We are three tutors of French and Italian with over 40 years of teaching experience between us and we are extremely passionate about our language and culture.

Our expertise has enabled us to develop an effective teaching method, based on your needs, which will guide you in your path to fluency.

We at Merton languages do not believe that there is a “quick fix” for learning a language, we believe that it takes time, motivation and effort..
… .And we also believe that we can inspire you so that your experience will be enjoyable as well as rewarding.

Angela Downes

Angela is a graduate in Modern Languages with an MA in Electronic Communication and over 15 years of teaching experience. As well as teaching Italian at Imperial College, she also taught Software and Web Localization on their MSc in Scientific, Technical & Medical Translation with Translation Technology.
In addition, she has taught Business Italian at Regents College.
Angela has trained BBC managerial staff on their international programme and acted as a language consultant on two BBC publications: Italianissimo 1 and Italianissimo 2.

Laura Sironi

Laura has a degree in Political Science and has been an enthusiastic Italian teacher for the past five years, working in a variety of different environments and on different types of courses. She worked previously in banking in the City and has carried out Market Research projects in IT.
She has extensive experience in designing intensive courses, ranging from courses for business clients to crash courses for tourists. Her clients included JP Morgan, Barclays Bank, UBS, the Home Office, the Immigration Office at Heathrow and The Financial Times. She also has experience of teaching Italian to primary school pupils. In addition she translates regularly for the Association of Friends of Certosa di Capri

Corinne Gautier-Capes

Corinne studied Languages, Management and International Relations followed by an MA in teaching French as a foreign language.
She has taught French at all levels from complete beginners to advanced students. Her clients include Civil Servants in various government departments, including BERR (formely DTI), DEFRA etc
She is currently teaching senior insurance executives in the City, including merchant banks, consultancy firms and lawyers.
She has specific expertise in legal, financial and political French for civil servants.
Corinne also works as a translator for a range of NGOs and consultants.
In addition she has experience in translating Press releases, financial, legal and insurance documents.