Travel through Spain and Latin America.
If you are Looking for a Spanish Teacher in Melbourne…
Looking for a Spanish teacher in Melbourne who can provide personalised instruction tailored to your individual needs and learning style? Many language schools claim to have native-speaking teachers and offer coursework designed to prepare you for travel abroad. However, these claims often have two fundamental flaws.
The problem with Credentials Based on Cultural Background
One of our teachers at the Travelling Koala is not a native speaker, but living in Latin America and being involved in the area for over a decade have led him to speak the language to a native level, with a few differences.
While many native speakers are excellent, a great deal of them offer teaching services based on the sole fact that they are from a Spanish-speaking country. While these teachers appeal to students based on the idea that their linguistic roots and authenticity validate their teaching abilities, ask yourself: how well do you understand the mechanics of your own language? Would you expect all of your English-speaking friends or relatives to know what a verb, an adjective or a pronoun is? Many native speakers who offer tuition do not understand the structure and grammar of their mother tongues very well. Our teacher, on the other hand, has studied the language from the bottom-up, and has a detailed understanding of the mechanics of Spanish.
The value of the bilingual teacher
In addition, understanding the native language of the student (usually English in this case) is essential for effective teaching. In fact, your Spanish class will be primarily taught in English. It’s important for a teacher to have knowledge of English that enables them to understand the thought process of an English speaker learning Spanish. Shouldn’t they be able to empathise with their students, understand their learning processes better, as well as effectively translate phrases, expressions and words from English to Spanish? Will your native speaker have near-perfect English in addition to perfect Spanish? If a teacher’s second language is not up to scratch, then can you really trust their ability to teach you a second language?
Finally, in a more general sense, teaching takes a certain level of skill and communication, and is not related to linguistic descent. Will your teacher be able to engage you and capture your interest? Will they know what it takes to motivate you and inspire you to excel?
Native or non Native Teachers?
We must stress that we are neither endorsing native nor non-native speakers as language teachers, but as you can see, teaching clearly involves more than just originating from a certain country. Teaching is first and foremost about communication, and this above all else what we base our teaching policy on at our school: excellent communication.
We would encourage you to take all of the above into account when seeking a school or teacher who can effectively teach you Spanish.
One of our teachers in Melbourne who believes that teaching first and foremost is about communication and in-depth knowledge of both languages.
The Problem with Spanish Courses in Melbourne
A Standard Approach by most Spanish Teachers in Melbourne
What is the problem with materials offered by most schools and tutors, which are usually taken from pre-published works? While many are excellent, there are a couple of problems. Firstly, is the cookie-cutter, generic nature of these materials. Most contain vague explanations about grammar, throw in a few exercises as well as some topics related to travel for good measure. While the inferior ones are best ignored for this reason, even the best, most well-rounded, best explained books often fail to captivate their audience 100%, because they are invariably published overseas, with the needs of students in the US and Europe in mind. Finally, they often fail to engage the student because the person interpreting in front of the class did not write the materials from which they are teaching.
A Personalised Approach by a Spanish Instructor in Melbourne
This brings us to the second problem with Spanish courses in Melbourne – the interpretation of the materials. What captivates you more when you hear a lecture or presentation, someone reading from a book, or someone who really knows their topic and who has given a presentation from the depths of the heart and mind?
The Travelling Koala uses a number of materials which our teacher has written from scratch. They come from the mind and heart, drawing on years of experience reading about and teaching Spanish. Moreover, many of them contain stories based around real characters in Melbourne, something you will not find at another school. This is a product we believe in. Have a look at our list of group courses or individual tuition.
Be sure to check out some of our favourite resources for learning Spanish. Many of them are free dictionaries such as Wordreference, while we love others because they are free of gimmicks, such as Anki or Quizlet. Check out our philosophy towards learning another language.
Finding the right Spanish teacher in Melbourne is essential!