Meet the team
Linguascope is maintained by a team of keen linguists and educators:
Stéphane Derône
is an experienced language educator whose career spans from primary schools to adult education. His passion for innovative teaching led him to launch a website for his French students in 1998 — a project that marked the beginning of his journey in educational technology. Recognising the transformative potential of digital tools in language learning, Stéphane has delivered training sessions and actively fostered collaboration within the teaching community. Beyond his work in education, he is also passionate about radio and has served as a Director for the Anglian Radio group.
Francesco Gori
is an Italian digital designer. Keen to learn new skills, he uses a creative approach for tasks that go from designing, to coding, to drawing and animating. He graduated in Computer Engineering, and joined Linguascope in 2018. He has a love for art, and in his free time he enjoys drawing and reading stories.
Costantino Panza
is an Italian software engineer specialising in video games, smartphone applications and interactive installations. He joined Linguascope in 2012 to support and expand the technical team. Combining his creativity and technical skills, he aims at creating cutting edge games. He is also a keen musician who can be found in London clubs singing and playing his guitar!
Ricardo Pinto
is a Portuguese Illustrator and Graphic Designer, born in Mozambique. After working as a freelance Illustrator for Children’s Books, School Books, Comic Books and Magazines and as a Graphic Designer Team Manager for a Portuguese clothing brand, he joined Linguascope in 2009. As a comic book author, Ricardo also had 7 books published.
Amit Sheth
joined Linguascope during July 2016 as a creative games and web developer. He is a Computer Science graduate, passionate about computer programming and developing for the web. He loves working in challenging projects and also loves solving complex problems as part of his daily tasks at Linguascope. Amit is multilingual and can fluently speak Gujarati and Hindi.
Vaho Vakhtangidze
trained as a Human Rights lawyer before joining Linguascope in 2010. A keen linguist, he speaks Georgian (his mother tongue), Russian, and Polish, and has been working on our Beginner's Georgian section. In his spare time, he enjoys learning French. Vaho is the first point of contact for our community of subscribing schools.
Richard West-Soley
studied German and Spanish at Oxford before a PGCE at Birmingham. He joined the team in 2002 to launch new sections in those languages. Richard is an avid polyglot who fills his spare hours with Modern Greek, Norwegian and Scottish Gaelic, and writes about all aspects of language learning at Polyglossic.com. He is a passionate advocate of lifelong learning, gaining a second undergraduate degree in Social Sciences with the OU in 2015, and an MSc in Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh in 2022, where he is now studying part-time towards a PhD in Linguistics. A keen pianist, he uses music to unwind after a hard day's language learning!
Riccardo Zuddas
is Linguascope's CTO and leads the company's technology strategy and oversee all aspects of technical development, ensuring Linguascope remains at the forefront of innovation in its field. He brings a wealth of experience in IT Solution Architecture, with a proven track record of successfully designing and implementing complex systems that drive business growth.
A fluent speaker of Italian and English, Riccardo believes in the power of clear communication and cross-cultural collaboration. He's currently expanding his linguistic skills by learning Spanish, reflecting his commitment to continuous learning and connection with diverse perspectives.
Didi
is the team's official Chief Happiness Officer and resident meet-and-greet specialist. With boundless energy and a wagging tail, Didi makes sure everyone at Linguascope feels welcome and keeps spirits high, whether it's a Monday morning or a Friday afternoon. When she's not busy brightening the office, Didi can usually be found enjoying her favourite treats or chasing after tennis balls at the park. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and she's always ready to lend a paw to anyone in need of a smile!