We interviewed Maria from Colombia, one of the presenters of our Learn English with Cambridge YouTube channel. Read on to find out why Maria decided to be a teacher, what other languages she would like to learn and what to expect from her future videos on the channel.
When did you know you wanted to teach English? What was it that made you choose that as a career?
When I was finishing school I was sure that the area of study that I was the most passionate about was languages, with English definitely being a language I felt familiar with and identified the most with. I love helping people and education is a great way to do it, besides, I wanted to show others that English is not such a difficult language, but beautiful and that it opens several doors to anyone that learns it.
How did you get in to teaching?
I had one French teacher that was such an inspiration to me because no matter how hard it was to learn the language she made the process easier and showed me how learning a language went beyond communicating, to learning about a culture and lifestyle too.
Do you have any funny or emotional experiences of working with learners?
I’ll always have funny stories with false friends or cognates because it is so easy to use them (I think I still use a lot of them). It is part of the learning process so when students try to say something and are not sure of the vocabulary, they use the most similar word to their native language (in my case Spanish). ‘Embarrassed’ and ‘Constipated’ are two of the words students confuse the most as they sound so similar: ‘Embarrassed’ with ‘Embarazada’ (which means pregnant) or ‘Constipated’ with ‘Constipado’ (which means you have flu), and naturally they have a funny meaning within the context they are being used.
How has speaking another language impacted your life?
It has opened several doors for me, I feel I have found more information and opportunities. It has allowed me to understand the world in a wider way, there are always more options and answers if you know another language.
Is there anything you found surprising or interesting about the English language, that differs from Spanish spoken in Colombia?
Yes, several things actually. One of them that surprises me the most is how English has so many words that could mean something different, they could be a noun and a verb at the same time, or for example, how you create new words or phrases by joining two existing ones, which is what happens with phrasal verbs.
What does a typical day in your life look like?
I am a very active person so if I am not teaching English I am probably rehearsing with the musical group from my University or church, working in the ELT Observatory from my University or any educational projects in the ELT field as Colombian Leaders ELT Association.
Are there any other languages you would like to learn?
I would love to learn Korean or Japanese, and Portuguese.
How are you finding being a presenter on the Learn English with Cambridge YouTube channel?
This is crazy and awesome at same time. It is a mixture of things that I love doing the most: sharing knowledge, working with art, English and helping others. I would have never imagined that I could do it.
You tend to act as different characters in your videos – why do you think that is important when teaching?
One of the things that has definitely helped me with ESL is body language. When I use it, students seem really confident because they understand with no need of translating or using Spanish thanks to my gestures. Therefore, playing characters does not help me just with engaging, but as a strategy for understanding the language.
What can we expect from you in your future videos in the channel? Are there any particular topics you want to cover or role plays you want to portray?
I would like to work with expressions like idioms or phrasal verbs for different situations, therefore role plays could help me illustrate which is the most accurate expression for specific contexts. In addition, I’ve really enjoyed making vocabulary videos too.
As someone who has already learnt English as a second language, what advice would you give to someone who is trying to learn English now?
Try to use the language as a bridge to learn new and interesting things rather than an objective – you will find much more pleasure in it. Why not try to include it in your daily life so it becomes part of you?
Have you experienced any challenges when learning English? And if so, how did you overcome them?
I think that many things are still difficult for me, mostly when writing or speaking. Writing, because English uses a different style compared to Spanish, therefore, sometimes it is hard to understand. However, I’ve learnt that reading more articles and texts in English helps me to understand and naturalise this. Regarding speaking, pronunciation and stress are hard areas to identify and imitate, however, I’m still working on it by watching as many videos and movies as I can and talking with native speakers.
Finally, what is your favourite word in English?
Mesmerize, it sounds simply beautiful and I really love its meaning.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see all of the latest videos from our presenters.