Simon McGinley

Simon McGinley is the National Language Adviser Project Lead and the National French Adviser at Language Circle.

He has worked in education for over 15 years, beginning his career as an English language assistant in New Caledonia. He later trained as a secondary school languages and ESOL teacher, and has held teaching positions in New Zealand, Spain, and the UK. He has led the NLA team for almost three years while continuing in his French adviser role.

Simon enjoys working with French teachers across New Zealand and ensuring they receive the support they deserve. He is an advocate for second-language acquisition and believes that schools should offer a wide range of languages to their students. He also recognises that ongoing support for languages in Aotearoa relies on strong collaboration with overseas partners and international embassies, and he is keen to continue strengthening these relationships.

Simon has a particular interest in developing students’ cultural competencies and supporting them to explore what culture means for them through a target language. He holds a DALF C2 certificate in French and a DELE C1 certificate in Spanish.