Learn Spanish in your place in The Canaries and back home.
Hi there,
My name is Rafael.
I have taught Spanish to native English speakers, as well as other nationalities since 2001.
I was born in Madrid, where I grew up. I obtained a 4-year degree in Marketing, Commercial Management and Business Administration in E.S.E.M., in Madrid.
Professional experience
I worked in the hydraulic pumps sector in Spain for 8 years. Initially, as a Sales Manager, in the Extremadura region. A couple of years later, within the same company, I was appointed as the Product Manager for a new line of pumps that the company wanted to introduce in the Spanish market. After approximately 2 more years, I moved to a competitor, where I was the Regional Sales Director in the Levante region.
My stay in the UK
In my first year, I lived as a student. I used to have lessons for 4 hours a day with other foreign students in ECAT (Eastbourne College of Arts and Technology) in Eastbourne. I passed the Cambridge Proficiency of English in the year 2002.
During the rest of my stay in the UK, I worked as a Spanish teacher, privately and in several colleges – ECAT, Sussex Downs College in Lewes and Hailsham Community College in Hailsham -, all in Adult Education. I also obtained the teaching title City and Guilds 7307.
In October 2012, fed up with the cold, rainy, dark and windy winters, I came to live in the Canaries where I have continued to teach Spanish.
How I work
I teach privately on a 1 to 1 basis. I work through the video-conference App Skype. I understand that many of you are familiar with Skype as a means of keeping in touch with friends and family but it is also excellent for teaching. It is free of charge, easy to download and very user-friendly.
I discovered it because a Dutch student of mine, Bjorn, had to return to Holland accepting an irresistible offer to become the Managing Director of an e-commerce sports clothing company. As he wanted to continue with his lessons, we started using Skype and I immediately noticed that small sessions of 30 – 45 minutes, or maximum 1 hour, worked very well. The sessions were very “crisp” and smooth. We continued the lessons with the same format and now we use the note pad provided by Skype on the side of the image, for new vocabulary and grammatical explanations. These notes are saved automatically and the student can refer to them at any time in their study and revision time.
Gradually, I started to move all my students to Skype. Although some students were reluctant at first, now, they all prefer Skype for its flexibility and convenience.
The method I use depends on the student´s level and requirements. I tailor the lessons accordingly in order to meet their needs.
The number of lessons varies. It is always the student who sets the pace. Apart from extreme cases, your progress will depend on your commitment and consistency. The two main problems that I regularly find are:
The student lives only within an English speaking community.
The student does not study, review or consolidate regularly.
My advice is to spend, in between lessons, half an hour every day going over vocabulary, tenses, and all the grammar parts taught previously. I also advise, at some point, to start reading Spanish newspapers, watch Spanish TV and start interacting with native local Spanish speakers.
Video Testimonials & Demonstrations
I invite you to see and hear English video testimonials of some of my students, expressing their views on having Spanish lessons with me and giving demonstrations in Spanish where you can evaluate the fluency they have achieved, within their different levels (click on the flags under the students´photos).
Get in touch
Finally, I would like to invite you to contact me through e-mail or WhatsApp message. We can arrange a suitable day and time when we can have a conversation on Skype to discuss your personal requirements and how I work (stages, grammar sections, etc.) and any other aspects that you need to know in order to make a decision.
I do not want to finish this presentation without thanking, alphabetically, my students and good friends Carly, Frank, Homera, Marie, Steve and Wendy for having helped me with their generous contributions.
I look forward to hearing from you
Yours sincerely
Hi there,
My name is Rafael.
I have taught Spanish to native English speakers, as well as other nationalities since 2001.
I was born in Madrid, where I grew up. I obtained a 4-year degree in Marketing, Commercial Management and Business Administration in E.S.E.M., in Madrid.
Professional experience
I worked in the hydraulic pumps sector in Spain for 8 years. Initially, as a Sales Manager, in the Extremadura region. A couple of years later, within the same company, I was appointed as the Product Manager for a new line of pumps that the company wanted to introduce in the Spanish market. After approximately 2 more years, I moved to a competitor, where I was the Regional Sales Director in the Levante region.
My stay in the UK
In my first year, I lived as a student. I used to have lessons for 4 hours a day with other foreign students in ECAT (Eastbourne College of Arts and Technology) in Eastbourne. I passed the Cambridge Proficiency of English in the year 2002.
During the rest of my stay in the UK, I worked as a Spanish teacher, privately and in several colleges – ECAT, Sussex Downs College in Lewes and Hailsham Community College in Hailsham -, all in Adult Education. I also obtained the teaching title City and Guilds 7307.
In October 2012, fed up with the cold, rainy, dark and windy winters, I came to live in the Canaries where I have continued to teach Spanish.
How I work
I teach privately on a 1 to 1 basis. I work through the video-conference App Skype. I understand that many of you are familiar with Skype as a means of keeping in touch with friends and family but it is also excellent for teaching. It is free of charge, easy to download and very user-friendly.
I discovered it because a Dutch student of mine, Bjorn, had to return to Holland accepting an irresistible offer to become the Managing Director of an e-commerce sports clothing company. As he wanted to continue with his lessons, we started using Skype and I immediately noticed that small sessions of 30 – 45 minutes, or maximum 1 hour, worked very well. The sessions were very “crisp” and smooth. We continued the lessons with the same format and now we use the note pad provided by Skype on the side of the image, for new vocabulary and grammatical explanations. These notes are saved automatically and the student can refer to them at any time in their study and revision time.
Gradually, I started to move all my students to Skype. Although some students were reluctant at first, now, they all prefer Skype for its flexibility and convenience.
The method I use depends on the student´s level and requirements. I tailor the lessons accordingly in order to meet their needs.
The number of lessons varies. It is always the student who sets the pace. Apart from extreme cases, your progress will depend on your commitment and consistency. The two main problems that I regularly find are:
The student lives only within an English speaking community.
The student does not study, review or consolidate regularly.
My advice is to spend, in between lessons, half an hour every day going over vocabulary, tenses, and all the grammar parts taught previously. I also advise, at some point, to start reading Spanish newspapers, watch Spanish TV and start interacting with native local Spanish speakers.
Video Testimonials & Demonstrations
I invite you to see and hear English video testimonials of some of my students, expressing their views on having Spanish lessons with me and giving demonstrations in Spanish where you can evaluate the fluency they have achieved, within their different levels (click on the flags under the students´photos).
Get in touch
Finally, I would like to invite you to contact me through e-mail or WhatsApp message, see below. We can arrange a suitable day and time when we can have a conversation on Skype to discuss your personal requirements and how I work (stages, grammar sections, etc.) and any other aspects that you need to know in order to make a decision.
I do not want to finish this presentation without thanking, alphabetically, my students and good friends Carly, Frank, Homera, Marie, Steve and Wendy for having helped me with their generous contributions.
