Author: Nika

Ya se acercan las fiestas más señaladas del año. Seguramente ya tendrás la mente en el árbol de navidad, el muérdago, las luces, el turrón, los villancicos y en…

¿Qué demonios le voy a regalar a [insertar nombre de persona conocida a la que no tienes ni idea de qué regalar]?

¿Otra vez un perfume? Ya van tres años seguidos de bufandas. ¿Chocolate? Muy impersonal. ¿Algo para la casa? Va a acabar en el trastero sin salir de la caja. ¡¡SOCORRO!! ¿Qué le regalo?

No te preocupes. Te cubrimos las espaldas

Todos tenemos ese tipo de personas en nuestra vida que hace que dependamos de la inspiración divina para saber qué regalarle por Navidad. Deja que te echemos una mano (aunque no vengamos de mundos celestiales ni del polo norte).

Y si pudieras encontrar algo que le

• aportara experiencias enriquecedoras,
• ampliara sus oportunidades laborales,
• le facilitara la comunicación allá donde fuese,

y todo ello pasándolo bien y además condensado en un solo regalo Un regalo diferente, sí, has acertado: Clases de inglés.

Has acertado: un regalo diferente, clases de inglés

Hablamos de regalar clases de inglés en Las Palmas o de forma online estas Navidades. Más allá de ser un regalo original, es una forma de invertir en que una persona importante para ti tenga un mejor futuro y pueda comunicarse con mayor facilidad y precisión en cualquier parte. Y, además, todos sabemos lo complicado que es conseguir que te sirvan el café como te gusta fuera de España.

Regala un voucher de NikaTeacher por tan solo:

35€ una clase individual.

70€ cuatro clases en grupo.

140€ cuatro clases individuales.

Si aún no estás seguro o quieres hacer tu regalo aun más personalizado, no dudes en informarte sobre nuestros vouchers de regalo en NikaTeacher. Podemos orientarte sobre las mejores opciones para aprender inglés para esa persona a la que tanto aprecias. Y si no, siempre podremos decirte dónde conseguir una bonita bufanda o recomendarte un buen perfume.

Si ya has regalado alguna vez clases de idiomas, o te las han regalado a ti, ¡cuéntanos tu experiencia!

Es definitivamente un regalo diferente para estas Navidades 🙂

Some people say don’t wish your life away, but when learning a language, you need to know the future tenses and it’s something to look forward to!

It can sometimes be confusing ? when using the future tenses, so here is a step by step guide to the future. Infinity, and beyond language learners!

What do we use the future tenses for?

Let’s start slowly slowly with will, shall and going to.  We use WILL for the following:

Predictions, When do you think you will take the exam The climate probably won’t change much in the next few years.  When we talk about what we believe, we use will and won’t. 

Future facts, I’ll be at work on Monday (contraction I’ll – I will).

Instant decisions, I’ll help you carry the shopping, I’ll answer the door.

Promises, I’ll remember your birthday next time, Sorry, I won’t do it again.

And finally, Offers and suggestions, Shall I cook dinner tonight? Where shall we go for lunch tomorrow?  We only use shall with I and we when making a suggestion.

GOING TO, Plans, I’m going to buy a new car next week, He’s going to call me tomorrow. Remember! Going to is an INTENTION, the plan can change.  Predictions, it’s going to rain later, England aren’t going to win the world cup.  These predictions are based on evidence, for example, it’s grey and cloudy so it’s going to rain ☔, England are rubbish at football so they aren’t going to win.

Will, shall and going to are all followed by the infinitive.

Present Continuous

Present continuous.  When learning English, this can sometimes be difficult to get your head around, but it’s pretty straightforward. Whereas GOING TO is an intention, Present Continuous is AN ARRANGEMENT.  I’m flying ✈ to England at Christmas, It’s a plan, I booked the flight, and it won’t change.  I’m having an English lesson on Thursday.  He’s meeting his bank manager tomorrow. We all know that you don’t want to change your English lesson or that important meeting with the bank manager!

Future Perfect

Now, here we get down to business, because this is where the fun starts.  Once you understand this, it will be plain sailing ⛵…..

Future perfect.  We use the future perfect; will have plus past participle to say that something will be finished before a certain time in the future.  For example, I will have passed my exam ? by Summer, You will have learnt all the future tenses by the time you have read all this blog!  You can also use a timeline, in six months’ time, in a week’s time, in a year. To form the negative, won’t have plus past participle. I won’t have built my house by next week.  I will have built my house by next year.  Just remember, the task will have been finished.

Future perfect continuous.  We use the future perfect continuous; will be plus verb-ing to say that an action will be in progress in the future.  Here we go, Next week, I will be sitting on the beach ? in Las Palmas.  I will be sitting in a café, drinking beer.  Sounds fabulous!  So what’s the difference between will plus infinitive and will be verb-ing?  We will have dinner at 8.00 o’clock, this means dinner starts at 8.00 o’clock, please be on time.  We will be having dinner at 8 o’clock, dinner started at 7.45 so at 8.00 o’clock, it’s in progress.

