Curriculum Vitae
Brenda Yastremski
Summary of Qualifications
q Analytical vision and ability to synthesise
q Excellent organisational abilities
q Entrepreneurial experience
q Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
q Expertise in facilitation of cross-cultural sensitivity training and
cross-cultural communication
q Intensive background in Spanish and European business environment
q Fluent written and spoken Spanish
q Working knowledge of French
q Over 10 years of experience teaching English to a diverse clientele
Education
q Post-Graduate Degree in Spanish to English
Translation — Institute of Linguists, London, United Kingdom. —
Letter of Credit in Humanities
q Post-Graduate Degree in English as a Second Language/English as a
Foreign Language Teaching — University of
Granada, Spain in conjunction with Charles Sturt University, The
University of Western Sydney, Australia and the
Australian Institute in Barcelona, Spain.
q Post-Graduate Degree in English as a Second Language/English as a
Foreign Language Teaching --University of
León, Spain.
q Post-Graduate Course in Spanish to English Translation — International
House, Barcelona, Spain.
q Certificate in Spanish to English Translation — Escuela Oficial de
Idiomas, Madrid.
q Honours B.A. (Spanish Major/French Minor) — University of Waterloo,
Canada. Distinguished Performance Award
from the Spanish Embassy in Ottawa.
q University Abroad Programme in Spain — Two Summer Courses on Spanish
Language, Literature, Culture and
Politics over the course of two consecutive summers in Madrid, Spain. University
of Windsor, Canada.
Professional Experience
q Spanish Language
Tutor at Middlebury College Vermont, U.S.A.
* Personalised, intensive tutorial sessions to
FBI Special Agent enrolled in Spanish Summer School Programme
* Language Consultant - Observation in High
School, Vocational School, Rural Middle School in Tunxi (Huangshan),
Anhui Province, China
q Freelance
Language Consultant (Present)
Teaching English as a Second
Language/English as a Foreign Language
* Learners from high school age to adults across
the socio-economic strata
* Extensive experience with international
executives
* English for special purposes – business,
railways, environmental issues
q Translator
(Spanish to English)
* International clientele
* Specialisation in technical and business
translations as well as “English for Environmental purposes”
* ESL as well as preparation, translation and
editing of curriculum vitae, speeches, faxes, reports, e-mails and
presentations for senior company
executives, Members of Spanish Parliament, Spanish Cabinet Minister,
Vice
President and other top level
personnel of the CNMV (Spanish Securities & Exchange Commission -SEC)
* Consecutive interpretation services and
whispered interpretation for European Union GW15 Sub-committee on
Track Gauge
* Indirect/reverse translation of technical
railway manuals, web sites and other railway signs and documents for
RENFE, (Spanish national railways)
and for Los Ferrocarriles de la Generalitat de Catalunya, (Catalan
commuter
railway system)
* Translation of RENFE’s AVE (Spanish high speed
train) application, in book form, for the European Quality
Award in 1998, for which they were awarded
First Prize
* Consecutive interpretation services for the AVE
team while accompanying visitors on tours of the high speed
train facilities, stations, workshops
as well as on tours of the train itself
* Consecutive interpretation services for the
marketing department’s presentations of the AVE
* Consecutive interpretation services for AVE
senior management during awards ceremonies
* Consecutive interpretation services for the
Head of International Affairs Services, Slovenian Railways,
(Slovenske železnice), during the 4th
World Congress on High Speed held in Madrid -- EurailSpeed 2002
* Translation of correspondence and presentations
for renowned academics from the Complutense University in
Madrid and the University of Alcalá
de Henares, Spain
* Translation of book synopses for La Revista de
Historia Económica (an academic, economic, history periodical)
* Translation of articles for the FRIDE
Foundations– La Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el
Diálogo
Exterior y su Foro AOD – A European
think tank for global action
* Correction of medical reports for Izola
Hospital in Slovenia
* Trust & Best Global Sourcing Company Ltd. (David Yan, China): Translation of the company’s web page into
both English and Spanish
* Interpreter for
Dalhousie's Cuba Intensive Programme, April-May 2010:
Provided all onsite consecutive
interpreting between Spanish and English for
all activities while the group was in la Havana, Cuba, including
lectures, classes, interviews, site visits, excursions and social activities. The topics
covered included history,
political science, economics, education, social
development, infancy and childhood, agriculture, ecology,
tourism, health
care, art, music and culture.
q Senior Staff
Instructor — Centro de Idiomas Sagasta S.A., Madrid
* Development and design of courses and
pedagogical instruments
* Development of audio-visual and visual aids
* Development and evaluation of assessment
instruments (exams, tests and student placement)
* English as a Second Language/English as a
Foreign Language instruction; individual and group classes, learners
of all ages and backgrounds
q Co-Owner and
Staff Instructor — Centro de Idiomas Richmond S.A., Madrid
* Developed and carried out business plan.
Founded language academy with three associates
q Staff Instructor — Educentro, Madrid
Publications
“Identifying Sources of Anxiety in Second Language
Non-Academic Environments: Anxiety Related to Living and Working in
Second Language Environments.” Australian Institute, Barcelona
2001.
…I decided that I would carry out a research project in an area that
affected both my work and myself directly. On a daily basis I function
in a society that speaks a language different from my mother tongue. My
own personal and academic experience, as well as my background living
and working here in Spain, have made me very aware of the innumerable
factors involved in learning a second language. …I set about to carry
out collaborative, qualitative research in the area of language use --
applied linguistics -- to identify sources of anxiety. Once identified,
my belief was that I would be able to incorporate new foci into my
preparation in order to improve the English for special purposes that I
teach. …When we interact with strangers and/or individuals who are
culturally different from ourselves we immediately tend to experience a
lack of security, as this is a new situation. This lack of security
could be considered a type of fear or anxiety. ...The purpose of this
practicum is to gain first hand information from a wide variety of
people who are living and working in a second language environment. I
hope to find out to what degree anxiety affects their natural
performance in society as well as which variables, if any, are involved
in creating anxiety in their day to day lives. Likewise I am interested
in discovering to what degree fluency with language leads to less
anxiety in relating to culturally different others…