Spanish teachers course: supplementary training as a historian. <

Spanish teachers course: supplementary training as a historian.

First of all, I am qualified in History, but due to my calling to teaching, I have got into teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language(ELE).  It all began last year when several people of different nationalities asked me to help them with their Spanish.  Obviously at first I was scared, but I accepted the challenge, and the experience could not have been more gratifying and important for me. In that very moment, I realized that I had found what I really wanted to be. But also at that moment I was conscious of my limits.

My classes were focused on conversation classes with people who possessed a previous knowledge of Spanish, where I would provide them with repeated vocabulary on diverse topics and coloquial expressions which we use as natives speakers of Spanish, depending on the situation. I realised that my resources were limited and I began to ask questions of myself, in the supposed case that I would have to organize my classes with people with a less good knowledge of Spanish. What activities would I provide? How would I introduce the grammatical components? What methodology would I employ?  In view of all of this I began to carry out the course for teachers of Spanish offered by Instituto Hemingway.

The course has not only fulfilled by expectations but it has far exceeded them.  The format has seemed to me very atractive and efficient, all the summaries treated in the different modules have been of great assistance for my training. Now I am aware that the first aim in teaching languages has to be to provide  adequete tools to express  be able to express yourself in real contexts, that the role of the teacher is far from what we had been taught in the past, that all activities and teaching resources must have a purpose. Now I am able to affirm that I possess the necessary bases to confront the challenge of teaching Spanish in a more academic way.  Knowing that I am only a newborn in these tasks, since life is a long road where a person must not stop training and learning new things during his whole life.

Finally, with earnest thanks to every person who makes up the workforce, especially Alfredo, from Instituto Hemingway for his time, patience and consideration.