Name: Roddy Kay
Job: Freelance Translator and Reviser of Academic Texts
Industry: Languages
Class of: 1968
House: Clyde

What do you do?

Today I revise the English of academic articles written by Brazilians or translate such articles from Portuguese to English. I also still do a little private teaching of English as a Foreign Language to adults.  

How did you get to where you are today?

I studied French and German (Language and Literature) at Glasgow University from 1968-73. A requirement of the course was to spend an academic year in the then West Germany and in the following year, five months in France. The wider context was that the UK was likely to join the then European Economic Community on 1st January 1973 and my thoughts were on what kind of job I should aim to get in Europe. I knew I did not want to teach in a school environment, so my attention turned to other opportunities.

In those days, most people who had to spend a year in France or Germany were found a place as an Assistant Teacher of English in a school by the Scottish Education Department (SED). There was a one-week preparatory course in Scotland on the educational system from a teacher’s point of view run by the SED and then a one-week crash course on Teaching English as a Foreign Language in France or Germany immediately prior to going to the town where each of us would teach. These courses were run by the British Council (BC).

By my good fortune, the BC ran two courses for German teachers of English in the town of Kassel during my time there and invited me to be an Assistant Tutor. I loved what I saw the BC doing in Germany – the promotion of the English language coupled with the promotion of British books, the arts, and educational and other exchange programmes. So two years later, during my final year at university, I applied to join the BC and was successful. I then spent a little less than two years at the headquarters of the BC in central London (Trafalgar Square) administering the Fellowships of Fellows of the agencies of the United Nations. At that time, the BC had around 25 offices in the UK in university towns.

Fortune then favoured me again as, by a change of policy, the BC decided to place about six members of staff in charge of the smaller offices. I therefore spent six years between Dundee and Aberdeen as the officer-in-charge. The bread-and-butter work was to administer scholarships of overseas students studying locally (which, from Dundee, included St Andrews) under the auspices of the BC. We aimed to promote the integration of the generality of overseas students into the academic community and to arrange short visits by overseas academics and educational administrators to their local counterparts.

In 1981, I returned to London, first as an Internal Auditor and secondly as the Head of Financial Training. By the time I left the UK at the end of 1989 to come and live in Brazil, I had visited 35 countries – some, especially in the Middle East, several times.

I married a Brazilian in 1985. We met in London when she came on an internal BC course. We later moved to Recife, her hometown in Brazil. I began to teach English at a private language school which had a long association with the local BC office that also happened to be the administration centre of all English Language Teaching (ELT) in Brazil.

By 1995, I was the manager of the activities associated with the English Language exams of the University of Cambridge in the state of Pernambuco and I also became the trainer of all Speaking Examiners for these exams in the Northeast of Brazil. This led to my travelling regularly all over Brazil to ELT Conferences. Technically, I retired at the end of 2015, but I continue to teach privately.

What is a standout memory of your time at The High School of Glasgow?

I loved my time at HSOG (1959-1968) where I participated in a lot of out-of-class activities. Of these, I suppose stand-out memories are singing in the choir in St Andrews’ Halls and larking about with friends in the Pavilion at Old Anniesland after rugby.

Another positive memory concerns Arthur “Paddy” O’Neill. Paddy had a fierce reputation especially amongst boys in Forms 1 to 3. However, a decision of his undoubtedly shaped my life. From a young age, probably influenced by the BBC, I have been fascinated by other cultures and, having got over wanting to drive a sand lorry, from about the age of nine I wanted to become an interpreter. No one in my family spoke another language. I enjoyed Latin and French but was not among the top students. I dreamed of learning German but too late, I learned that I could not begin it in Form 3 because I was not in 3S. At that point, I told my parents of my disappointment. Without my knowledge, they spoke to then-Rector, David Lees. Out of the blue, I was told to go and speak to Paddy. He asked me why I wanted to study German and told me he had examined my school record which was not outstanding. After I had explained myself, he said he would give me a decision the following day. A decision that saw me join his class. However, with the caveat that if I did not perform well, I would be returned to 3A.

That never happened despite my being no more than a bit below average, though never bottom in a group of very bright boys – four of them went on to obtain PhDs in very different areas from each other. Paddy clearly loved teaching German and enthused us. I was quite frequently the butt of his acerbic humour, but so were most of the others. This did not lessen my enjoyment of German nor my determination to take a French and German degree at university. 

What one piece of advice would you give to current pupils and recent leavers as they look to their futures?

I would advise everyone while still at school to investigate non-standard careers and newer professions which might be related to a sport, a hobby or some ideal that they hold. A similar line of thinking would be to consider spending a year abroad, perhaps in a developing country, undertaking some form of voluntary activity prior to going to university or studying for a professional qualification. Finally, I would say even if you are certain of the subject you wish to study after leaving school, I would encourage you to explore whether the same course is available in another city, or indeed another country. Living further away from home certainly affords invaluable life experience.

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