Principal Investigator of the Argentine scientific system (CONICET) and full professor at Tucumán National University.

I’ve studied English since I was a child, but my professional life requires me to be able to speak more fluently, particularly at conferences and scientific stays in other countries – as “English is the language of science”. Despite my efforts with different study systems, I had never achieved the ability to speak and understand “native-speakers” in a confident and non-stressed way. My mind first had to think about the answer in Spanish and then translate it to English, and this process stressed me a lot and I always felt disappointed with myself. 

However, after quite a short time of studying with Leigh, this situation changed. Finally I overcame this obstacle and achieved the ability that I had being looking for, for many years – I realised that I was able to “think in English”. This skill has given me the possibility to participate in scientific discussions in English in a more natural and unstressed way in front of a large audience. In fact, now I don’t feel scared when a native speaker takes the microphone to ask a question. Additionally, I’m able to write scientific papers more quickly. This exponential growth can clearly be seen at google scholar platform at  https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Q5wwJfEAAAAJ&hl=en.

With over 25 years of teaching at university I believe I can differentiate good teachers from the universe of people doing this activity. In my therefore “qualified” opinion, Leigh is intrinsically an incredible “English learning coach”, pulling out the best from students. She meticulously prepares each class, turning them into a place where learning is a pleasure.

In summary, my experience of studying with Leigh was definitely a positive one, and I always recommend this teaching model to all my colleagues as she has helped me enormously in my professional life.