Spanish Classes: Rustington, West Sussex

No. Your materials are provided.

Some people like to have verb tables (including me) and dictionaries. Others like to use their mobile phones.

I’ll make some recommendations, but exercises (and games) have been inspired by a variety of sources and changed/adapted over the years with experience.

The curriculum will be adapted with the class - some weeks we’ll roar ahead, other weeks we may have to go more slowly to deal with a topic

You’ll be asked what you’re learning for/ why. Someone with a holiday home will want different Spanish to someone wanting to enjoy a holiday, different again to someone going backpacking in Latin America for a year!

What we can say is that there will be a mix of pronunciation, grammar made fun (!), and vocabulary.

Life happens. Traffic happens. Work happens. Children and parents happen. Chill!

Get to us as soon as you can.

Be considerate about disturbing fellow learners. Even if you only hear the last 10 minutes, you’ll still get your materials and a chance to catch up.

Try not to make a habit of it, of course, but some journeys are harder than others. You’ve paid for your class. Make the most of the opportunity!

We’ll find a way to catch up.

You’ll have the materials anyway, but that’s not the whole story.

It may be that we have a catch up class, it may be that others will explain what you missed - it’s good for their recall and makes classes less boring and lecture like!

It may be that another class is covering the same topic again, so there may be an opportunity to slip in there.

We’ll always find a way to keep you on track.

You’re not just paying for a class, you’re paying for support (within reason).

We’ve got your back for family emergencies, holidays etc….

You will be encouraged to use your phone for things like vocabulary, and for fact finding for some exercises. They are useful and would almost certainly travel with you in Spain.

But I also ask you to be considerate of your fellow learners.

For example, I ask that you turn phones to silent at the start of class so that we’re not interupted by pings, dings and rings!

If you need to take a call, step outside for a while.

Sometimes!

It’s up to you how much effort you put in - the more you do, the faster you’ll progress.

I do set exercises each week for discussion the following week. We’ll talk about the best ways to do this in class. But I’ll repeat: the more you do, the faster you’ll progress.

This is a partnership. Your willingness to learn and how much you choose to practise and engage with what we’re doing are as important as me making the classes engaging and accessible.

No!!!

Learning and making things stick can be a little harder as we get older.

That’s why I use brain friendly learning techniques.

We’ll look in each class at the things we can do to help us practise and learn.

These classes are for adults, so you must be over 16.

I am planning some ‘dads n daughters, mums n sons’ type sessions, where parents can come along with their older teenagers.

This has worked well before. Keep an eye out on the website and on social media.

Absolutely!

Having a mixed ability class is useful on every level.

We all learn differently and people with an existing knowledge of Spanish test and expand their knowledge by sharing it.

And this is sociable learning - if you’re coming with a friend who is at a different level, why would you want splitting up?

No-one wants a lecture when they’re learning, so we interact, help each other, share what we already know and - importantly - the different way we learned it. This way we meet people’s different learning styles, make it fun, make it memorable.

The skill lies in the teaching - the pressures on your facilitator (me).

(Although you will have to make some effort yourself, of course!)

Talk to me about it. We’ll see why.

No!

Teaching for exam passes is the absolute opposite of what these classes aim to do.

I want you to be able to confidently use what Spanish you have without worrying.

Understanding and being understood are far more important for most of us.

Speaking in front of others can seem intimidating. It’s my job to judge how comfortable you are.

Often that feeling has come from awkward classroom settings.

You ARE going to have to join in - you can’t speak a language without speaking.

But it will be done in a way that doesn’t put you on the spot

You’ll find you get get comfortable with more than just the Spanish and my aim is that we all become a team for helping each other.

Everyone will have a week when things don’t feel so easy, either because of the subject matter or for things happening outside of class.

We’ll work together to make this easy for all of us.

Of course you’ll struggle with SOME subjects. My promise to you is that we’ll keep going until we find the right way to ‘help the penny drop’ for you.

There are ways in every class for you to ask me to slow down or repeat.

And if that doesn’t feel comfortable, you can grab me (not literally!) after or before class, or call me.

In the majority of cases, your perception that everyone else is doing better is self imposed.

If I ever sense you’re having a hard time, I’ll try to find things to help you. We all have that one topiv+c that we find harder than others. Or two. or three. Often the slowest starters suddenly find their rythm, the penny drops and they race ahead.

Don’t give up on yourself. I won’t!

I’ve taught people with dyslexia and people with levels of deafness. We’ll find a way for all of us to progress.

And I can almost guarantee that if you ask a question, either somone in the classs will suddenly look very relieved. Or someone will have learned it a different way and can explain it the way that they were taught.

I’m a good teacher/facilitator, but I’m not arrogant enough to believe that only I know all of the answers. I love a good challenge. (Expect to be given one or two yourself!)

Don’t let it stress you. It is something we all experience when learning something new. The satisfaction we’ll all get when we get over the bump in the road is fabulous. And we’ll all learn something extra along the way.

Wins all round.

Although I studied in Latin America as well as Spain, I teach Castillian (Spanish) Spanish, but do highlight regional differences.

See: Cancellation policy