Guadalupe E.

I firmly believe that primary but powerful values such as respect, honesty, and sincerity are essential to creating a safe environment where students can feel free to express themselves through their writing and speaking without judgment. Building their confidence while progressing in their skills is essential to helping them evolve in the subject.

The first thing I would do is get to know my student’s specific academic goals, as well as their type of learning, so we can focus all our attention on achieving them successfully. I let them know and feel that they have the total capacity to achieve their goals not only because of their potential but also because of the work and discipline that will be developed through a planned program based on their objectives and skills. As for the class material, I would play videos, games, and music. Also, one of the essential elements in the class I implement is talking and writing about daily situations that will make the student learn Spanish easier, faster, and more entertaining.

The strategy I use to motivate my students to learn independently is to produce in them the interest of learning Spanish through new creative activities, but also the ones they already do in their daily life so they can implement this new language quickly. They can realize that it benefits the academic field and their personal lives. This way, they will have the curiosity to know more by themselves, but knowing they are accompanied in their learning.

In each class, I offer different and creative activities so that my students are always excited about what they will do and learn in each lesson. One day I saw an old student of mine after five years, and he told me that he and his classmates were always curious and exuberant about what we will do for the next class. The key to keeping students motivated in learning and doing an activity, in general, is to feel confident and comfortable doing so while having fun, enjoying the process, and genuinely appreciating their advances.

The first thing I do is be calm so that the student doesn’t feel pressure for not understanding the concept and therefore feel at a disadvantage. Confidence is an important step that must be motivated during the learning process. As for a second step, if there is difficulty developing a skill, specific consecutive gradual exercises are executed so little by little that the student can advance and do better that skill, achieving what they wanted without feeling difficulty in the process. On the other hand, if it is about a challenging concept for the student to understand, it will be divided into parts. Examples and alternative definitions will be given, accompanied by visual material.

In this case, it is vital to do an accompanied reading, reflecting with them every paragraph and asking them questions such as: What does the author want to say or express? Why do they say it? How do they say it? What is the main subject? To whom is directed? While the reading is being done, the structure and form of the text are being analyzed as well, in a way that at the end of the reading, the student will comprehend not only the content of the text but also the way it is written.

One strategy that has worked for me well in my classes is doing a reading together, then doing a reflection out loud about it, and finally, relating the reading to a personal or actual situation. This way, the four skills are practiced: speaking, reading, listening, and writing.

The best way students can change their negative perspective about a subject that is making them struggle is by teaching them that specific subject in a more straightforward and fun way. Approaching the issue from a realistic perspective will make them see its content more meaningfully.

To know if the material was understood, I ask one of my students to explain in their own words the subject we saw. This way, the student can organize their ideas and share the information in a simple way. I also ask another student to make a question about the subject to another student. That is how a summary of the class is made and every student that is listening can reaffirm their knowledge. And in case it was a private class, I ask the student to explain the subject so that the same objective as in the group class is reached, and if they have a question, this will be answered while exposing the subject.

Confidence is built through constant practice of the subject that wants to be developed.

I can realize my student’s needs through their cameras due to their facial and physical expressions, if they are paying attention, are tired, uncomfortable, or happy, for example.

First of all, I have to know their Spanish level, and I will do a preliminary assessment to build up on the results. My tutoring is adapted to each student because each person is different and learns in another way.

Usually, I use videos, songs, Kahoot, The“Real Academia Española” dictionary, roulette, and visual materials.