Hola, ¿qué tal?
Soy profesora de español y me llamo Carolyn Giannini. I fell in love with Spanish in college when I realized I could understand the gist of conversations around me, and I decided to major to Spanish. I went to Spain and immersed myself in the Spanish speaking world. I was hooked: the people, the food (especially tapas!), all aspects of the culture...this experience would not have been the same without the ability to connect with people in their own language. Much later, I crewed on a sailboat in Central America with my husband (él, capitán, y yo, cocinera). This allowed me to travel throughout Central America and Mexico and become well-versed in local expressions and customs. And food.
For 18 years, I taught Spanish in a public school to share my love of the Spanish language and culture with my students, and to emphasize the importance of proficiency in a second language.
Un poco más...
How I learned to speak: blunders, mistakes, leaving my comfort zone, swallowing my pride, taking risks, mistakingly using words with strangely off-color meanings, nodding and smiling, pretending not to notice snickers and puzzled glances.
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How I stay fluent and up-to-date: Podcasts, movies, news in Spanish, songs, Spanish speaking family and friends, speaking Spanish any chance the opportunity presents itself. I even impose unsolicited mini-courses onto unsuspecting car passengers.
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Why I can relate to you: You’ll be learning from someone who has been through the process of learning a new language as a non-native speaker of that language. This has helped me anticipate confusing aspects of learning a language, and minimize the frustration. And I know you have a busy schedule. We can work around that.​
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My Qualifications:
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Massachusetts Professional Teaching License - M.A.T. Spanish
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18 years teaching novice to advanced levels of Spanish in a public high school.
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2 years in Spain, living/studying/working/speaking/being immersed in the culture
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6 years working as crew on sailboat with Mexican family
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My entire post-high school life as an avid Spanish learner