In this episode, Sonia sits down with Dominique van Werkhoven, a London-born copywriter now based in the Netherlands, to explore the intersections of language, culture, and entrepreneurship. From growing up in a multicultural household to immersing herself in French, Dutch, and Austrian German, Dominique shares her journey of learning languages by living them.

She also opens up about co-founding The Werks, a copywriting and web development business she runs with her husband, and how they support small businesses, solopreneurs, and nonprofits in being seen, heard, and valued. Together, they discuss the realities of moving countries, the role of patience and persistence in language learning, and how technology like AI is reshaping the future of copywriting.

• Immersion is key: Dominique emphasizes that the fastest way to learn a language is by living in the country and using it daily.
• Building The Works: Combining copywriting and web development creates a streamlined service for small businesses that need strategy as much as execution.
• Collaboration over transaction: Dominique values partnerships with clients, working alongside them to bring their vision to life rather than just delivering outputs.
• AI as a support tool: Rather than replacing copywriters, AI can provide inspiration and structure—human creativity and strategy remain essential.

Dominique van Werkhoven is a multilingual copywriter who co-founded the agency The Werks with her website developer husband Gideon. She grew up in the UK and has lived in Paris and Vienna. Currently she lives in The Netherlands with her husband and three children.

• The Werks website: https://thewerks.nl
• The Werks on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearethewerks/
• The Werks on linkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-werks-nl/
• Dominique on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominique-van-werkhoven/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soniakampshoff/
• Website: https://moreperfect.digital/
• Email: [email protected]

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In this episode, I have a special conversation with Claire Lutton, the US team lead for member support at HomeExchange, a French B Corp company. As a member myself for the past three years, it was a pleasure to delve into how this platform creates such personal and unique travel experiences. We discuss how swapping homes is not just about finding a place to stay, but about connecting with people, living like a local, and even finding support in unexpected situations.

• A Personal Way to Travel: Home swapping offers a more personal and respectful alternative to hotels, allowing you to immerse yourself in a local culture and connect with your host. 
• More Than Just Holidays: The platform can be a vital resource for more than just travel, providing accommodation for emergencies, family reunions, or even as a temporary workspace with a change of scenery. 
• A Strong, Supportive Community: With a very low cancellation rate, the platform is built on a foundation of mutual respect. In the rare event of a cancellation, the support team successfully finds a replacement in over 90% of cases. 
• Bridging Language Gaps: HomeExchange effectively supports its global community by using integrated translation tools and a 24/7 SOS service to handle urgent issues in any language, ensuring members always feel supported. I also integrates with a very easy-to-use and helpful chatbot.

Claire Lutton is the Team Lead of the Member Support Team for the US at HomeExchange. Originally from France, she has lived in the US for over two decades and has always worked in roles that utilise her bilingual skills. 

• HomeExchange: https://www.homeexchange.com
• If you'd like to sign up, feel free to use this referral code to earn some Guest Pints: sonia-daeb9

Connect with Sonia:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soniakampshoff/
• Website: https://moreperfect.digital/
• Email: [email protected]

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In this engaging conversation, Victoire Galtres shares her journey from a multicultural upbringing to her current role in leadership and culture within a casual dining restaurant chain. She discusses the importance of language, cultural experiences, and how her background in acting enhances her leadership skills. Vic also emphasizes the significance of diversity, inclusion, and empowering women in the workplace, while exploring the impact of technology and AI on modern work environments. The discussion concludes with reflections on the power of human connection beyond words.

• Language acquisition is influenced by age and environment: we discuss how language acquisition in childhood differs from later in life, and how frequency of use and environment affect not only the language but grammar mistakes and saliva production.
• Acting skills enhance leadership and communication: through acting we can learn the ability to stand in front of a crowd and articulate well , to appear confident when we are not. Vic now uses these skills through role play in her leadership development workshop.
• Diversity and inclusion are crucial for workplace culture: in any organisations culture happens through leadership which in turn creates a brilliant team. And at the heart of every exceptional team is psychological safety.
• Coaching helps women navigate career transitions: through Tomorrow's Daughter Vic supports and empowers women in the workplace, especially through transitions including becoming a mother and how that affects our identity, our perception of life and work, and our priorities.
• AI can improve efficiency in leadership development and private life occasions: from idea generation for leadership workshops to private use like creating creating a wedding celebrant script that merges English and French to accommodate multilingual guests, Vic brings us wonderful examples of ChatGPT use.

