Spanish teacher in England, a continuous learning curve<

Spanish teacher in England, a continuous learning curve

Although languages (and the etymology of Latin and Greek in school) have always interested me, I absolutely never imagined that I would decide to go in to teaching. I majored in humanities, have lived in various places and had experience of working in different areas. I liked working with people, helping and explaining, but was always searching for my place. After studying a masters, working with a tourist guide and different teams, I faced the world and made my aspirations very clear.

Already living in England, it all seemed clear to me: to use my studies and my experience to start my own career as a Spanish teacher. I have continued establishing myself to this very day, and this finally brings us to the advanced course for teachers at Instituto Hemingway.

After some years in the United Kingdom I had become a determined student. It appealed to me to have a global point of view, and furthermore I believe that we should constantly be up to date with what is going on around the world.

The current course has opened new paths as far as correcting my techniques is concerned (this is thanks to Alfredo when I mentioned to him seriously that I was experimenting with my students). Also, the collective and specific modules seemed very interesting: the method with teenagers, because I have less students that age, and regarding immigration, I have many students that are prepared to move to a Spanish speaking country, thus it has all been extremely useful for learning new examples, perspectives and of course the sociocultural aspect that was once put aside due to the traditional system in which we grew up.

But without doubt, the module that I enjoyed most (and perhaps was hardest) was the first one. Not only due to the difficulty in keeping up with the lingo, but also the past and present methods of teaching grammar, communicative approaches and the dichotomy between form and meaning.

I was extremely grateful for the complimentary additional lectures as well as the books provided, because they meant I was continuously connected to the programme and syllabus of Instituto Cervantes.

In conclusion, doing this course has shown me that it’s worth being proactive, flexible and open to new tendencies but also to listen and inspire with experienced professionals.