Alicia B.
Private tutor in Ashford, United Kingdom
Education
I am a Spanish native speaker. I am a certified Spanish as a Foreign Language Teacher (ELE) from International House Barcelona (Spain). Also, I have a certificate in advanced English (University of Cambridge). I hold a Bachelor's Degree of Political Science, major in International Relations at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain). Afterwards, I obtained my Master's Degree of International Relations, major in International Peace and Security at IBEI (Institut de Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals, Spain). When it comes to languages, I speak fluently Spanish/Catalan (mother-tongues), English/Italian (advanced level) and French (intermediate level).
Experience
My academic background is in Political Science and International Relations. Nevertheless, my interest in the richness of my mother-tongue led me also pursue another passion: teaching Spanish to foreigners. As a matter of fact, I obtained an official Spanish teaching certificate (Teacher of Spanish as a Foreign Language) in 2016 awarded by the International House Language School based in Barcelona, Spain. For the last three years I have been combining both my international relations expertise and teaching Spanish to private students and small groups while working in different countries (Spain, Israel, USA, Switzerland and Poland). In my view, politics and linguistics are strongly intertwined: cultural diplomacy is an instrument that serves to exchange different mind-sets, facilitate dialogue among peoples and foster a more democratic society. Currently, I provide private tutoring for students from around the globe through an online platform. Specifically, I am developing successful new ideas to tailor the lessons according to students' needs or interests, including: Spanish phrasebook for travellers, Spanish (A1-C2), learn Spanish with books, etc. With regards to my teaching methods, my lessons are based on a very interactive scheme where the student and myself learn from each other through different exercises and programs. My classes are activity-based and focused on communication, using the flipped classroom model to deliver the grammatical contents of a lesson. Likewise, the speaking and listening parts of my lessons are crucial and I prepare the class depending on the learner’s purpose or curiosity. As way of example, if the student has a strong interest in human rights or winter sports, the lesson will be designed to speak and learn new vocabulary and grammar involving this topic. Moreover, the writing part is always part of the homework for the next lesson, usually my students have been asked to write a composition or answer questions I have sent to them after the class. Regarding my current and previous students, they are children (aged 10), students and professionals and their level range from beginner (A1) to advanced (C1). Particularly, they had very diverse backgrounds and mother-tongues (French, Hebrew, Polish, Danish, Italian and Serbian). This fact was not an inconvenient in learning Spanish. Indeed, it helped the students to understand a different grammar structure more easily and be more pro-active in speaking and practicing the new language.
Availability
Weekends at any time, Weekdays at any time, Any day at any time, Wednesday in the morning
Can Meet
Up to 15 minutes away for no additional charge
Hobbies
I do really love being outdoors. Hiking, painting, going to concerts or traveling are among my favourite activities. I love going to the movies or finding a new TV series to watch in my free time. I find espionage novels very intriguing, that's why John Le Carré is one of my favourite writers. Also, I am such an animal lover - dogs and cats are the best.
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