Monica

Hola!! Thanks for having a look at my bio ;-)

A little bit about me: I was born in the North of Spain, in the Basque Country region, but I have lived and worked in many different countries, most of the time in the UK, first as a journalist and then as a qualified English and Spanish teacher. I now live in Northern Ireland, which I consider my second home ;-)

I am very patient and enthusiastic and what I love most is helping others to learn my mother tongue, as I know that learning languages can change lives, as it happened to me. Throughout the years I have realised that this is possible for everyone, if they put the right amount of effort and they have someone behind guiding them. That's why I consider myself not just teacher, but also a "language coach" who understands the difficulties of learning a language (I speak 5 languages myself!! and I'm not saying it to show off, just to prove you that it's 100% possible!!!).

As a certified neurolanguage coach and a teacher I will be showing you how our brain learns and how to make the language stick.

Together we will be able to check your strengths, weaknesses and goals, so I can create an individualised plan just for you!! Soon you will start to feel more confident, you will have fun and you will see your improvement no matter where you are atm.

I would love to show you that you can pass that exam with a great grade, that you can talk in Spanish when you go on holidays and that you can enjoy the Hispanic culture!! Síiii, es posible ;-)

Please drop me a line to say "hola", if you want to know more about how I could help you and we can have a chat. I am really looking forward to meeting you.

¡Hasta la vista!!!!

Mónica ;-)

Tutoring Experience

In addition to having a Masters in Education, the CELTA certification and being an accredited neurolanguage coach with experience of more than fourteen years as a language teacher/tutor in primary, secondary school and university settings, as well as activities outside of the traditional classroom, I have a diverse background in Journalism and Public Relations.

I have helped and inspired hundred of students who have then go to Spain or South America to live and/or study, have got great amazing GCSE, IGCSE, A Level and IB results, study languages at uni....I still keep in touch with lots of them and it is fantastic to see how being able to speak another language literally changed their lives, the same as when I learned English as a teenager.

Tutoring Approach

I see teaching as the ability to help others to learn, according to their needs and goals, so my teaching philosophy is totally student-centered. I recognize that there are different learning styles, so the learning process happens in every student’s brain in a different way. It is my job to evaluate how the students learn better and try to adapt to the various learning styles within the classroom.

On the other hand, I love learning from my students and getting to know them well, and if you come to one of my classes, you will find a safe place where students work as a team, help each other, learn also from each other and you will probably also hear some laughing. They are being pushed to reach their goals under my guidance, but in a relaxed environment where mistakes are seen as part of the process. I will also be giving them tips and tricks from the latest findings of the neuroscience that will help them to learn better and faster, which is something that fascinates the majority of them.

In my classes I try to create a context where I provide enough interesting comprehensible input (either through stories, games, roleplays, songs...etc.) so that the students can intake the information and be able to produce the language. I particularly like the project-based learning communicative approach, where the students learn by doing in similar context that they will find in real life. I always combine activities that integrate both productive and receptive linguistic skills. Most of these activities require interaction working in pairs or small groups that helps them improve the different skills and also develops communicative strategies. My role is to guide, coach, motivate, encourage and facilitate information to help the students improve themselves more efficiently and take ownership of their learning process.

Finally, In would like to add that I don't really teach just a language, I show the students a whole new world and culture by using the target language. I see the language classroom as a space were both language and culture are intertwined; language cannot be taught or learned independently of culture. It is for that reason that I like to assess students’ progress in different ways and not just exams.