Hi, I’m Juliette! I’m an English and Spanish into French interpreter and translator, and I’m also a French tutor. I’m from the city of Lyon (France) but I’m based in London (United Kingdom).

When it comes to translation and interpreting, I specialise in mental health, women’s health, human rights, and humanitarian aid.

As a French tutor, I help a range of clients:
-linguists who work with French as a B or C language – such as interpreters looking to improve their comprehension or expression, or translators who work from French and miss speaking the language with a native speaker
-adults who need to learn French for work or travel
-bilingual children whose parents want them to stay connected to the French language and culture despite not living in a French-speaking country

Here’s what a day in my life as a linguist can look like, although this is just one of many possibilities, given the varied nature of my work. And if you know how much I love baking bread, you’ll also get a glimpse of how I fit baguette-making into a day when I mostly work from home.

7 am: I wake up and make a large cup of Earl Grey tea (we’re talking half a litre). I check on my sourdough starter, which I fed the night before. I usually have breakfast while doing something non-work-related (reading a book or the news, or listening to music), unless I have an early start and need to catch up on something or reorganise my to-do list. I try to go for even the shortest walk before opening my inbox to clear my mind and get my body moving before the day begins. If I’ve got an early meeting or it’s pouring rain, no problem – I’ll make sure to head out for a stroll later.

8 am – 10 am: I’m online with my first student of the day. Today we’re working through a few grammatical points and practising conversation. After the class, I head to the kitchen: the sourdough starter is ready to be used, so I mix it with flour, water, and salt. After kneading the dough for a few minutes, I leave it to rest for an hour before starting a series of folds every hour or so. For me, it works a bit like the Pomodoro technique: I work for an hour, then take a five-minute break to help the dough rise. Then, I prepare the next class with my morning client and check my inbox again (I probably check if half as often as I breathe). If there are a few short tasks I can tick off, this is when I do them – things like logging into platforms, updating my bookkeeping spreadsheet, or checking routes for upcoming assignments. I often listen to music during this part of the day, as it helps set the mood for my brain and isn’t too distracting to combine with admin tasks and other routine activities.

10 am – 11:30 am: Time for interpreting practice (after folding the dough)! I pick a couple of speeches and work in both simultaneous and consecutive modes. I also revisit a recording of a past session and try to improve on my performance. Then it’s time for another fold, followed by one more speech – this one on human rights, to prepare for a remote dummy booth session I’m taking part in later this week.

11:30 am – 12:30 pm: Marketing and prospecting time! I research a few clients to reach out to and prepare email and social media content drafts, including the beginning of this blog post. A big thank-you to Gillian for inviting me here to share my day! 😊 Time to fold the dough again.

12:30 pm – 1:15 pm: I’ll be heading out for most of the afternoon, so I fit in a stroll before lunch. Another dough fold is due before I leave.

1:15 pm – 2 pm: I’m back from a sunny walk. After folding the dough one final time (I promise), I leave it to rest on the kitchen counter for a couple of hours. Time for lunch: today it’s (homemade, naturally) bread with cottage cheese, soft-boiled eggs, and bits and bobs of vegetables – cucumber, lentils, and beetroot. I eat while reading my book (or working when time is tight).

2 pm – 3:30 pm: I prepare materials for my Saturday French class with bilingual children, as well as for upcoming lessons with other clients.

3:30 pm: I pop the dough in the fridge, where it will rest for the next 15 hours or so, and I head out for a few hours of tuition. On the bus, I reply to a few emails, browse LinkedIn, or simply watch the traffic and bustle of the city around me.

7 pm: I’m back home and ready to polish and share the notes from the class with my clients.

7:30 pm: There are always a few last-minute tasks to get through and tick off my list. Then I log off. That’s another day done – yay!

7:30 pm – 11 pm: Although I’m technically off the clock, I speak several languages at home, so my brain is still in multilingual mode. I chat in Spanish and French with my partner while we cook, have dinner, and relax. I go to bed thinking about tomorrow’s main event (as far as I’m concerned): baking those baguettes and enjoying a warm, crispy breakfast!