Do you want to know a little more about Professor Alba Gómez? Did you know that our beloved teacher has published, together with other authors, two manuals for learning Spanish? Alba one day arrived at Hispania, a Spanish school from Madrid and since then she has not stopped enjoying and learning teaching Spanish.
Do you want to know a little more about Professor Alba Gómez?
Did you know that our beloved teacher has published, together with other authors, two manuals for learning Spanish?
Alba one day arrived at Hispania, a Spanish school from Madrid and since then she has not stopped enjoying and learning teaching Spanish.
We have interviewed our teacher, who according to her friends “is small but full of energy”, and she tells us about her great passion for linguistics, her best moments with her students, what she does in her free time, and much more!
My journey in Hispania, a Spanish school, began in May 2016, so for two years and a few months I have been part of the best school in the world, which for me is my second home. When I arrived here I was alone and I didn't know anyone, so the Hispania team supported me like one more from the beginning. I am lucky to surround myself with wonderful people and the best professionals, with whom I learn a lot. More than a place of work, Hispania is a family, it is happiness.
There are many reasons. I am crazy about linguistics, I love reflecting on grammar, observing the behavior of the language in different situations. If you add to this that I really like contact with people, learning about new cultures and transmitting knowledge, the result of this cocktail is “Spanish teacher”. The truth is that it is a beautiful experience to teach how to communicate, to use something as useful as language, and you realize that many times you help change the lives of many people and improve them.
What I like most is that it is a very grateful job in which I feel very loved. The students show you constant signs of affection and it is their smiles and their words of gratitude that I am left with at the end of the day. Furthermore, it is a job from which I receive as much or more than I give, because I learn a lot every day with the students. They never cease to surprise me and I feel more and more eager to travel “because of them.”
I don't think I have any special secrets. It's just that I really enjoy what I do. As I have already said, I am passionate about grammar and reflection on language and I believe that if someone is enthusiastic about what they do, it can spread. In terms of teaching techniques and dealing with students, I owe everything to Hispania, a Spanish school.
I would tell them to separate themselves from their notebooks a little and worry more about experimenting with the language. The language is alive, it is on the street, in every telephone message, on the signs at the subway stop, and they find themselves in a great linguistic immersion context to practice Spanish. I give them tools in class so that they can do it like true natives, but they have to go out and put into practice a little more everything they see in the classroom.
We have so many fun moments in class every day that I have a hard time remembering some. It may not be the funniest, but it's the anecdote that comes to mind right now. It happened when I was working in Madrid. A 16-year-old Canadian student told me she didn't want to talk because she was pregnant. I, who don't have much control over English, didn't really understand why he said that. In the end the confusion was resolved. The student had used this word because of its similarity to the word embarrassed, from English, to express that he felt ashamed. In the end we all laughed and it helped us reflect on the importance of not constantly translating into our language, because sometimes we can be surprised.
Well, I like simple things – not at all adventurous, of course, those who know me know that I am not – and I am a very homely and familiar person. I really value home, life as a couple and with friends, although I always need to be doing different things, because I am a bit of an earthquake. But what I enjoy the most is my dog, Minnie. I love surrounding myself with good people, having family and friends gatherings, enjoying good food and good music. In summer I enjoy time outdoors much more, I love concerts and all activities near the sea. Ah! And travel, of course. I love that, but always accompanied, I have not yet dared to experience a trip alone.
Well, first of all, I would like to qualify that question. The books are not just mine, since I have created them with some old university classmates, so the credit is also theirs and they have done an excellent job, which I could not have carried out alone.
I published the first book when I finished my Master's Final Project (TFM). The professors who evaluated my work were happy with the result and thought it was good and interesting material that should reach many people. The TFM dealt with the teaching of proverbs in the Spanish as a foreign language class and proposed a series of activities to put them into practice, which are now included in the book. At the same time, a classmate, Clara Ureña, carried out a similar TFM for teaching elocutions, so that it was decided to combine these two projects in a single book titled: Phrases and Sayings to give and take: the book to learn more than 120 phrases and sayings from Spanish (B2-C1). It is a material aimed at both teachers and students, since it has a detailed explanation about these idiomatic expressions, which is later specified in several didactic sequences with activities of a communicative nature, so that the student can put into practice everything he has learned.