Super easy yeah?

So here goes your learners challenge, can you tell us…

When will you take the English exam?

What are you going to do next weekend?

What are you doing at Christmas?

What will you have achieved by New Year?

What will you be doing on New Years Eve?

Maybe you want to take a language exam, maybe you want to travel or study abroad or maybe you just want to improve your language skills. Whatever the reason is, you have decided to learn a new language and an exciting move towards becoming an amazing communicator.
Speaking another language gives you a huge amount of confidence, but you might be thinking “oh I can buy a book and learn from that”, that’s fine but it’s not a great way to gain that all important knowledge that you can learn in a classroom. So, why learn a language in a classroom when I can read a book at home?

Why learn a language in a classroom?

Here at NikaTeacher, whether you are learning English or Spanish, we’ve got your back.  Our classes are tailor made to help you and only you.  We know exactly how to teach the grammar needed at your level so that you are not overwhelmed when you start learning. We teach you how to understand (rather than translate) and communicate (rather than copy), we drill vocabulary so that you don’t forget it and sometimes throw in a bit of role-play to prepare you for the outside world of speaking another language.

Why learn a language from a book?

Books these days are great, but can they give you feedback? No.  Can they help you with pronunciation? No. Do they know when you are ready to move up a level? No.  Can they give you a high five? They would be magic books if they could!

As language teachers, we at NikaTeacher have sometimes come across students who have been learning from a book, and what we have to do is unravel everything they’ve learnt and start from scratch.  Basically start again.  The same applies to learning from YouTube.  YouTubers can’t correct your mistakes or push you that little bit further as you improve.  This is what we can do at NikaTeacher.

Staying motivated!

If I learn from a book, I can read it whenever I want.  Ok, that’s fine, but will you?  Do you have the motivation?  What’s great about learning at NikaTeacher is we are super flexible and can work around you and your schedule. Having language classes gives you that extra boost of motivation and also makes sure you practise what you’ve learnt.

Learning in a classroom will help you improve your speaking skills!

Whether you are taking individual classes or group classes, when you are learning at NikaTeacher we help you to think on your feet, there is no escape! You will be speaking on the spot, so you are constantly practising your listening and fluency skills and we are here to help you with a slight correction or structure that you need. 

Why should you choose to learn in a classroom?

You might be surprised how much fun you have in class!  It’s not always about grammar rules, spelling and phonics. We balance our classes so that you are learning but also interacting in classes, bringing the language alive.  We have some really interesting debates in class and once you start communicating your ideas, you will be ready to use your language in any situation. The beauty of learning a language at NikaTeacher is the size of the classes, there are maximum six students and you are all in the same boat, so even if you are shy, you don’t have to speak in front of a big crowd and you are not just sitting there listening, everybody has a voice and everybody gets to use theirs.

You don’t get that with a book now do you?

If you have any further questions about classes at Nikateacher, let us know in the commnets below and we’ll get right back to you.

In today’s blog, I’ll present the Spanish language exams DELE and explain what they are, why you should do them and how to pass the exams. I’ll also share my experience of working at Instituto Cervantes in my home country, Slovenia.

My experience working in Instituto Cervantes in Slovenia

I’m finishing my master’s degree in Spanish language at the University of Ljubljana, in Slovenia. Last semester I chose to complete a practical placement that counts as an optative subject at my faculty. I worked at Instituto Cervantes in Ljubljana, which is one of many similar institutions in charge of promoting and spreading the Spanish language throughout the world. I was predominantly working on the promotion of the DELE exams and I really enjoyed the fact that work had to be completed in pairs. My colleague and I had to translate explanatory materials from Spanish to Slovenian and we also prepared a presentation for high school students, informing them about the possibility of doing the DELE exams. I liked the experience very much because it was a new challenge and I was working in a very friendly and Spanish-speaking environment.

What is DELE and what should you know before you apply

DELE (“Diploma de español lengua extranjera”) exams are the official exams that award you a certificate, which proves your level of Spanish. There are different levels that you can obtain: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 or C2. I suggest you take a look at the official site of Instituto Cervantes Spain, find your city and see what’s required for certain levels. You can also check for the dates of exams in your city. Here’s the website of Ljubljana’s center, where you can see the description of required levels. You can read them in Slovenian or Spanish. If you live in Gran Canaria, we will provide more information for you: you just have to ask.

