The need to train spanish teachers <

The need to train spanish teachers

I have always liked languages, and I´ve been able to communicate well in other languages, and for me the ability to communicate in various languages is fundamental to understanding people of other cultures. Spanish is my native language and i have a command of it, but this doesn´t mean that I am able to teach it to other people who are interested in learning Spanish. I realised this when my neighbour, a student from Hemingway, asked me to help him with his Spanish studies.

The good news was obviously that he passed his Spanish course but I was not comfortable with the development of the classes and above all the feeling that I could have given more.

After undertaking teacher training and putting into practice, the feeling is very different. Because teaching a language is not enclosed in didactics and applying it, the didactics live and move, develop and evolve, and we are trained to do this. But be careful, for the teaching continues to live and with it, develops and evolves, we must not stop and settle, we must continue to train to keep in functioning.

Seminars, workshops, classroom courses, online course, research, observation, are also other sources which not only form part of the teacher training but also the development of the language which is just as important. Similarly, there is a need to train not only the person but also the material that we share. Our training, retraining is done so that the language continues to develop. It is as simple as asking today if Spanish is spoken as it did 500 years ago. The answer is obvious, no. Is Spanish spoken in the same way as it did 500 years ago? No. And this is because there is a need for training, since the language keeps developing, continues to evolve and is still forming.

Undertaking this course has opened up a horizon for me which was never there before. The teaching is not as tedious as I had thought it might be, in fact quite the opposite. And to be able to share it with other teachers is fundamental. It is incredible what can be leant by exchanging experiences with other teachers. But, there is something very special about all of this, to see how the students evolve, this is priceless.

Yesterday, I took part in one of the seminars which The Cervantes Institute in Vienna offers during the 2012-2013 academic year, “observing classes as a tool for professional development” shared by Elena Verdia, director of the teacher training department at the Cervantes Institute in Madrid. To conclude, my knowledge as a teacher continues and is enriching. My bag of knowledge never closes and maybe you can help someone I hope. Best of all, I will continue to train myself.