STOP THINKING IN ENGLISH, START THINKING IN SPANISH - learn how to tell your own story with a bilingual argentine spanish teacher

Find out more about Juan

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

  I speak Spanish because it's my native language. I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since i was young i've always been interested in improving my language skills both in spanish and in english. I studied at the Cultural Inglesa de Buenos Aires for many years which allowed me to now be able to speak english confortably with my students from all around the world.

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

  Speaking of argentine spanish culture i will have to say "Mafalda". It is an Argentine comic strip written and drawn by cartoonist Quino. The strip features a six-year-old girl named Mafalda, who reflects the Argentine middle class and progressive youth, is concerned about humanity and world peace, and has an innocent but serious attitude toward problems. It's masterful satire made it very popular in Latin America.

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

  In Argentine spanish the word "pedo" means 'fart'. But it can also be used to say "Estoy en pedo" (i'm drunk) , "Ni en pedo" (not even if i was crazy), "...de pedo.." (luckily), or "Estoy al pedo" (i'm bored).

• 4) Why does speaking this language matter to you?

  Spanish is a multicultural language, which makes it so profound and fascinating to study. But I also think it is becoming more and more prevailent in work relations and more people than ever want to travel or live in a hispanic country. I'm really interested in helping people communicate with locals and I'm also interested in helping those who value language as a way to do better at people-oriented jobs. As a kid i had a recurrent fantasy of helping foreigners feel at home in my city. When i realized i could fulfill that dream with my passion and knowledge about the spanish language i realized this profession was meant for me.

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

  Coming from english, people are not used to studying verb tenses with varied conjugations. Also reflexive verbs take some time to get used to. But, with a clear study plan and an understanding of what they are intended for, i think both are easy to study and should cause no trouble.

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

  I have an aunt that lived in the US for many years and speaks english fluently. When i was a kid and she found out i was studying english, one day she proposed we walked all the way from my house to hers only speaking english. I was so nervous that i remember many of her questions i just answered "so so" because i felt it was the easier thing to say that could fit many subjects when in reality i was scared of not being able to say what i thought or what i really wanted to say. I think that shows that learning a language is not just about knowledge it's also about building character.

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

  I think travelling to Brasil with my family many years ago was something that helped me understand a lot how bad it feels not being able to communicate with locals. When you don't know the native language of a place, you feel like a fish out of the water. I think that recalling to that experience has helped me a lot to empathize with the frustrations and fears of my students.