And the best part of the DELE exam is this: if you pass the exam now, your certificate is valid forever and you don’t have to pass the exam again. Once you’ve achieved a certain level, you’re certified on this level for eternity! So, the first benefit is unlimited validity and here you can see some other benefits from obtaining DELE Certificate:

·        It has an unlimited validity

·        It’s an official document that is recognized internationally

·        All versions of Spanish are applicable (e.g. Mexican Spanish)

·    It provides access to universities, official language schools, business schools and public administration jobs in Spain

·      The exams are consistent with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

Here in Las Palmas there is no center Instituto Cervantes but it is possible to take the DELE exams. And if you don’t know how to make all this process on your own then we have a solution for you. If you take a course of Spanish with us, then besides the classes, we will also help you with the inscription and complete this process for you.

3 top tips to pass the exam

It’s important to pass the exam on your first try since it is not free of charge and as you’ve challenged yourself to do it. Here I’ll give you 3 top tips to help you pass the exam:

1.    I especially recommend you to take a look at the old DELE exams that are published on the Instituto Cervantes websites, finish them and see how much you still have to learn before you apply or you can verify that you know enough to apply now

2.    Prepare for the exam doing exercises of different types as grammar, reading comprehension ?, listening comprehension, and others, because the exam is composed of different exercises as well. You can prepare on your own , but you can also prepare with us. We offer you Spanish classes where you can ask your teacher to focus completely on the preparation for the DELE exams.

3.   I recommend you take a course before going to an exam, because you will be more confident about yourself and about your knowledge if you are in contact with Spanish before taking an exam. That will definitely give you a better preparation. Here at NikaTeacher we will be happy to help you prepare for the exam and we offer the possibility to take care of your inscription process if you choose to have classes with us. Our teachers are very well prepared and very nice people, so you can join pleasure with work. You can have fun in the classes and at the same time you can improve your knowledge and obtain a certificate. 

But most important for passing the exam is to trust in yourself and your knowledge and come to the exam relaxed and well-rested, which will help you concentrate and obtain better results.

Also, as our teacher Alicia says: If you are in a real rush for certifying your level, you can also opt for SIELE which is an online exam , but we will tell you more about it on another occasion.  

And now I want to hear from you. Have you ever thought about doing an exam DELE ? Do you think that it is useful to have this kind of certificate nowadays?

ÁNIMO y MUCHA SUERTE!

Eva

ESCUELA DE PROFESORAS

El blog de hoy está destinado a ti, mi querida profesora.

Tal y como existen escuelas de jefas, escuelas de fotógrafas, escuelas de cocineras, quiero introducir la escuela de profesoras, un lugar donde podemos compartir cuestiones de enseñanza, didáctica y relaciones inter-personales en el aula.

Puede que se quede en un solo blog o que desarrollemos un espacio lleno de amor, conocimiento y trucos en la enseñanza.

Si ya te están brillando los ojos de la ilusión, quiero que me lo digas (en la calle, por privado o comentando abajo).

Enseñar idiomas

Me siento ilusionada porque tengo un amigo en Eslovenia que tiene una academia de idiomas y desde que me conoce lleva diciéndome: Nika, deberías enseñar a los que enseñan y puedo decir que ¡por fin ha llegado el momento!

Hay ideas que tardan su tiempo en desarrollarse y esta es definitivamente una de ellas.

Sinceramente, es la primera vez que me dirijo a las profesoras y no al proceso de aprendizaje como tal. Anteriormente ya hemos hablado en el blog sobre los tipos de alumnos, sobre la metodología y sobre otras cuestiones importantes en la clase, pero esta vez quiero que sea más personal: De profe a profe

Enseñar = crear un mundo mejor dando poder a otros

Creo que para enseñar un idioma como español o inglés, existen muchos libros, manuales, cuadernos de ejercicios y gramática que nos pueden servir de referencia.

Sin embargo, en este blog quiero hablar sobre aspectos humanos relacionados con la enseñanza. Quiero introducir mi experiencia desde la práctica ya que toda la magia de la enseñanza ocurre cuando entendemos la enseñanza como una relación entre humanos donde el profesor crea un mundo mejor dando poder a los demás a través de lo que enseña.

3 preguntas fundamentales

Durante mis últimos 5 años en Gran Canaria he hecho muchas entrevistas, he conocido a muchos profesionales en el sector (profesores expertos, profesores con una amplia experiencia, profesores universitarios sin experiencia, personas sin estudios y con años de experiencia, etc.) y tanto como coordinadora como profesora, me he dado cuenta de que es esencial empezar por las 3 preguntas fundamentales para un profesor.

Las 3 preguntas más importantes son:

1. Cómo acercarse a los alumnos
2. Cómo usar el material de los libros
3. Cómo corregir los errores de los alumnos

Antes de escribir más sobre ello, quiero que entres en los comments abajo y me respondas a estas preguntas.

Una vez que tenga tu punto de vista, haré un resumen de las mejores prácticas.

¡Qué ilusión saber lo que opinas!

Por ahora, ¡Hasta PRONTO!

Nika