Arturo Sensei

Arturo Sensei Tutor Interview

Q. Hi Arturo.V! Let’s start off with a brief self-introduction. Can you give the Cafetalk community a brief glance at who you are?

A. As my students know, my name is Arturo and I am from Mexico City. I have graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the second-best university in Latin America. As my major was Communication Sciences, I have worked in different areas of human communication starting from Human Development in Mexican indigenous communities, going through educational multimedia production and coming to Spanish teaching.

I consider my self an open-minded person always trying to learn something new to share it with other people, that is why I enjoy teaching to foreigners because I can learn and teach at the same time. I describe my self also as a happy, fun and easygoing person.

Q. According to your profile, you are from Mexico. Where in Mexico did you grow up and where are you spending your time at the moment? 

A. I was born in Mexico City, but when I was only 3 months old, my parents decided to move to Queretaro City. When I went to university, the principal campus was in Mexico City so I had to move with my grandma. I lived with her for a while and then I moved to my own apartment when I finished my career. 

Q. On your profile you show some pictures where you travelled to Japan. What was your trip to Japan like and did you travel to any other exciting places?

A. In 2015 my girlfriend and I decided to make a long trip through Europe and Asia, we visited 8 countries, but we wanted to dedicate 1 month to Japan. Actually, it was our goal, but we added other countries to the trip as we were planning the itinerary. 

Being in Japan was a great experience because we had the opportunity of visiting different cities from Tokyo to Kagoshima. Every day was a new experience with the food, public transport and, of course, with people. We fall in love with some cities and we wanted to stay more or we thought like: "why don't we live here?" It was an experience I would want to repeat soon. 

Q. What are you usually up to when you’re not teaching on Cafetalk? What are your hobbies and interests? 

A. I am a full-time teacher now so my day is dedicated to my students, but, also I like sales and I enjoy going to a local market to sell different things. I've been selling beauty products, desserts, clothes... I like to do that because I can go out and have a good time.

On the other hand, my hobbies and interests are reading, watching movies, playing board games and cooking. 

Q. Can you tell us a little bit more about your professional background? What got you into teaching, and what motivated you to keep pursuing this career?

A. After being part of the Khan Academy in Spanish team, I was so envolved with the education that teaching just came alone to my life. But I was not only into education because of my job, but my brother and my girlfriend were also language teachers so the idea of being a teacher was on my mind years before I became a teacher. 

When my girlfriend discovered Cafetalk, immediately she recommended me to create my profile to become an English teacher. I had my doubts about if I could be a good teacher, but as she was supporting me, I created my profile as an English and Spanish teacher. I had my personal trainer at home so she taught to me how to teach. I noticed I liked more teaching Spanish rather than English so now I am focused in Spanish 100 per cent. 

On the other hand, what keeps me motivated to continue teaching are my students. With every student the lesson is different and fun, so I don't need anything special as motivation. 

Q. A lot of students are probably curious about the atmosphere in your lessons. What can a student imagine a lesson with you to be like? What’s your teaching style?

A. In my lessons, I like my students to feel relaxed and free to experiment and commit mistakes. I like serious study but I don't like to be serious in class. I treat my students as friends because I want to create a friendly atmosphere in my lessons.

My lessons are based on conversation, but it depends on every student, I always try to fit my student's needs and adapt the lesson for them. That is why every lesson is different even if we use the same materials. 

Q. Since you offer a variety of lessons, is there any lesson you can recommend in particular? Or can you give a quick overview of which lesson might be good for which type of student?

A. The lesson I always recommend is a lesson pack I just created, it is called "Unlimited Lesson Pack". I think this one is best because the price per lesson is surprisingly low and is the best way to learn and practice with constant lessons during a month.

This lesson pack fits to every student because they can choose between any of my lessons and any duration. 

The students who have taken this lesson pack have increased their level amazingly in only one month. In six months they can go from absolute beginner to A1 level. 

Q. Finally, would you like to leave a message for your current and future students?

A. I would like to say that Spanish is a great and special language because during its history it has mixed with a lot of indigenous languages in Latin America and it has become an infinite language in which you can learn something new every day. 

If you are learning or you want to learn Spanish you must know that you must invest a lot of time but I can assure that every minute will be worth. 

Spanish is difficult to translate to other languages, it becomes simpler when translated, so if you really want to understand Spanish the best way will be to learn it. 

I will be very happy to meet and to teach you Spanish. If you are already my student, I want to thank you for letting me be part of your learning; continue studying and do not forget to do your homework... just joking!

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Arturo Sensei

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