Hooray4Ray

In 2006, when I arrived here, it was a different geo-political world - Blair was British Prime Minister (while Gordon waited in the wings like an ambitious understudy eager for the principal to break a leg) and across the Channel towering Chirac was President with 'Shorty' Sarko in his shadow. Not that it made much difference to me - I was too busy trying to make a living to give much of a damn about the global picture, like most people. After hanging on by my fingertips for the summer, it was with relief that I landed myself a part-time, nine month teaching job assisting in three primary schools in the autumn. I've never looked back. Part self-help, part-memoir, this is an accurate record of my time teaching Britain's biggest export - its language - to our French neighbours 2006-2016. It's also a tribute to the legendary Raymond Murphy, author of world-renowned versatile, practical and informative teaching books, some of which have kept me on constant work for over 10 years.

In 2006, when I arrived in France, it was a different geo-political world - Blair was British Prime Minister and Chirac was President, not that it made much difference to me - I was too busy trying to make a living to care very much about the global picture. After hanging on by my fingertips, it was with relief that I landed myself a part-time, nine month teaching job assisting in three primary schools and thus my career began. Since then I've never looked back and if it has been at times an over-steep learning-curve then maybe the reason is to enable me to write this book with conviction. Part-memoir, part-teaching aid, this is a document of my experiences teaching Britain's biggest export - its language - to its French neighbours 2006-2016. The title is a tribute to teacher & author Raymond Murphy whose world-famous teaching books, known for their versatility, practicality and all-round appeal, have kept me in work ever since.