Meet Marzena, 32, a tour guide based in Northern Ireland. Find out more about how she uses Polish and Spanish in her role. Part of our Bitesize world of work series.
Marzena works at a film studio that houses the set of an internationally successful fantasy series. She gives tours to visitors coming from all over the world. Her ability to speak fluent Polish and Spanish has been very helpful in making her tours more personalised and accessible.
My language skills are very important to the people who hired me.
Marzena:
(Spanish) Me llamo Marzena y soy guía turística. - My name is Marzena and I am a tour guide.
My name is Marzena and I am a tour guide.
(Polish) Nie wiem, czy widzieli Państwo już mapę,ale na mapie tutaj widzimy Irlandię… - I don’t know if you’ve seen the map already,but on the map here we can see Ireland…
I lead tourists around a TV studio where they film a successful fantasy drama. People walk around taking photos of the set and we tell them everything we can about the show. I was also an extra in the series, so I'm very happy to share my experience. I lead tourists in English, Spanish and Polish. I also sometimes use a bit of Russianand Portuguese.
(Polish) Czy widzieli Państwo już dużo? - Have you seen a lot already?
It's such a range of people, from families with kids to older visitors, and it's great just to be able to speak to any of them. While we talk, I get to know them better. I love hearing their stories in their own language. They can be so interesting.
(Spanish) Sí, y hemos tenido mucha grabación también. - Yes, and we have had a lot of recordings as well.
I'm Polish and I started learning English and Russian at school. I went on to do English and Spanish at the university. I learnt Spanish almost from scratch. Before my degree, I just knew a little bit from watching South American soap operas. The experience of knowing more than one language definitely unblocked for me, the ability to understand different languages
(Spanish) No sé si habéis visto todavía el mapa - en el mapa… - I don’t know if you have seen the map yet - on the map…
Earlier in my career, I did various jobs, but I really wanted to become a tour guide. So, I went to Madeira and I did the European Voluntary Service Placement, guiding tourists around a college and the church. It was a great way to improve my languages and made me less shy. Then I moved to Northern Ireland and became involved as an extra for this fantasy drama series. My fiancé and I knew that the studio was going to open to the public,and we emailed them to ask if they needed any tour guides, and I went for an interview. My language skills were very important to the people who hired me, but so was the fact that I'm really open and talkative.
(Polish) … także ta część zielona. - … so that’s the green part.
I dlatego później oni… wydawało się, - That’s why it seemed later
że oni są stworzeni tak naprawdę z samych kości. - that they were made entirely of bones!
When you start being a tour guide, it might be difficult if you are not used to speaking to people that much in a foreign language, but soon it starts to come very, very naturally. Don't be shy, just be brave. Be open and talkative.
(Spanish) Podemos ver también cómo está construído el ‘set’. - We can also see how the set is put together.
I wish I had known that earlier to learn as many languages as possible.
Each one can open up other languages for you too. Learning Spanish helped me to learn Portuguese because they are similar. Learning languages will definitely always be useful. It means you can speak with so many people and they are always more open and expressive if you speak to them in their own language. Also, by learning languages, you can learn so much about different cultures. It's so great to explore places without the language barrier, and learning Spanish means you can speak with almost all the continent of South America. What an amazing thing.
- The main skills Marzena uses as a tour guide include communication, flexibility and customer service
- She leads members of the public around the studio set and tells them everything about the fantasy drama series. Having been an extra in the series, she really enjoys sharing her experience too
- She deals with a range of people from families with kids to more elderly visitors. Therefore, her language and communication skills are really important in being able to speak with everyone who joins the tours. She loves getting to know them and hearing their stories, which she says is easier to do when you're able to speak their own language
- Even though Marzena's main languages are English, Polish and Spanish, she can also speak a little bit of Portuguese and Russian
- Marzena is from Poland originally but she started learning English and Russian when she was at school. She went on to do English and Spanish at university. She learnt Spanish almost from scratch before her degree, often helped by watching South American soap operas
- She says the experience of knowing more than one language has really helped her to understand and learn different languages. For example, learning Spanish helped when it came to learning Portuguese, as there are some similarities between the two languages
- She has done various jobs in the past but she really wanted to be a tour guide. To get her foot in the door, she decided to go to Madeira to do a placement guiding tourists around a college and church. She says this really helped improve her language skills, as she was able to build confidence speaking with others in that language
- Marzena's love of languages has led to her being a tour guide in multiple countries.
Top tips
- Being a tour guide can be difficult at first, especially if you’re not used to speaking to people that much in a foreign language. However, it soon starts to come very naturally. Don’t be shy - be brave, open and talkative
- Learning languages are always going to be useful. It means you can speak with so many people, and they are alwaysmore open and expressive if you speak to them in their own language. You can also learn so much about different cultures too.
What to expect if you want to be a tourist guide
- Tourist guide average salary: £19,000 to £25,000 per year
- Tourist guide typical working hours: 16 to 30 hours per week
What qualifications do you need to be a tourist guide?
You could get into this role via a college course, an apprenticeship, volunteering, applying directly or specialist courses run by private training organisations.
Sources: National Careers Service
This information is a guide and is constantly changing. Please check the National Careers Service website for the latest information and all the qualifications needed.
For careers advice in all parts of the UK visit: National Careers Service (England), nidirect (Northern Ireland), My World of Work (Scotland) and Careers Wales (Wales).
Aron: a rugby coach apprentice. video
Aron coaches young children how to play rugby and tries to increase participation in the sport across Wales.
How I use modern languages in my career. collection
Find out more about careers that use modern languages.
Kate: a travel consultant. video
Kate is a travel consultant and organises school trips all around Europe.
