Input tags: Learn Spanish in Cartagena, Classes and Teaching, English, Spanish, Languages, Testimonials

Impressions of Cartagena and Nueva Lengua Bruce Miller

I did not know what to expect before coming to Colombia and Cartagena. I had some experience in other South American countries (eg Argentina, Peru and Chile) but visiting Cartagena was a complete adventure. I am happy to report that I have been pleasantly surprised here. I was hoping to go to the Caribbean later this year, probably Puerto Rico, to learn more about the history and culture of the Caribbean, but it turns out that this part of Colombia is even better than being on a Caribbean island. Like other parts of the Caribbean, Cartagena has beaches and water, but I confess that my main reason for spending this year in various South American countries is to learn as much as possible about the history and culture of this fascinating continent. As such, the African experience and slavery in Cartagena were of great interest to me. What makes being here even more exciting is the historical connection to what the Spanish were doing in the rest of South America.

Classes and Teaching

Since retiring from over 40 years in the international medical electronics industry, I have spent over six years teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL / TEFL), with three years of business English experience in Prague and three years of experience academic in English at a university in Istanbul. . From those experiences and 70 years of being a student, I know that a school can only provide a platform from which teachers have the opportunity to function, or not. After a school provides what it can, a student's learning experience is good or bad, depending almost entirely on the teacher's knowledge and ability to communicate new concepts. In this sense, Sirle is a fantastic teacher. I am a retired business manager who has been accused of being very picky when I don't get what I want. Nueva Lengua It is not cheap, so I wanted a lot from my individual classes, and Sirle more than met my expectations. After learning that I only had a “beginner” level of Spanish, Sirle immediately adjusted his focus and was able to conduct our sessions in a combination of modified Spanish to my level, along with fluent English, when full explanations of difficult topics arrived. far. beyond my limited capacity. She quickly translated history texts written for fluent readers in Spanish so that I could benefit from its content. Although I did not ask him, he took the initiative to introduce grammar instruction in past and future Spanish verb forms. She developed a syllabus specifically for me and it always came prepared, usually with handwritten notes, which she used to help maintain continuity and purpose throughout each session. Frequently, as part of the coverage of a topic, we would watch videos, both before and after the discussions, that she had previously selected and screened. As I mentioned before, my main reasons for coming to Cartagena and taking private sessions at Nueva Lengua They were learning about (1) the history of Gran Colombia, (2) the unique culture of this region of South America, and (3) improving my Spanish. Sirle has fully met my expectations to achieve these goals. In my opinion, she would make an excellent college professor and should consider going back to school to get her PhD. I feel very lucky to have had her as my instructor. If you want to learn Spanish in individual lessons in Cartagena Colombia, Nueva Lengua it's your school.