Beatrice Simon has always been very enthusiastic about language. Born in a migrant family she became aware of the existence of different languages at an early age. She also experienced the obstacles that arise when one does not master the prevailing language. She grew up in The Netherlands but has always cherished her fondness of other cultures. That was one of the reasons for studying cultural anthropology in Amsterdam. After this study she went on to take her doctoral degree with a specialization in Latin America (Peru). In December 2008 she finished her PhD. Conducting research remains an interesting occupation according to Dr Simon, but teaching is also so much fun, inspiring and social. She started teaching during the last year of working on her PhD and it became so successful that she decided to do it for a living. It gives her a lot of satisfaction to help people in a very direct and practical way by teaching them a language.