Graduate from UConn. Teaching English as a Foreign Language for all levels. Personalized lessons to meet your needs!

Find out more about Rocio

• Do you speak this language fluently because of your origins or because a teacher inspired you to learn?

  I speak Spanish fluently because I was born in Chile, and moved to the US with my family when I was 3 years old. My parents always instilled in me to keep Spanish to communicate with them as well as my family and Chile and also to improve my opportunities as a bilingual speaker. I am grateful to them for it.

• Can you name a living, historical or fictional character that you think is the emblematic representative of the language's culture?

  I would say Pablo Neruda is a historical character emblematic of Latin American Spanish culture. He was a Chilean diplomat most known for his poetry. The way he can put words together to make you feel his pain and happiness is a talent that is very rare and precious.

• Is there a typical word, phrase, tradition or behavior in the language that you particularly like?

  I like that across different countries in Latin America, we use completely different words to say the same thing. For example, a straw in Chile is "bombilla" while other countries call it "popote" "pajilla" "sorbete." The funny part is, "bombilla" in every country means a lightbulb!

• Why does speaking this language matter to you?

  Speaking Spanish keeps me attached to my family, my origins and my culture. Speaking English is important to me because I can communicate with almost the majority of the world with this language and it has allowed me to form deep connections with the US for the past 20 years.

• What is the main difficulty in learning this language and what can help the process of learning?

  Speaking English is hard because it is not a phonetic language. The spelling oftentimes does not match the sounds of the words. In order to help with this, language learners must memorize the alphabet and irregular sounds that are common in the language.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your language learning or your days at school.

  I had to take ESL classes myself from Kindergarten to 2nd grade in school. It was fun to get out of my regular classes (especially math!) to go and improve my English. I advanced pretty quickly because I loved reading and soon had a better reading score than my native-speaking classmates. But my teacher also made a huge difference in my experience and made the lessons fun and interactive.

• How has travel or a specific trip helped you to increase your skill and knowledge of the language?

  Going to different parts of the US helped me understand the different accents and words used across the region. I am from the northeast and there is a much more formal English spoken here than down south, by North Carolina or Florida, for example.

• What makes you a Superprof in language?

  I would say my dedication to my students' success and ability to focus on their strengths makes me a SuperProf.