
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


What does a lawyer-linguist do? I talk to Nicole Fenwick, a French-to-English legal translator trained in both English and French law, about working between two legal systems.
Nicole grew up in Scarborough, on the Yorkshire coast. She went on to study English and French law at the University of Leicester, on a course of only eight students. She spent a year at the law school in Strasbourg alongside an internship at the European Parliament. After that she trained and worked as a solicitor in Sheffield. There she realised the part of the job she loved most was doing all the firm’s French translation work.
Not long after the Brexit referendum, she took a master’s in translation at Durham University. She planned to become a lawyer-linguist at one of the EU institutions. While she waited on the application process, she started freelancing as a legal translator and found she could make a real living from it.
Key Takeaways:If you’ve ever wondered how to bring a love of languages together with a specialist profession, I think you’ll find Nicole’s story really inspiring.
About Nicole FenwickNicole is a French-to-English lawyer-linguist and legal translator specialising in legal and certified translations. With legal qualifications in both English and French law, she brings a unique combination of legal expertise and linguistic precision to her work, with a particular focus on property transactions, cross-border estates and official legal documentation.
Thinking about a career with languages? I offer one-to-one career mentoring to help you find your path: workingwithlanguages.com/career-mentoring
About Sonia KampshoffSonia is a translator turned multilingual digital marketer specialising in paid media, and now also a podcaster. Growing up bilingual, languages have been a constant in her life. In 2025 she launched a podcast where together with her guests she explores the huge variety of jobs and career opportunities open to people with language skills. She is available to speak on podcasts and stages about marketing, languages, work and podcasting.
If you enjoyed this episode please share it with someone who may like it too, and subscribe to the podcast.
Listen to & follow the podcastSpotify: open.spotify.com/show/1boyxxr2sPFC14SIyu4pi0
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/working-with-languages-multilingual-careers-across/id1833888492
YouTube: youtube.com/@WorkingWithLanguages
Instagram: instagram.com/workingwithlanguages
Other links✉️ Join my free newsletter
☕ Support my work, buy me a coffee
Chapters00:00 Coming up
00:23 Welcome to Working With Languages
01:15 Nicole's favourite word: sobremesa
03:41 Growing up in Scarborough
04:19 Studying English and French law at Leicester
06:46 A year in Strasbourg and the European Parliament
07:49 From solicitor to translator
08:53 A master's in translation at Durham
09:48 Falling into freelance legal translation
10:30 Cross-border estates, wills and probate
13:40 Staying qualified: STEP, ITI and CIOL
14:33 Life in Barcelona: Spanish and Catalan
16:25 Routes into lawyer-linguist work
19:57 Areas a lawyer-linguist can specialise in
20:57 AI and legal translation
24:11 Where to find Nicole
24:37 Wrap-up
Today we are launching season 2 of the Working With Languages podcast!
Over the summer I reflected on the conversation had and developed the Working With Languages framework, splitting careers into two groups:
Combined with the framework and supported by my career from translator to multilingual digital marketer and now also podcast host, I am also launching a brand new career mentoring programme where I support people choose a career - or make a career change - around languages.
Get ready for more inspiring conversations on working with languages!
About Sonia KampshoffSonia is a translator turned multilingual digital marketer specialising in paid media, and now also a podcaster. Growing up bilingual, languages have been a constant in her life. In 2025 she launched a podcast where together with her guests she explores the huge variety of jobs and career opportunities open to people with language skills. She is available to speak on podcasts and stages about marketing, languages, work and podcasting.
If you enjoyed this episode please share it with someone who may like it too, and subscribe to the podcast.
Listen to & follow the podcast'I dream of a world where no one is disadvantaged because of language differences or deficiencies. And you?'
A bold, heart-warming statement Dr Natalia Tilton shares on her LinkedIn profile. Natalia, today's guest, is a learning design specialist who started her career in interpreting for international institutions before moving into community interpreting training (she explains what it is in her episode).
Her PhD thesis focused on research around language learning anxiety - we all feel anxious speaking a learnt language we are not as good in as our own native language - and how that affects interpreters and immigrants alike.
Currently her focus is on developing language learning curricula and programmes - some government-backed - for immigrants and refugees, helping them integrate more effectively into their new country and rebuilding their lives. She is also working on an app helping nurses coming to Germany learn medical German so they can pass their nursing test and be able to work there.
About Dr Natalia TiltonDr Natalia Tilton is an EdTech consultant, curriculum designer and inclusion educator. She leads programs for language access, multilingualism, and AI-supported language learning. She holds a PhD in Linguistics and Migration Studies and has worked with institutions including Babbel+, DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service), the Goethe-Institut and the University of Potsdam.
