¡Estudiante de español en la Universidad de Manchester que ofrece clases de español para principiantes, GCSE, A Level y lecciones de conversación informal para adultos!

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• Do you speak this language fluently because of your origins or because a teacher inspired you to learn?

  I have always wanted to be able to speak another language. My mum lived in Spain for ten years and speaks Spanish fluently, which inspired me to learn as well.

• Can you name a living, historical or fictional character that you think is the emblematic representative of the language's culture?

  Spanish is spoken in many different countries, so it is difficult to pick one person who is emblematic of the language’s culture as a whole. The Cuban singer Celia Cruz is emblematic of the rich criss-crossing cultures of Spanish speakers in the Caribbean and the United States. During the first part of her career in Cuba, she sang multiple Afro-Cuban music styles, especially guaracha. After the Cuban revolution she settled in the United States where she became influential and beloved in the Salsa scene. One of my favourite albums is Celia & Johnny from 1974, which I recommend to anyone who is learning Spanish.

• Is there a typical word, phrase, tradition or behavior in the language that you particularly like?

  My friend and I walked past a man on the street who had a bird of prey on his shoulder. After making eye contact, he talked to us for 20 minutes about his bird and when he left, my friend turned to me and said, “cada loco con su tema”, which means ‘every crazy person with their thing’, or ‘each to their own’. Thanks to that bird, I never forgot that phrase!

• Why does speaking this language matter to you?

  There are hundreds of millions of native Spanish speakers in the world, and so speaking Spanish opens up so many possibilities, especially that of connecting with someone that you otherwise would be unable to communicate with.

• What is the main difficulty in learning this language and what can help the process of learning?

  In my experience the main difficulty for most students is a lack of confidence speaking, especially when learning via the academic route of school and higher education. The way to overcome this is to exercise the muscle from the beginning by learning songs and finding a teacher that forces you to speak in every lesson.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your language learning or your days at school.

  When I was in sixth form I had an amazing Spanish teacher who had a big impact on me. He played us the song ‘Duerme negrito’ by Victor Jara and he told us the story of Victor Jara and of the song. He explained to us the use of ‘negro/a/ito/a’ (meaning ‘black’ or ‘little black’) in Spanish as a term of endearment for someone of any race, which he then used to talk about the different concepts of race and racism in Latin America vs. English speaking countries like the UK and the US. One of the reasons I like to use songs in my lessons is because listening and singing along ‘Duerme negrito’ triggers everything I learned about the life and death of Victor Jara, the social reality described in the song, and the use of ‘negro/a/ito/a’ in Latin America.

• How has travel or a specific trip helped you to increase your skill and knowledge of the language?

  When I was 18 I went to Madrid to stay with a friend of my mums and to do an intensive Spanish course. The lessons were completely in Spanish because the class was full of people from all over the world. It was so much fun and I gained so much more confidence in my day-to-day practical Spanish.

• What makes you a Superprof in language?

  I always tailor my lessons to the student, and their feedback has been that the lessons are fun, interesting, and well structured.