Elsa Cristina A

About me

¡Bienvenido/a! to my Spanish. A brief introduction about myself but you are very welcome to ask more. I'm a teacher but I'm also a writer, translator and editor. Having taught and worked in international environments I understand what challenges Spanish could pose for different students and mother tongues, which is a great help in my teaching. I love languages, linguistics and etymology which I use when teaching. My focus is always on you, the student. The most important is to keep you motivated, and that you can improve and learn in the way that fits you. Many say that they want to speak like a native, and I believe they mean that they want to be understood and of course we will correct all misunderstandings, but if there is an accent to your pronunciation it doesn't matter as long as you are understood, right? On the contrary it brings out you, your origin and your culture. That's beautiful to me! We all learn in different ways, some are visual learners and some learn better through listening, some are both. This platform provides all options and usually I use a combination of tools to teach. After 12 years of age we learn with the left brain. If you chose me as a tutor we'll quickly figure out your "logic" and what is best for you to remember what you learn. Most need practice and I love to talk so that's great for me :) I usually correct my students as we speak. We dive into grammar at that moment of asking. That's when the brain is receptive which is very important. Questions want answers! I could add some history context (my students usually love it) to understand the logic behind the grammar, so that you remember better. I give feedback at the end of my classes, and homework if you have time to self-study (recommended). I will ask you to keep a notebook handy and write (the old way :) as my experience (and science) shows that we learn a language better through writing by hand. I live in Spain but sometimes I travel with my partner. I'm passionate about holistic health and studied Ayurveda in India as well as Eastern philosophy and ancient languages. For the moment the biblical words are fascinating to me in comparison with Pali and Sanskrit. I'm from Madrid, Spain, my mother is Swedish so I have two mother tongues. I graduated from High School in California. I hold a Masters degree in International Economics from the University of Stockholm, with History French and Spanish for economists. Later I studied Orthomolecular Medicine, Nutrition and Ayurveda in India and in Spain Apart from teaching languages I worked as an authorized city guide in five languages, and as an interpreter. After university my jobs were in macroeconomics International Market Strategist and Communication. I ended my career in that sector as a Nordic Corporate Brand Manager for Telia My heart lay with natural health so I re-schooled and worked in the natural medical field until I started my own business as natural health expert and management consultant in 2011 in Marbella, Spain, with great partners and co-founders. Believe it or not health is in the language! I lived in Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, France, US, India, Mexico and Thailand, and travelled to many more. My hobbies are my work and to learn and grow! I do yoga, meditate and grow herbs, and I love being a mother in Mother Nature. We live outdoors as much as we can. In Asia we explore a sustainable, 100% outdoors lifestyle with our invented "Prana-Pods" to sleep under the stars, and a monkey-proof kitchen :) Together we have published five of our own books. We focus on socio-economic issues correlated to health. None of our books is a best-seller but we love to write as a most loved creative output. I'm working on my first fiction at the moment. That's all I may write for now. If you read this far and I haven't bored you by now, I hope you book a class so I can get to know you too. Bring any additional questions you might have. Hope to see you in class! My teaching is always individualized. I hold TEFL/TESOL, Preply and CPD certificates. The first question I usually ask my student is what s/he wants to achieve. Some want to improve their conversation skills, learn specific vocabulary, others want to make Power-Point presentations or perfect their writing. Whatever the goal is, we'll make a plan accordingly. I'm not an expert at specific exams but I'm happy to guide you to other Preply tutors with those skills. I have taught languages back and forth during my professional life starting as a university student at Medborgarskolan in Stockholm, a language institute, at the Mexican Embassy and as a translator. I've taught at High School level and later through other institutes to professionals and individuals from all parts of the world. Teaching has been a part of my whole work-life and I cannot emphasize enough how important motivation is! Hence, I focus on yours. I love teaching and seeing how my students improve and grow. I'm not too picky about pronunciation as long as you are understood. Language is about communicating isn't it? What is more beautiful than people from different cultures and backgrounds that communicate with their authentic selves, including an authentic accent? "Autentico" is important for us Spaniards. Language is culture and I believe you always learn about the native speakers when you learn a language. I have taught professionals within my fields for some 35 years. My pedagogic skills and methodology comes from all those years of practice. I have taught everything from lawyers, nurses, kids, enthusiasts, teachers and Buddhist monks and I love them all. We speak about everything in between heaven and earth. My Masters is from the University of Stockholm with Spanish and French for Economists. But more important is that I have worked and lived in different language areas and I understand the challenges Spanish can pose. My professional life has been as a communicator and I used all languages, with emphasis on use. It's a central part of my entire professional life. I believe I'm a good teacher for those students who want to use their languages for a specific task - professionals, artists, scholars. Maybe you aim to set up a subsidiary in another country, or for those who simply want to perfect their conversation skills to open new possibilities in their lives. I teach all levels. I work on grammar, pronunciation, and intonation "as we go", and specific idiomatic methods depending on the student's mother tongue. I teach both written and verbal communication skills and efficiency is always my goal. The simpler the sentence the better, as long as the message is delivered. Velocity is power in language too! I love Preply because you can book a first lesson so that we can get acquainted. It's a great opportunity for you and me to meet and see if we are a good match. You can ask me to clarify any doubts about my teaching. I can see if you can achieve your goals with me, or if you should book another teacher on the platform. Thanks for reading this far. I hope to see you in class. If we are a good match I promise we are gonna have fun and you'll learn quickly. Together we'll make a good study plan for you right away to get you started, entirely based on what you want and have time for. So, think about what you want before we meet? Oh, and bring a notebook :) Thanks for reading and hope to see you in class EC

I speak

• fiber_manual_recordEnglish(Native)
• fiber_manual_recordSpanish; Castilian(Native)