Hello! I am María José, I am 30 years old and I am from Cuenca, the best city in Spain. And I am a Spanish teacher from Hispania, a Spanish school. How long have you been working at the school? One year, I started on September 4, 2017. What does Hispania, a Spanish school, mean to you?
Hello! I am María José, I am 30 years old and I am from Cuenca, the best city in Spain. And I am a Spanish teacher from Hispania, a Spanish school.
One year, I started on September 4, 2017.
For me, school is a space where I can be happy. I had been looking for a place like this for a long time. And for me, school is the place where I come and I am surrounded by people with whom I feel good and where I can develop what I like, which is teaching.
A normal day at school...well I arrive (I have to say a little late), on the bike, full of energy! I grab the books, make the necessary photocopies and go to class. I always arrive with the adrenaline of traffic: “Come on, let's go guys!” And I teach the class, the best I can, and I think I do well. 😉
We take a break, we eat,… “How was the class?”, “Look”, “I did this”, “What a good idea”, etc. And then we go back to class again, at 2 or 4. Then, I get down and go home quietly to rest.
Well, life took me here a little because I studied Communication and then I did Sociology, I went to live there... I was working as a waitress, as a babysitter... And I started teaching when I lived in Belgium. And suddenly I had the big revelation: I want to do this.
And I love Spanish. I love my tongue, I love playing with it. And it is an opportunity to teach that passion, that playing, that desire to experiment. And that's why I'm a teacher.
What do you like most about this job?
I like a moment in class when the students go from “this face” (I don't understand anything) to “this face” (Aaaaah!). That moment is the light. And it happens often, thank goodness, hehe. And it's like the burst of happiness.
And in reality (what I like most about this job) are the students, the contact with them, the fact of being able to learn from them every day. Not only about teaching and helping them grow or find a path they were looking for, but the fact that I learn every day with them. I learn from their cultures, their ways of thinking, anecdotes, stories, opinions... It's a continuous “give and take.”
Ugh, there are many... but hey, I just left class and we were talking about the past perfect. What is it for? To talk about actions in the recent past. And then a student told me (very convinced and very happy) that: “This morning it was buttered”. And I, who am very graphic, have imagined her putting butter on her face until she later explained to me that it was “makeup,” that “she had put makeup on.”
Those little things, those confusions, that sometimes make students a little embarrassed but I think they are the spark of laughter. The spark of class.
Well, my classes...I try to make them interesting, to make them fun, to make sure that the students don't sit for 2 hours. I really like moving. Right away my students always say: “Don't give examples with dancing, because we always dance.” Then immediately “come on guys, let's get up and let's dance bachata” (for example, what we danced today).
I try to play and above all, in addition to playing and laughing, I think it is very important to reflect, to talk about issues that matter to you, that concern you, things that you read in the newspapers and do not understand why that happened.
So, a little bit of fun and a little bit of reflection I think is what characterizes my classes.
Well, I think the most important thing is to smile. And the students always look at me as if to say “why?” But I think it is important to smile to vocalize well, to speak well, to be able to play with your tongue and lips. And because I believe that with a smile we always express ourselves much better. 😉
Dance! I like to dance, it's what I like most in the world. I have been dancing since I was 3 years old. I started dancing almost before I started walking.
I have danced classical for 16 years, then contemporary for as many years...which is what I do now. I have an association of people who dance contemporary dance, dance Contact I have also danced a little bit of hip-hop, African dances, a little bit of tango... A little bit of everything! And above all, now I do Lindy Hop and, when it's my turn, we do flamenco classes here in Hispania, a Spanish school. So when they tell me, I put on my heels and hit the leprechaun. J.
I also make ceramics and I really like to go climbing on the weekends.
What would I like to do in the future…? Keep learning, keep teaching,… And I would like to do it here. Although sometimes I get that bug, I have that desire to continue traveling and live in other countries, but for now I stay here.
Favorite movie: The last one I have seen, “Isle of Dogs”.
Favorite book: ”The unbearable lightness of being”.
An adjective that defines you: Bigheaded.
Favorite classroom in Hispania: 24. It has a table, which is very important, where all the students sit and it has a pink bicycle on the right. It is very spacious, with natural light.
Your favorite place in Valencia: Just behind the cathedral and the Basilica of the Virgin, there is a small square called “La Plaza de la Almoina” and it is a place that I really like.
Your favorite place in the world: My house, Cuenca.
If you weren't a teacher, you would be...A very sad woman! Ha ha. Well, I don't know where life would have taken me. Communication I suppose, or university professor, housewife, mother... I don't know, I don't know!
Beach or mountains?Mountain.
Sweet or salty?Sweet. Well, the fruit. Sweet.
Coffee or tea?Coffee.
Day or night?The day, to do many things.
North or south? (from Spain):North.
Country or city?It depends on which city. A city where you can do many things, where there is a lot of theater, many museums, and people from many countries... then a city. To relax, countryside.
Dog or cat?Dog, mine.
We hope you have enjoyed meeting our teacher María José.
Would you like to learn Spanish with her and ourteam of teachers?
We are waiting for you inHispania, Spanish school!