Victoria
Certified Tutor
I was born in Colombia South America, and Spanish is my first language. I love to teach. I was teaching in Colombia at the Universidad Javeriana. I was successfully teaching and tutoring different Spanish levels for undergraduate and graduate students at Arizona State University. I also have experience in teaching children, youth, and adults. In addition I am a Spanish translator.
I am currently teaching a phonetics course in Bogota several times a year through my company.
Teaching and learning a language is a challenge for teachers and students because second language acquisition is quite a complex process. Language teachers need to be able to choose from multiple teaching options that are in the professional literature and find out which of these choices are best.
Teaching Spanish language to university students at ASU has enriched my experience as a language teacher. I have learned what teaching approaches and methodologies are more effective, in general, I found that if they like the activity they learn faster.
As a native Spanish speaker, I place emphasis on pronunciation, especially the pronunciation of cognates. Most of my students say they appreciate my efforts to teach them how to pronounce well, and they feel they are doing better by the end of the semester. For me it is very satisfying to see a student grasp the language and reach their goals.
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Undergraduate Degree: Arizona State University - Bachelors, Translation
Graduate Degree: Arizona State University - Master of Arts, Linguistics
State Certified Teacher
Playing golf, dance, and handcrafted accessories.
- AP Spanish Language & Culture
- AP Spanish Literature and Culture
- Conversational Spanish
- Languages
- Spanish
- Spanish 1
- Spanish 2
- Spanish 3
- Spanish 4
What is your teaching philosophy?
Teaching and learning a language is a challenge for teachers and students because second language acquisition is quite a complex process. Language teachers need to be able to choose from multiple teaching options that are in the professional literature, and find out which of these choices are best. As a native Spanish speaker, I place emphasis on pronunciation, especially the pronunciation of cognates.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Talk with the student and find out his expectations of learning.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
He is an independent learner and I just help him to find the answers. In the case of language, I give him tools to understand how Spanish works.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
For learning Spanish, I help the student to learn the language in the way they like most. For example, watching a video or seeing illustrations and describing them in Spanish.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
By repetition they will learn.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I work with them sentence by sentence.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Find out what they like most.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
Make it easy for them.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Asking questions that they have to answer by themselves.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Going step by step.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
They have to tell me what they need from me.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
Following his requirements.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
It depends on the student. If they need help with the homework, I have to see their textbook. If they need to learn the language, we pursue a program according to those needs.