Meet Emilio Gómez:
Emilio is a much-loved teacher here on the Madrid campus, where he teaches the ‘Spanish and Spanish Culture’ class, in which the students from Bachelor mobility students learn the Spanish language as well as key concepts of the Iberian culture to ensure that they adapt as well as possible to their environment and the international sports industry. 🌍
As Emilo tells us, Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the world, so it is imperative that international students are able to interact in a non-English speaking environment and integrate into European companies and organisations.
He also tells us about his ‘Emilian’ teaching methods. 🎶
Thank you, Emilio!
ESBS: Hi, Emilio! Could you introduce yourself and tell us a little about yourself?
Emilio: Hello, good afternoon, how are you? My name is Emilio and I am the Spanish teacher at ESBS. I have been teaching Spanish for the last year at this business school and before that I have worked for the last eight years in a student residence where I have taught Spanish.
ESBS: ESBS is a business school specialising in sport, how do you think students’ knowledge of Spanish will help their careers?
Emilio: Learning Spanish helps anyone’s career because it is the second most spoken language in the world. Therefore, it is essential to learn Spanish, no matter what you are going to spealise in. But in this case, if you are a student coming to Spain, who is here in Madrid, learning Spanish is fundamental and this business school places a lot of emphasis on getting by in Spanish from the first day.
ESBS: What practical methods do you like to use in your classes? (we know you love to use stories, songs,…)
Emilio: I have a method that is, so to speak, a personal method because, first of all, they are not here for four years, so you cannot follow a traditional method, you have to teach them how to get by from day one. Then, I rely a lot on videos, on songs, I rely a lot on images, because now there is a terrible thing and that is that we have to compete with YouTube, we have to compete with social networks, with mobile phones… although I teach the past tenses, the subjunctive, I teach all the grammar, but always relying on images, on music, on songs, on games… Everything is much more enjoyable, more playful, and more fun.
ESBS: Finally, what advice would you give to our non-Spanish speaking students to improve their Spanish?
Emilio: To improve your Spanish you have to speak and try to speak Spanish. When you are in Madrid, try to speak Spanish. Even if you make lots and lots of mistakes, it’s OK. Listen to music in Spanish, watch series in Spanish even if you need help with subtitles. Everything has to be done at the same time. I mean, you have to study grammar, but you have to try to speak from day one, listen to music, watch films and everything else.
