Barry O’Leary has been an expat in Seville for nearly ten years. When he’s not teaching English, he describes how he sees life in Spain on his blog A Novel Spain. He has also lived and taught English in Brazil, Ecuador, Australia and Thailand and travelled around the world in the meantime. His non-fiction travel literature book, Teaching English in a Foreign Land, about his adventures as a TEFL teacher, has sold over 2,500 copies.
Some of you may have read my previous article about the battle I‘ve had on my hands to teach my Spanish kids English. Well, thankfully in the last month I have seen a vast improvement, and I’d like to share a few tips which might help you improve your bilingual children’s level of English. Just … Read more
I’m a dad of two lovely Spanish kids. I say lovely because that’s what they are 90% of the time, the other 10% they can be complete devils. I enjoy being a dad, and the longer I am one, the more I love it. I enjoy the responsibility of bringing them up, seeing them laugh … Read more
Bringing up two Spanish kids to be bilingual is immensely harder than I expected. Since arriving in Seville, back in 2005, I’ve spoken to many British expats about getting their kids to be completely bilingual and have come across a vast range of experiences.One guy I know has two teenage daughters and he’s happy with … Read more
As I sit here on my new writing table, out in the patio hiding under a shelter with an inflatable swimming pool next to me to dip in now and then and cool down as it’s 40 degrees outside, I think back to last year when I was cooped up in a flat in the … Read more
The process of buying a house in your own country is stressful enough. So add the complications of having to learn new house and bank related vocabulary in another language, figuring out the different laws and processes, plus the fact that in Spain there are a lot of corrupt money thieving estate agents, then there’s … Read more
Whether you’re a future Mum or Dad to be, nine months is a long time to play with ones uncontrollable imagination. The older I get, the more I worry. I suppose because you realise just how cruel life can be at times, so I rarely let my guard down these days. So when my wife … Read more
One minute I was on a plane heading for Sevilla to try to learn Spanish, and the next I’m watching a stunning Spanish lady walking down the aisle towards me, yes me, to become my wife, wondering, how the hell did that happen? And to think, I wasn’t even intending on staying in Spain for … Read more
Is it only the brave who have the guts to live abroad? Do you have to be a little bit mental to give up the safety of your own country and explore the depths of the unknown? I guess you do in a way, but everyone should be able to make up their own minds … Read more
2014 was a revolutionary year for me, and a turning point in my life. For ages I’d been toying with the idea of going back to England, or moving from Sevilla to another city, preferably a less traditional one, or just one with a beach, but during last year a few things clicked into place … Read more
Boy am I glad to be heading back to London for Christmas. Last year I spent Christmas in Seville, not really through choice, but we’d just had a baby and decided it would be better not to fly back, mainly because of Mr Jack Frost, but also because the only airline with free flights was … Read more