It started with Chinese

I've always loved languages.

I studied English and French at school, and eventually decided to study Mandarin Chinese at university.

After four years of studying Chinese, I arrived in Shanghai and discovered something I wasn't expecting:

I couldn't even order a taxi.

I knew Chinese.

Or at least, I thought I did.

I'd spent years learning grammar, vocabulary and passing exams. But when I suddenly had to use the language in real life, all that knowledge didn't automatically become communication.

So I changed the way I learned.

I started focusing on the expressions, patterns and strategies that actually helped me communicate.

And everything changed.

Then again in Germany

I spent five years living in Germany, where I learned German all by myself.

My German isn't perfect.

But that was never the point.

I wanted to be able to live my life in German.

And when native speakers started commenting on the expressions I used and how naturally I could express myself, I realised something:

Fluency isn't measured by how many years you've studied a language.

It's measured by what you can actually do with it.

That's how I teach

I started teaching Spanish in China, working with university students, and I've now been teaching for 10 years.

Since then, I've taught more than 1,000 students through schools, universities and online programmes.

I'm a certified Spanish as a foreign language teacher and Instituto Cervantes examiner, but the thing that has shaped my teaching most isn't a certificate.

It's being a language learner myself.

I've experienced what it's like to understand a language but not be able to use it.

I've experienced the frustration of translating in my head.

And I've experienced what happens when a language finally becomes part of your life.

That's what I want for my students.

Language is the vehicle. People are the destination

What I love most about teaching isn't explaining grammar.

It's meeting people.

Getting to know their stories.
Laughing together.
Understanding where they come from.
Seeing their personality change when they stop worrying about making mistakes.

Because every language gives you access to a different way of seeing the world.

I speak Spanish, English, German, Chinese and French, and every language I've learned has made me more curious about the people and cultures behind it.

That's why I teach languages.

Not just to help people speak.

To help them connect.

Home

So Spain isn't just the country I teach about.

It's home.

I'm from Seville, Andalucía, and outside teaching you'll probably find me doing some kind of sport — especially ultimate frisbee, surfing, volleyball, padel or football.

Basically, if there's a ball, disc or board involved, I'm probably interested.

And I think that says something about how I like to teach too:

I want Spanish to be something you actively live, not something you simply study.

Speak real Spanish. Belong in Spain.

If you've chosen Spain as part of your life, you shouldn't have to experience it from the outside.

You already know more Spanish than you think.

My job is to help you use it.