Case Studies: Teachers

Hello, Raquel. Please can you tell us a little about the language you teach and why, and your teaching career, in general?

I teach Spanish, my mother tongue. I chose this career because I believe that being able to teach a language is the best way to preserve it. Spanish is a language that more people in the world speak every day, and it is a point of pleasure and pride to be able to transmit the knowledge that I possess of my mother tongue. In this sense, having been born in Uruguay, and being a resident of Spain for more than 20 years, I have the advantage of knowing the two most common forms of the Spanish language: European Spanish and Latin American Spanish.

What experience and qualifications did you acquire prior to working with Language Trainers?

My university degree is actually a bachelor’s of communication sciences, and I later specialized as a vocational training teacher and tutored courses through e-learning educational platforms. This sparked my love of teaching and I started as a Spanish teacher in 2016, working as a conversation assistant in the United Kingdom. Eventually, this led to me teaching the Spanish language via online and private language classes, primarily to foreigners residing in Spain.

At which point you found Language Trainers, correct? Tell me, what did you like most about the company? What made you want to apply to work with us?

What most attracted me to Language Trainers was the possibility of teaching students from different countries. Having students from different parts of the world also provides me with the possibility to learn about the different cultures of their home countries.

And is the international nature of your online students still your favorite thing about working with the company, or has anything else trumped that now that you have started working with us?

What I like the most is being able to work independently, with the freedom to choose the students I want to teach and work according to a schedule that suits me. With Language Trainers, it is possible to choose the course proposals that best suit my personal interests. In addition, the professionalism of dealing with the course coordinators, and the seriousness and responsibility of the company when making teachers’ payments, are very important plus points.

I’m so pleased you are enjoying your time working with us! Can you think of any special memories or moments from your Language Trainers experience?

It is difficult to speak of a specific experience, since I have been lucky to have very good students. All of them have been responsible and highly interested in learning the language, from those who need it for professional reasons to those who simply love the Spanish language and culture and want to know more.

Is this interest to learn a key element of what you look for in your students?

Yes, providing my students have an interest in learning the language, I can easily adapt to their different learning rhythms. If there is empathy and a willingness to learn, everything is possible.

Assuming your students bring this interest and empathy to every class, what can they expect from you?

Seriousness and responsibility when teaching, together with a high degree of empathy, understanding, and dedication.

Learning any language should be fun. Can you share an interesting fact about Spanish that you love to impart to your students?

I always tell my students, jokingly, that learning Spanish is not easy, but they are lucky to have me as a teacher to facilitate their learning. I try to create a fun learning environment, where my students feel comfortable and look forward to the next class. I often say, the first thing you should learn is to say in Spanish is vale (ok) and gracias (thank you). Then, when you don't understand something, just SMILE!

Language Trainers. And would you recommend students looking to learn Spanish, or any language, to enroll with Language Trainers?

Absolutely, everyone interested in learning Spanish should choose Language Trainers due to their high degree of responsibility and seriousness with students and teachers in general.