Experience Summary
Spanish is what I love. It is my major, and I have been studying it for 6 years now. I will soon graduate with a BA in Spanish language and culture then go on to graduate school for a PhD in linguistics. This coming academic year I will be living and studying in Sevilla, Spain. I am familiar with various dialects of Spanish, specifically their differences and the reasons behind them, and the implications of these differences.
Not only do I love the language, but I love to inspire the interest of others. I strongly believe anyone can learn a foreign language, it just takes the proper method of teaching, and inspired interest. I have been tutoring children in various topics for 3 years now; I have experience working with young elementary aged children, high school, and college students. I have tutored native English speakers in the Spanish language as well as aided children growing up in a Spanish speaking home with their school work in English.
I have worked at a "head start" program for young children belonging to less fortunate or refugee families. This program allows children from around ages 2 to 6 to socialize with other children while playing and eating their meals, and learn all the basic fundamentals taught in any kindergarten classroom. A problem they often run into with such programs is the diversity of the children's backgrounds leads to a multitude of different spoken languages (that oftentimes the teachers cannot speak), and the children's inability to speak or understand English. For this reason I worked solely with the children from Spanish speaking backgrounds in order to help them learn English through the day-to-day activities, and aid the relationship between them and the teachers (as there were often misunderstandings or a lack of understanding by both parties).
Anyone, regardless of age or origin, can learn a foreign language; the key is creating an interest and discovering how he or she learns best.