Maria Fernanda: Mundelein tutor

Certified Tutor

I'm a native Spanish speaker with more than 20 years of experience teaching the language and Literature in Spanish to diverse groups and individuals with different backgrounds. I started in this career path as a convergence of vocation and fortunate serendipity. Even though I had served my classmates as a peer tutor and freshly out of high school I took in a few students referred by friends and acquaintances, I considered myself too young to set a firm foot on a classroom or any other professional teaching scenario. Yet, the opportunity presented itself when I was called as a stand-in for a Spanish teacher on maternity leave. After the replacement period was concluded, I was welcome on board as a Subject Teacher. Immediately, I accepted, since during the brief experience I had fallen in love with the profession and the opportunity to share knowledge, ideas and interactions with other people. Many years have passed since then, and they have solidified my certainties that learning is a shared journey and that for a learning experience to be successful, each student's style, goals, sensibilities, interests and skills have to be considered. Therefore, even when I'm in charge of a group, I strive to design my classes keeping all these factors in mind and I try to tailor, to the best of my capabilities, each session to fulfill individual needs and requirements. The biggest reward I get from teaching? It's always a two-ways path, so I'm convinced with each session I actually receive as much as I give. One of my favorite activities is reading, so if a student ever needs suggestions about books written in Spanish, I'm always happy to provide a list and discuss afterwards. Also, I'm always open to discover more about the places where I live, to become part of their community and enjoy their culture, so commuting and changing scenarios are not a discouragement, but a perk of the job and, why not, an additional learning opportunity!