Hello, Jorge! It is a pleasure to be able to interview you. We are sure that all the students at Hispania, Spanish school are curious to get to know you better. To begin, you could tell us what characteristic defines you the most. The characteristic that most defines me is punctuality. I like it
Hello, Jorge!
It is a pleasure to be able to interview you. We are sure that all the students at Hispania, Spanish school are curious to get to know you better.
To begin, you could tell us what characteristic defines you the most.
The characteristic that most defines me is punctuality. I like to be punctual when I meet with my friends, with family, with students... Many times in class students say that Spaniards are very late and that is the time to open a debate or I use this characteristic to introduce myself to a new class, so that they can see that not all Spaniards are late hehehe.
What encouraged you to choose to be a Spanish teacher?
The truth is that I started working in Hispania as a History and Art teacher. Little by little I got to know how the ELE world works, I liked watching my classmates prepare classes and it made me curious to learn more about my own language. That's why I decided to do the Training Courses for E/LE Teachers offered by Hispania, a Spanish school. Hispania immediately gave me the opportunity and today, apart from being a History and Art teacher, I can also teach Spanish classes.
What do you like most about your profession?
What I like most is dealing with students, having access to other cultures, other languages, other ways of seeing and understanding the world. In other jobs I wouldn't be able to have this easy access to the world. Also, being able to learn about typical festivals, traditions, music, food, is what I like most about this profession, being able to learn about other cultures.
What topic do you like to teach the most in class?
I don't really have a favorite topic. I really like the initial groups, because they do not have any knowledge of Spanish and during the first week we have to give them the tools to be able to communicate in a basic way. See their faces when they understand the content, how their eyes light up in class, how they remember you for months because you were their first reference in Spain or how they return to school years later to greet you and thank you for helping them during their time at Hispania, a Spanish school. That's what I like the most, so I would choose the first and second week in Spanish study.
Your favorite classroom in Hispania?
Here I have no doubt, it is number 5 or number 6. These classrooms are equipped with tactile projectors and as apart from Spanish we also do Spanish classes. Selectivity, such as Art or History classes, we use the projector as a complementary tool to be able to watch videos, images or comment on texts. Ah! And let's not forget its wonderful views of our palm trees 😉
Would you recommend any book or movie for our students?
For students, more than a book or movie, I would recommend a series about the history of Spain, called Memory of Spain. Maybe it is very technical, but it is very interesting to know our history. Another highly recommended series that has won many awards is The Ministry of Time, which is more comical but also serves to learn, through this funnier plot, the history of our country on a cultural and social level.
In your free time, what do you like to do?
In my free time I have 2 passions. The first is to get lost in the car through Spain to discover every corner of our geography. My second passion is practicing all kinds of sports, such as soccer, racquetball, running, hiking... For example, during the summer we organize soccer games at school and I am always the first to sign up. The truth is that I really like to share moments with my girlfriend, my family or my friends and enjoy a pleasant conversation.
Your favorite place in Valencia?
Nature is one of my passions, that's why I love the Turia Gardens, that is, our wonderful river. It is our green lung with almost 10 kilometers perfect for walking, practicing any sport, carrying out cultural activities, sunbathing, reading books or listening to music, even picnics or parties with the family. For me, it is Valencia's Central Park.
If you weren't a teacher, you would be...
…I would be an archaeologist. During my time as a university student I worked as an archaeologist for 3 years. At the end of university and after consulting with my family, I decided on the world of teaching. This has not prevented my participation in different excavations so as not to lose interest or contact with archaeology.
What does Hispania, a Spanish school, mean to you?
For me, apart from being my job, Hispania, Spanish school is part of my life. The entire team is a big family, because apart from being colleagues we are great friends and we carry our relationship even outside of school, sharing weekends, dinners, meals and different activities. As I said before, Hispania has given me the opportunity to meet hundreds of people from all over the world, not only on a teacher-student level, but on a personal level with true friendships. I am very grateful for this opportunity to work at the best Spanish school in the world.