Most recently, Natalia worked with Babbel+, developing AI-supported curricula with the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) for adult migrant learners.
Natalia is passionate about language access and has trained thousands of community interpreters across Germany since the 2015 refugee crisis.
Thinking about a career with languages? I offer one-to-one career mentoring to help you find your path: workingwithlanguages.com/career-mentoring
About Sonia KampshoffSonia is a translator turned multilingual digital marketer specialising in paid media, and now also a podcaster. Growing up bilingual, languages have been a constant in her life. In 2025 she launched a podcast where together with her guests she explores the huge variety of jobs and career opportunities open to people with language skills. She is available to speak on podcasts and stages about marketing, languages, work and podcasting.
If you enjoyed this episode please share it with someone who may like it too, and subscribe to the podcast.
Listen to & follow the podcastSpotify: open.spotify.com/show/1boyxxr2sPFC14SIyu4pi0
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/working-with-languages-multilingual-careers-across/id1833888492
YouTube: youtube.com/@WorkingWithLanguages
Instagram: instagram.com/workingwithlanguages
Other links✉️ Join my free newsletter
☕ Support my work, buy me a coffee
Chapters0:00 Introduction
1:30 Favourite word
3:06 Growing up multilingual
6:40 A PhD on language learning anxiety
8:43 What community interpreting is
18:05 Designing courses for migrants and refugees
24:26 Learning online or in a classroom?
31:00 An app for nurses learning medical German
34:13 The ethics of AI in language learning
42:50 Final thoughts
How does a software product manager use English, French and Italian at work? And what skills are involved, if not required, to thrive in this career? Today's guest Hélène Sanchez tells us about how she went from Italy to working for the BBC where she discovered her passion for tech. She grew into a strong career as a product manager and discovered how her language skills are an asset when her employer, a British company, merged with a French one, bringing her to forge relationships and nurture communication across languages and cultures.
About Hélène SanchezHélène is a product manager with experience launching and scaling products across media, developer tooling, B2B SaaS, crafting and supporting cross-functional collaboration across geographies. She’s recently working in the field of AI Governance, developing a product that shows users the value of adopting AI tools. Her career mantra is: Be fast at learning, fast at failing. Love your users, like your product. Empathy is the best strategy. Hélène is half-French, half-Italian, and has been living in the UK for the past 12 years. She is interested in enology, and doing her WSET education.
Thinking about a career with languages? I offer one-to-one career mentoring to help you find your path: workingwithlanguages.com/career-mentoring
About Sonia KampshoffSonia is a translator turned multilingual digital marketer specialising in paid media, and now also a podcaster. Growing up bilingual, languages have been a constant in her life. In 2025 she launched a podcast where together with her guests she explores the huge variety of jobs and career opportunities open to people with language skills. She is available to speak on podcasts and stages about marketing, languages, work and podcasting.
If you enjoyed this episode please share it with someone who may like it too, and subscribe to the podcast.
Listen to & follow the podcast0:00 Introduction
1:34 Favourite phrase
4:17 Growing up in Italy
7:09 Moving to London and the BBC
12:54 What a product manager does
18:24 Using French at a British–French company
21:16 How languages helped her career
22:21 Final thoughts
What is it like to work in tech as a multilingual customer success manager? Wendy Rendón shares how she went from working in events in Barcelona, Spain to a career in tech working in customer success in tech in Helsinki, Finland. She also shares what makes a good customer success manager and why the role of CSM can be different in different businesses and industries.
Key Takeaways:Wendy's journey has taken her from the vibrant hustle of Bogota's city jungle to the cosmopolitan charm of Barcelona, and finally to the green, innovative urbanity of Helsinki. Throughout her career, spanning diverse industries, she gained a wealth of experience and developed a versatile skill set that has shaped her as a professional working with languages.
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/wendyvrr
Career mentoringThinking about a career with languages? I offer one-to-one career mentoring to help you find your path: workingwithlanguages.com/career-mentoring
About Sonia KampshoffSonia is a translator turned multilingual digital marketer specialising in paid media, and now also a podcaster. Growing up bilingual, languages have been a constant in her life. In 2025 she launched a podcast where together with her guests she explores the huge variety of jobs and career opportunities open to people with language skills. She is available to speak on podcasts and stages about marketing, languages, work and podcasting.
If you enjoyed this episode please share it with someone who may like it too, and subscribe to the podcast.
