ABOUT – DECODE ls

My language learning journey

Hello, I’m Gemma.

I was born in Nottingham in the UK and am passionate about foreign languages and cultures. I owe my language learning journey to my Year 2 teacher, Mrs Hutchby, who encouraged my parents to send me to after-school French classes as I had the ‘right type of language learning brain’. I still have my workbooks from ‘La Jolie Ronde’, where aged 6 I was scribbling broken French sentences, drawing pictures of ‘Minou le Chat’ and singing French nursery rhymes like ‘Alouette’. This experience captivated me as a child and ever since I have been drawn to the beauty of foreign languages and cultures. As cliché as it is, ‘learning a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world’. This website therefore aims to promote foreign language learning and all the benefits it has to offer.

Naturally I went on to study French at degree level, alongside Mandarin Chinese and German (call me crazy). After living in China for 6 months in 2016, I came back to the UK to work at the University of Nottingham International College, with students from across the globe. In 2022, I completed a Master’s degree in Asian Studies in Ireland where I deepened my understanding about China’s role in East Asia, polished up my intermediate Mandarin and began studying Japanese.

It was at this point that my interest in traditional Chinese characters blossomed, not only because I had begun learning Japanese, but also because I started practising beginner’s calligraphy. The Chinese language is so beautiful, and learning Chinese characters is such an interesting and rewarding process. I have a particular method for learning Chinese characters, that I will be sharing with you soon!

Having already learnt two foreign languages, I have mastered the best techniques and tried all types of resources. I am certain that with the right techniques and content, you can teach yourself a language in no time and without it costing too much! The benefits are countless plus it can open so many doors hence why I decided to start this website to encourage others to pursue foreign language learning.

Why DECODE?

My Chinese name is 解码 (jiěmǎ) which translates to decode. It also goes perfectly with the idea of decoding a language…For anyone who has tried to teach themselves a foreign language, it is clear that there are millions of options to choose from. So many websites, apps, books, podcasts and YouTube videos… If anything like me, more time is spent finding the right resources than actually studying the language itself. This is why I decided to compile all useful language learning resources on this website, so you can spend more time learning and less time researching useful content! As you will see, each skill has its set of resources, I actively promote developing all skills at the same time. Currently there are webpages for languages I have learnt, am learning or am teaching including: English, French, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. Paici and Japanese are on their way!

The DECODE English Podcast

At several points in my language learning journeys, I have felt like I have hit a brick wall. As an English teacher, I often see my students struggling with this in-between stage too. Therefore, I decided to create a podcast for intermediate English learners to help them overcome this ‘plateau effect’ in order to become advanced English speakers.