19. März 2024
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Interview mit Jack Quirke

Lesedauer ca. 2 Minuten

Ein weiteres Interview von Sandra und Andrew Skinner. Diesmal spricht Sandra (S) mit Jack Quirke (J), den sie bei der Rumänien-Hilfsaktion kennengelernt hat.

S: Hi, thanks for coming here this Sunday morning….

J: Thanks for having me.

S: Remind us how we actually met up….

J: Well, me and Julia were helping at the Roumania-Hilfe one Saturday morning in June…and we were told there was also a woman from Scotland. ‘You have to talk to her!’ So we spoke English together.

S: And we invited you to take part in one of our English cricket games this summer with kids of the Freundeskreis für Integration….

J: Correct. Which was a roaring success!

S: In fact, you proved to be ‘big-hitter’ with the bat and a ‘demon-bowler’ with the ball….

J: I think credit should go to the age-range. It was helpful playing against young kids! The girls were super, especially Mahdieyh. Also, her brother Mohsen was a slogger!

S: How long now have you been here in Inzing?

J: Six months. Since March.

S: What brought you here in the first place?

J: My darling girlfriend, Julia. We met in London. We worked in the same company. The relationship began in London. I then met her whole family on a hiking trip in Carinthia. I fell in love with Austria through Julia. Julia then wanted to leave London…and I suggested Austria.

S: What about learning German?

J: Difficult, yes. I’m doing a course at the WIFI in Innsbruck … an integration course based on survival German. It’s going well. I need structure…..so I  learn vocabulary …  having the structure and rules.

S: Has it been difficult adjusting to life here….?

J: I think not, really. I visited here a few times before deciding to live here. It was a dramatic change moving from a large city, London, to a small village. But that was the attraction, a small village.

S: How do you spend your time here?

J: Tennis at the Club, rugby in Innsbruck….and swimming! I look after Julia’s three younger brothers, aged 9, 11 and 14…I think!

S: And job-wise?

J: One source of income is au-pairing for the boys

S: We were happy to pass on to you some private tutoring for a student….How did it go?

J: It went well ….a great chance also to connect with someone local. She finally passed the Matura!

S: And would you continue helping pupils and students in that way?

J: Definitely. I’m currently learning German, so it’s interesting to see how other learners learn. You can then empathize with them more.

S: How can students contact you, then? E-mail? Telephone?

J: Telephone 0044 7969 157 303…still an English mobile phone! E-mail:  jack.quirke@outlook.com

S: So, you would be happy to take on more tutoring…?

J: Certainly. With pupils and students at all levels up to Matura Level, at B2 level.  I can also offer informal conversation sessions on a one-to-one basis, or in small groups.

S: What do you hope to do ultimately here in Tirol?

J: The end-goal is to become an English teacher. A teacher….something  that my parents thought I would be good at. But at that time I had zero-interest….überhaupt nicht!  Now it’s quite different!

S: And your ambitions

J: I’ve always wanted a family myself. I myself belong to a large Irish family. A cliché, perhaps, but in London the job was everything. Now I look forward to a better work-life balance

S: Anyway, all the best! Many thanks for the chance to talk to you!

J: Thank you for having me. I feel honoured….

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Sandrew

Andrew and Sandra were both born in Scotland and both studied at the University of St Andrews, although they didn’t know each other then. Andrew is an English teaching professional with 40 years’ experience at school and University level. He has held seminars all over Europe and is still active in professional development for teachers and in related publishing. Andrew moved to Inzing from Innsbruck in 1998. He has worked in Austria for most of his working life. He is a great reader and has an impressive library. His other interests include classic cars and football. Sandra had a varied career as a manager in public services in the UK, finally specializing in Customer Service. She spent the last part of her working life as a freelance management consultant. She is also qualified to teach English and is a member of the Institute of Customer Service (UK). Her hobbies include gardening, hillwalking and cycling. She and Andrew married in August 2006 and Sandra moved to Inzing in 2011 when they built their house in Brechtenweg. Andrew and Sandra are members of the Inzing Freundeskreis für Integration and help to run a fortnightly Sprachcafé for newcomers. Andrew was a contributor to the Radio Enterbach project in 2009 and Andrew and Sandra now make two programmes for Freirad, Poetry Café and reading Circle (both in English). They are keen to ensure that the Dorfzeitung remains a meaningful and useful publication which offers something to everyone who lives in the village.

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