The second book, Tourism Professionals(B1-B2), I have published it with this same colleague and with another author, Irene Moreno-Manzanaro, under the coordination of Loreto Florián. This is a manual aimed at teaching Spanish for specific purposes, aimed especially at students of tourism courses who wish to learn Spanish related to their profession. It is a book that consists of 8 teaching units in which some grammar points of the level are addressed in the context of the tourism field. I have to say that, at first, it was hard work, since we were faced with a very specific topic, but later it was very fun to research this world of travel that, as I have already said, I am passionate about.
I don't think much about it. I really enjoy what I do now, which is teaching. I also love teaching how to teach, training other people who want to follow this wonderful path and giving them some tools to do so, although I think I still lack many. So, the answer to your question is to keep learning.
Favorite movie:Oh, I never know how to answer this. I like many, to be honest, and I wouldn't know how to choose one. I love films that have a message, an ethical background, films in which the action is not so important, nor is the ending; I'm not so interested in what happens in the film, but in the way the story is told and, of course, in interpreting it. One of my favorites is Amelia.
Favorite book: I can't choose one out of all of them either, I love reading! Above all, I like English and German romantic novels, those stories in which the characters have a conflict between reason and the heart, I think they define me a lot. I like what the Brontë sisters, Jane Austen, and, if you force me to choose a book, then I choose Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley.
An adjective that defines you: If you allow me to change adjective for noun and Spanish for English, I choose the word power. This is how my friends in Madrid know me, because they say that I am small but very intense and energetic.
Favorite classroom in Hispania: Anywhere we can eat and celebrate lunches and small parties. It's great to taste dishes from different countries and have a nice time with the students in a slightly more relaxed atmosphere.
Your favorite place in Valencia:The historic center, the narrow streets that preserve some old businesses, craft shops... In general, I really like exploring cities and getting lost in their streets, in the less touristy spots. I think it is the best way to experience the city. Of course, always accompanied, because if I get lost alone, later I can't find myself, haha.
If you weren't a teacher, you would be... My students have asked me that question from time to time. It's very difficult, I always tell them that it's very difficult for me to imagine doing anything else. I suppose I would follow the path of language because it is what I am passionate about and I would work as a proofreader, linguistic consultant, editor or something similar. For a while I dedicated myself to linguistic research, but when the day was over I felt quite empty because I had the feeling of not having done any social work. That's why I prefer to teach, I think I'm not good at being alone in front of a computer.
Beach or mountains? Well look, my mentality has changed in recent years. When I lived in Madrid I longed for the beach, I needed summer to come so I could come here and take a dip. Now that I have the beach so close, can you believe I don't value it so much? I guess it's normal. In any case, although I don't like the beach as much as before, I still like it more than the mountains. That smell of saltpeter, the sound of the waves, the fine sand between your fingers... I love it!
Sweet or salty?Here I have no doubts, the sweet. I think I could survive the rest of my life on chocolate - although I wouldn't live long, of course. And I am also sweet in character, I am very very affectionate, so much so that sometimes I get a little cloying.
Coffee or tea? Hmmmm, neither one nor the other. Coffee doesn't agree with me, really, and I don't drink tea very often. In the mornings I make myself a glass of milk with cocoa powder, it has been my breakfast since I was little. Well, when I go out to eat with friends, after dessert, I usually order an infusion because I'm embarrassed to ask for a glass of milk, like the children... hahaha.
Day or night? The day, without a doubt. I am very diurnal, I love to take advantage of every last ray of sun. Although I love summer nights and spending until dawn on a terrace with a cool drink and chatting.
North or south? What a question! I am from Madrid, so I choose the center. Ha ha ha. No, it's a joke. Well, it's not an easy question, because I suppose it depends on what for and it depends on the time. The nature of the north and the food are wonderful – I am thinking of Spain – but the joy of the southern areas and their climate are irresistible. I think I'll stick with the south, especially because of the warmth and sun.
Country or city?The city! I love the hustle and bustle in the city, the hustle and bustle, going out into the street and seeing people, a lot of people, a mix of cultures, different styles. I think that cities open the mind a lot and, in my case, the countryside is good for relaxing, but I don't know if I could live away from the city.
Dog or cat? Well, I have already told you about my passion for my dog, Minnie, and I have never lived with a cat. I guess I would love it too. The truth is that I love animals and I could have a zoo at home, but then my husband would leave... hahaha.
We hope you have enjoyed meeting our teacher Alba, would you like to learn Spanish with her and all of our team of teachers?
We are waiting for you in Hispania, Spanish school!