Valentina has always been a teacher at heart. After spending eight years teaching college-level English, she realised that her true passion was helping people learn and grow - especially when it came to learning English. She firmly believes that in order for language learning to be successful, it's important to create a comfortable and welcoming environment where students feel safe to experiment and take risks. When she's not writing for the Lillypad community, Valentina loves travelling, reading and going for long walks with her dog Freddy.