Information About Jorge - Stockton-on-Tees teacher -

(8 reviews)

Personal Description:

I am a certified teacher of Spanish as a Foreign Language. Since November 2010 I have been working in two master´s degrees both of them in the education field. One of these allows me to obtain full QTS without the need of an induction year (Obtained in August 2012). The other master is a specialised programme for Teachers of Spanish as a Second Language.

Teaching Experience:

I have more than 800 hours of experience as a Spanish teacher.

Teaching Approach:

From my own experience, I believe that learning a new language is similar to opening a door into a world full of possibilities: traveling, getting a new job, meeting new people and, in general, becoming a stronger individual both personally and professionally. In my classes, I like to tap into that part of each of my students that is exited about learning a new language, because that motivation will lead them to succeed in my class.
As a language teacher I firmly believe that in order for the students to succeed, two things must be present in the classroom environment: trust and respect. I have a lot of experience as a language student, Spanish is my native tongue and I have learned English, German and a bit of French and I have struggled with that first phrase I wanted to say out loud thinking that I was going to make a mistake or that it was going to sound funny. I understand that not everyone learns a language at the same rate and speaking in a foreign language takes courage and self‐confidence. Courage and self‐confidence are supported by an environment of trust and respect. In my classroom there are always ground rules: we are all here to learn, we learn from each other and we must respect each other.
The other very important aspect for me is making sure that the level of proficiency is correctly assessed. If the classes are too challenging or too basic, a negative environment not conducive to learning is created. Even if proper evaluation is made before the groups are formed, there will always be differences inside the classroom. I, as a teacher, try to be as aware as possible of this factor and strive to use that for the good of the group. Pairing a strong student with someone not as strong usually helps. Another important issue that I try to be as aware as possible is preventing the strong students from taking over the exercises and leaving behind other students that, because of either lack of confidence or not being at the same level, stop themselves from actively participating in class. In my classes, I make sure that everyone is heard and that I can evaluate progress of all my students.
My students have come from very different backgrounds: college students spending a semester abroad, professionals working in a different country, retired people looking to expand their knowledge, foreign students and people of all ages that sign up for a course that will help them improve their language skills. When I prepare the class materials, I like to make sure the themes address all their motivations.
During the past year I have become more interested in the use of ICTs in the classroom. I have used them primarily for my classes as a secondary school teacher (in training) but I am eager to use their full potential in my Spanish classes, I believe the fact that they support all media formats could be especially good to support language students.