My hobby is languages. I have learned to read, write and hold a conversation in 3 of them: English, German and Italian. I also learned some time ago the basics of French to be able to read and converse but I have almost forgotten it. I have to refresh it, but now I have started to learn Portuguese, for which I am more motivated. I use my own method that I have developed after years of experimenting, but I have long since stopped attending traditional classes and using books that are based on grammar.
I’ve spent years doing language exchanges and teaching my students. I attended the Instituto Cervantes in Berlin and during 2 years of training I completed the Spanish teacher course and the teaching accreditation diploma of the Instituto Cervantes DADIC. I am also an official tutor of the AVE Global courses for the official courses and the official DELE and SIELE exams.
I have continued to prepare myself and have studied the gurus of language teaching. From the classics like Stephen Krashen and his theory of comprehensible imput, or Richard Feymann and his belief that we only learn what we explain with our words, to contemporary Spanish language teachers like Van Patten. I have studied novel methods such as Richard Vaughan in English, or Salman Khan in digital platforms. As a complement, I have studied the principles of educational coaching, especially in the field of adult learning and concepts of neurolinguistic programming, applied to the teaching of Spanish.
In my 2-year training at the Instituto Cervantes, I was introduced to disruptive ways of teaching languages. From the natural method and the DOGMA approach to language teaching, to the advantages of the Content and Learning integrated learning (CLIC) methodology. I also became interested in other innovative concepts such as the advantages of collaborative learning and flipped classrooms.
I have another hobby: new technologies applied to language teaching. I am interested in the advances that technology offers us, especially when they help me to learn languages: the current possibilities of e-learning and learning materials in LMS platforms such as Moodle or Chamilo. I am now passionate about advances in the use of Metaverse and Virtual Reality, as well as artificial intelligence, applied to language teaching.