Master Spanish with a Native Speaker and tailored classes - Bilingual Spanish and English - Qualified MFL teacher (All levels)

Find out more about Leonora

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

  I speak Spanish because of my origins, I come from a Latin American country called Chile, where I studied to become an English teacher! I think I was "wrongly" inspired by my English teachers. Growing up, I had the chance to study at private schools, which had a positive impact on my education, however my English teachers were not the best, since learning a second language in Chile, although deemed important in the curriculum, it is not as important in practice, hence why I decided to study English at a University level so I could improve and be able to teach it!

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

  Yes! Well, since there are a lot of countries that speak Spanish, I can only speak for Chile and the fictional character that to me represents our language and culture. His name is Condorito, he is a condor (which is one of the emblematic animals) and was created by a chilean author to depict chilean culture through comic strips, and then with time, this developed into its own comic book.

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

  There are plenty, but "regaloneo" and "regalon/a," the first word means to cuddle and also to pet someone, overall just expressing love! and to be a "regalon/a" means that you love to cuddle and that you love for people to show affection by doing things.

• Why does speaking this language matter to you?

  Speaking any language is important, either your second or third or so on. I believe that learning a language can open your mind to new realities and ways of seeing the world. For example, for me, learning English and Spanish at the same time helped me view the world differently, helped me realise how things shouldn't be gendered - in Spanish everything has a gender, either female or male whereas in English things do not have a gender-.
  
  Other than opening your mind, learning languages helps you learn about other cultures and get to know different people in the process!

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

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

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

  One of the funniest memories I have of learning a new language was 2 years ago when I first moved to the UK. I remember going to the shops in Norfolk, where the accent is a bit difficult to understand, and the cashier asked me if I wanted a bag. Which did not sound like that the first 3 times I asked her to repeat herself! With time, the phrase became a common thing, so I began to understand it more each time I went to the shops.
  
  This was an important moment to me, because although it might sound silly, it put to test years of English learning. It made me realise that even though it is important to learn structured English with set accents, you never actually stop learning and accommodating your listening to different accents!

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

  Definitely coming to the UK to teach Spanish has helped me in both languages. For Spanish, I would say it helped me get used to the different evaluations such as A-Level and GCSE as well as learning some of the difficulties learning Spanish might bring to non-native speakers. English wise, it helped me develop my conversational skills and everyday use of the language.

• What makes you a Superprof in language?

  I think what makes me a superprof in languages is the fact that I can adapt my lessons to the students' needs. I definitely do not impose set lessons on them and rather tailor them to their needs. I like to take the time to get to know my students and talk about their weaknesses and strengths as well as how comfortable they are feeling with my lessons and where they are going.
  
  As said before, my lessons are tailored to the student, which not only means I'm teaching them what they need but I involve them in their process as much as they can contribute to the lesson.