Mrs Sarah Patey

Web
http://www.le-mot-juste.co.uk/

Profile

Qualified and experienced teacher of French and German, working freelance in publishing since 1995. Educated in France. French as second mother tongue, fluent German.

I offer two principal areas of expertise:

Teaching materials

• French and German for the UK market, primary to tertiary level. I relish grammar! Language textbooks should be coherent and enjoyable for teachers and students, and I can provide quality assurance on both content and language.
• ELT materials for the overseas market at both primary and secondary levels

Academic history

I have over 20 years' experience editing academic material focusing on European history and especially German history. I have a keen interest in medieval and early modern history, in which I also read widely for personal pleasure. My work with non-native authors has been particularly appreciated and has led to long and fruitful working relationships. I also translate academic history into English. 

Aside from these specialist areas, I am happy to discuss other projects in non-STEM subjects. Please note that although I am sometimes available at short notice, my work is often booked for a number of months ahead. I am available during the school holidays. 

Subjects

• language teaching (French, German, ELT)
• history (European, medieval, Church, local)
• French literature (general, medieval)
• music (choral, classical, religious/worship, history)
• religious studies (Christianity, liturgy)

Training

CIEP / SfEP conferences (19 conferences, 1998–2022)
Brush up your grammar (SfEP) 2014 – I repurposed this course for online delivery
CIEP / SfEP courses on editing, including On-screen editing, Efficient copy-editing 
Specialist CIEP / SfEP courses, including Editing and proofreading music, Web editorial skills
CIEP Proofreading Theses and Dissertations (tutor)
 

Qualifications

BA and MA, Modern & Medieval Languages
PGCE, Modern Languages

Current and recent clients

The Open University (digital development editor for FutureLearn German)
Ginko Library (translation from French of Le Christ Arabe, by Mouchir Basile Aoun, Cerf 2013)
The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities (proofreading, position papers)
Bundesinstitut für Kultur und Geschichte der Deutschen im östlichen Europa (translation from German of academic history articles and books)
Cambridge University Press (development editing, Languages, A Level History)
Pearson (MFL teaching – French)
Oxford University Press (scholarly journal on German history)

testimonials

I am extremely grateful for reading this so closely. This kind of attention during the copy-editing process is getting extremely rare these days.

Non-English journal author

Sarah is a real pleasure to work with. Not only is she adept at identifying issues in a text, she also goes the extra mile to provide helpful solutions. She is always friendly, efficient and reliable. Highly recommended!

Content manager, KS3 French textbook

[Colleague] and I were both really pleased with what you have done on these – it's all very methodical, thorough and clear which is exactly what we need on such a busy project!

Project manager, ELT textbook

Thanks again for all your brilliant work on [digital German language course].

Editorial project manager

Thanks again for your hard work on this project – it definitely wouldn't have gone so well without you.

Project manager, A-level French course

Thanks for doing such an excellent job of the editing: I have never had copies back from the designer which were so error-free!

School-book author

Thank you again for dealing so competently with the extremely difficult text.

Multi-author academic text, medieval French literary criticism