Victoire Galtress is the Head of Leadership & Culture a casual dining restaurant chain, and the founder of Tomorrow's Daughter where she offers bespoke executive and life coaching for women one-on-one and in a small group setting. Originally from France, she spent her childhood between France and Australia with her parents and three sisters. She now lives in the UK with her British husband and three sons.

Connect with Victoire:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoire-galtress-nee-mazounie-98686a56/
• Tomorrow's Daughters - Vic's bespoke executive and life coaching: https://www.tomorrowsdaughter.co.uk/

Connect with Sonia:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soniakampshoff/
• Website: https://moreperfect.digital/
• Email: [email protected]

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In this episode, I chat with Stefanie Mellano, a UK-native now based in Northern Italy, who works as a film and TV subtitles translator.

Stefanie shares her journey from studying law to pursuing her passion for the Italian language and building a freelance career in subtitling. We explore the technical and creative skills required for subtitling, the importance of specialisation, and how she balances translating for large streaming services with working with independent producers.

• The Power of Specialisation: much like doctors specialise, translators are more effective when they focus on specific industries they know well, such as tourism, business, or in Stefanie's case, the creative industries. This ensures a deeper understanding of the subject matter and accurate use of terminology.
• The Subtitling Process is Both Technical and Creative: subtitling isn't just about direct translation. It involves a technical understanding of character limits and reading speeds, requiring translators to find creative solutions to convey the original meaning perfectly within these constraints.
• Pivoting to English: many large companies use English as a "pivot language" for translation. Content is first translated into English from the original language (like Italian) and then translated from English into many other languages, partly due to the availability of translators.
• Human Translators vs. AI: while AI is a growing trend, it currently struggles to capture the nuance, context, and non-verbal elements of language, particularly a language as expressive as Italian. For high-quality, culturally sensitive content, human expertise remains essential.

Stefanie is a freelance subtitle translator specialising in the film, TV, tourism, and business sectors.

• Website: www.stefaniemellano.com
• LinkedIn: Stefanie Mellano

Connect with Sonia:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soniakampshoff/

Website: https://moreperfect.digital/

Email: [email protected]

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In this first episode, I’m interviewed by my podcast producer, Lucy Lucraft. We discuss my multilingual background, growing up speaking German and Italian, and how this foundation in languages shaped my career path. I share my journey from being a translator and localising software to specialising in digital marketing and advertising on Google and social media.

We delve into how cultural nuances are crucial in international marketing, the role of AI in the industry, and my experience working with technology companies. I also explain why I started this podcast: to explore the many ways people use their language skills in their professional lives.

• My professional journey began as a translator, localising software, which gave me a deep understanding of the technical side of digital products.
• After moving into marketing while continuing to work with my languages, I now specialise in paid media (Google Ads and advertising on social media) which allows me to combine my interest in data and numbers with the psychology of consumer behaviour.
• Cultural and linguistic understanding is essential for effective international marketing, as direct translations for things like SEO often fail to capture local search habits.
• AI has been an integral part of digital advertising for a long time through features like smart bidding and retargeting, long before it became a mainstream topic.
• My goal for this podcast is to showcase the diverse career paths available to people with language skills, moving beyond traditional roles like translation and teaching.

In my day job I help commercially-minded companies to be found on Google and social media through advertising. Thanks to my multilingual upbringing, with this podcast I want to talk to other language fans and inspire many more to understand what careers are available with languages.

Connect with Sonia:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soniakampshoff/

Website: https://moreperfect.digital/

Email: [email protected]

This episode was written and recorded by me and produced by Lucy Lucraft.

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Hello, I'm Sonia Kampshoff, and I'd like to welcome you to Working with Languages.

I started this podcast to explore what it really means to build a career with language skills today. It goes far beyond the traditional roles of translation and teaching. I’m fascinated by how languages empower us to connect and achieve specific goals in almost any professional environment.

In each episode, I sit down with a new guest to discuss their unique career path. Here’s what we'll explore together:

• Why languages are a superpower in today's competitive job market
• How they fit into diverse industries and roles you might never have considered
• Where our human skills stand next to the rapid rise of AI
• How you can make languages a valuable and meaningful part of your career

If you're ready to be inspired, I invite you to join our conversations. Listen and subscribe to Working with Languages now on your favourite podcast app!