Listen to & follow the podcastChapters
0:00 Introduction
1:36 Favourite phrase
3:09 From Colombia to Barcelona
5:27 Studying in Catalan
10:02 Why Finland is a tech hub
12:36 Learning Finnish
14:10 Finnish work culture
17:33 What a customer success manager does
24:58 How she uses AI
27:21 Final thoughts
Can you build a career in finance in three languages? Today I sit down with Urmi Hossain who grew up in Italy to Bengali parents, studied in England for a year, then moved to Montreal at 19 where she embarked in a career in finance.
We talk about the very practical challenge of arriving in Montreal knowing French from school, only to discover that Quebecois is really quite different.
She explains how she deliberately worked to master it, not just for everyday life but to be able to do a job interview and eventually have a career in finance, working with languages in a predominantly French-speaking environment. Because while people in Montreal are very open to both English and French in an everyday life environment, she knew early on that professionally she needed to be fluent in Quebecois.
Key Takeaways:Urmi Hossain is a self-published author, speaker, podcast host and finance professional based in Canada. She holds the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) and CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst) designations and works in the financial services industry, while using her platform to advocate for women’s empowerment, identity, and self-leadership.
Urmi is the host of Stories Beyond Borders, a podcast that amplifies diverse voices and stories on identity, migration, language, and what “home” truly means. Her work centers on helping individuals - especially women - embrace their lived experiences as strengths rather than limitations.
Thinking about a career with languages? I offer one-to-one career mentoring to help you find your path: workingwithlanguages.com/career-mentoring
About Sonia KampshoffSonia is a translator turned multilingual digital marketer specialising in paid media, and now also a podcaster. Growing up bilingual, languages have been a constant in her life. In 2025 she launched a podcast where together with her guests she explores the huge variety of jobs and career opportunities open to people with language skills. She is available to speak on podcasts and stages about marketing, languages, work and podcasting.
If you enjoyed this episode please share it with someone who may like it too, and subscribe to the podcast.
Listen to & follow the podcastChapters
0:00 Introduction
1:29 Favourite phrase
3:41 School in Italy and a year in England
6:40 Moving to Canada at 19
8:31 Quebec French
12:12 Studying finance in English and French
13:25 Working in finance in Montreal
17:27 Mentors at work
19:04 Using languages in finance
21:30 Her podcast and YouTube channel
26:28 Final thoughts
How do you become a financial translator, and then co-found a software start-up? In this episode I talk to Martina Abagnale, a financial translator and co-founder of the business-management software tool Lemon Twist for freelancers like her.
She speaks candidly about why she launched a second business, how she combines it with her main revenue-generating work as a translator, and how translation work differs from being a co-founder (and product manager, marketer and overall face of the Lemon Twist brand).
Key Takeaways🍋 Finding her own niche in translation: after a while she realised she wanted to become a financial translator and started actively marketing her services to banks, financial institutions and venture capitalists in need of multilingual reports and documents
🍋 Solving her own problem: after years of complaining about the same irritating admin stuff she convinced her husband to create a business management tool
About Martina:Martina Abagnale is an Italian financial translator. Active since 2019, she has also worked as a trainer, industry speaker and event organizer, sharing her passion and knowledge about finance, translation and anything in between.
About Lemon Twist:Lemon Twist is a management software created by freelance translator Martina Abagnale and software developer Julio Greff. What began in 2020 as a personal quest for a fast and intuitive way to organize her translation work, turned into a fully fledged company in May 2024. Our mantra is: Every click counts. We’re building a system that saves you time on boring tasks and puts a smile on your face with its clean, playful design.
Thinking about a career with languages? I offer one-to-one career mentoring to help you find your path: workingwithlanguages.com/career-mentoring
About Sonia KampshoffSonia is a translator turned multilingual digital marketer specialising in paid media, and now also a podcaster. Growing up bilingual, languages have been a constant in her life. In 2025 she launched a podcast where together with her guests she explores the huge variety of jobs and career opportunities open to people with language skills. She is available to speak on podcasts and stages about marketing, languages, work and podcasting.
If you enjoyed this episode please share it with someone who may like it too, and subscribe to the podcast.
Listen to & follow the podcastChapters
0:00 Introduction
1:22 Favourite word
3:27 School exchange and au pair years
5:07 Studying languages at university
8:24 Specialising in financial translation
13:56 Building Lemon Twist, software for freelancers
18:07 New features and the client score
24:30 Balancing translation and a start-up
26:49 How she uses AI
Is there a better way to learn English? Alastair Budge, creator of Leonardo English and the podcast English Learning for Curious Minds, shares what learning French, Italian and Chinese taught him, and how he built his business.
Alastair created a fantastic resource for people coming back to learn English - skipping the heavy grammar lessons, he digs deep into British issues and conversation topics that people may find themselves talking about at work or in social settings. He also developed tools to help people refine their written English.
