen their English. That’s actually where I met my wife, who happens to be from Magdeburg.”

Ahh, that explains it! We wondered what brought you to Magdeburg. So what do you think of the city so far?

“It’s a city that has some lovely corners. It’s easy to get around and so far seems like a great city to live in. It is, however, very culturally different to New Zealand. I think it takes time to learn how to connect with people in a different place, as it is always different no matter where you are in the world. Of course, the language barrier also plays a role in that.”  

And how is your German coming along?

“I’m learning from a family friend once a week. I’m probably at an A2 level now, but I’m finding it quite difficult. The grammar is very hard to grasp, particularly the different articles and cases; this is just a foreign concept for English speakers. I think it really gives me insight into how my students may feel when they start English lessons for the first time. You feel shy to speak out and string sentences together when you are learning a language. I feel I am in the same boat as some of my students learning English, so I definitely have empathy for them.”

What advice would you give to language learners to get them through these moments?

“Don’t give up, keep going. It’s easy to get despondent and feel you might not grasp things, but I think you have to just keep going.”

Final, and most important question: Why did you decide to join the Sprachkultur team?

“Well I actually met Guido, the founder of Sprachkultur, one evening while I was out with friends. I immediately got a good feeling from him. I was later invited to the office to meet the team and I had a great impression of them. I like that I met Guido organically to begin with. It meant I felt more comfortable around him, and so when he offered me the chance to join Sprachkultur, I jumped at the opportunity.”

We are excited to have Steve as a part of the SKM family and wish him the best of luck with his classes this semester.  If you want to see more of Steve in action, check out his website here