Key TakeawaysAlastair Budge is the founder of Leonardo English and the host of English Learning for Curious Minds, a podcast for intermediate-advanced English learners.
Thinking about a career with languages? I offer one-to-one career mentoring to help you find your path: workingwithlanguages.com/career-mentoring
About Sonia KampshoffSonia is a translator turned multilingual digital marketer specialising in paid media, and now also a podcaster. Growing up bilingual, languages have been a constant in her life. In 2025 she launched a podcast where together with her guests she explores the huge variety of jobs and career opportunities open to people with language skills. She is available to speak on podcasts and stages about marketing, languages, work and podcasting.
If you enjoyed this episode please share it with someone who may like it too, and subscribe to the podcast.
Listen to & follow the podcastChapters
0:00 Introduction
1:25 Favourite word
4:24 Background and languages
6:20 Studying French, Italian and Chinese
13:56 Why he started English Learning for Curious Minds
27:44 Tools that explain your mistakes
32:20 Finding podcast topics
37:26 Plans for Leonardo English
40:16 Surprises in building the business
45:49 Working with a team
47:49 Final thoughts
How does a sports translator use YouTube to win clients? Adrian Probst has 10 years' experience as a translator and YouTuber, specialising in sports translation and working also on the multilingual communication at the Winter Olympics and World Cup events. His YouTube channels is his only source of inbound leads and has 38,000 subscribers.
Key TakeawaysAdrian is a professional Translator and YouTuber in the sports industry working from English and French into (Swiss) German. He regularly works with ecommerce businesses as well as translating some of coverage for the Olympics, Winter Olympics and World Cup.
Six years ago he launched his YouTube channel Freelanceverse which has become a powerful source of inbound leads for him.
Thinking about a career with languages? I offer one-to-one career mentoring to help you find your path: workingwithlanguages.com/career-mentoring
About Sonia KampshoffSonia is a translator turned multilingual digital marketer specialising in paid media, and now also a podcaster. Growing up bilingual, languages have been a constant in her life. In 2025 she launched a podcast where together with her guests she explores the huge variety of jobs and career opportunities open to people with language skills. She is available to speak on podcasts and stages about marketing, languages, work and podcasting.
If you enjoyed this episode please share it with someone who may like it too, and subscribe to the podcast.
Listen to & follow the podcastChapters
0:00 Introduction
1:12 Favourite word in Swiss German
3:12 Growing up in Switzerland
7:25 Translating into Swiss German
9:14 From agency work to freelancing
12:53 Finding clients
20:36 Growing a YouTube channel for translators
27:04 Why YouTube?
29:07 Translating winter sports
33:14 Behind the scenes at the Winter Olympics
36:57 Where to find Adrian
What does AI mean for translation careers? Today I chat with Elena Carpanese, a Localization Manager at DeepL, about her multilingual background, her career in localization and the language technology industry, and the future of language AI. Originally from Italy, Elena studied English, German, and Spanish in the UK and joined DeepL as one of its early employees, working on both translation quality evaluation and content localization.
Elena's work involves leading a team of in-house linguists, managing localization across 13 languages, and consulting product teams to ensure the company's products reflect linguistic accuracy and provide an intuitive user experience across different markets. She also tells us how DeepL collaborate with a wide network of external linguists to maintain translation quality across all its languages supported (over 100).
Lastly she talks about agentic AI and its potential impact on language workflows, including early experiments her team has run and how these tools can reduce repetitive tasks across industries like legal, healthcare and manufacturing.
Key TakeawaysElena is a professional localisation manager at the language AI-pioneer DeepL, having worked there for 5 years in both the Cologne and London offices.
Thinking about a career with languages? I offer one-to-one career mentoring to help you find your path: workingwithlanguages.com/career-mentoring
About Sonia KampshoffSonia is a translator turned multilingual digital marketer specialising in paid media, and now also a podcaster. Growing up bilingual, languages have been a constant in her life. In 2025 she launched a podcast where together with her guests she explores the huge variety of jobs and career opportunities open to people with language skills. She is available to speak on podcasts and stages about marketing, languages, work and podcasting.
If you enjoyed this episode please share it with someone who may like it too, and subscribe to the podcast.
Listen to & follow the podcastChapters
0:00 Introduction
1:30 Favourite word
3:50 From Italy to studying in the UK
8:06 Joining DeepL
9:18 What DeepL does
13:46 DeepL's tools and clients
18:37 Inside the company
24:12 How DeepL adds new languages
25:45 DeepL's AI agent
31:50 Plans for 2026
From the publisher's feed