Spanish: Beginner Level 2 * In-Person*

This level is for students who have at least 10 hours of classroom time in the language within the last year, can ask and answer simple questions in areas of immediate need in the language, and can use simple phrases and sentences to describe where they live and the people they know. Following the guidelines of the Common European Framework of Reference, students at this level will learn to identify common words concerning their immediate concrete surroundings, read very simple sentences, ask and answer simple questions on very familiar topics, and write a short, simple note. Instructors include: Lina Merchan, Alberto Roblest, Martha de la Vega, Luz Elena Zuluaga

Sections

Instructors

Ely Segura is a Spanish teacher originally from the Dominican Republic. She is passionate about humanities, especially theology, foreign languages, literature, history and culture in general. Her studies include Journalism (BA) from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo; Social Work (MSW) from the Autonomous University of Mexico; Religious Studies (BA) from the Autonomous University of Mexico; and Hispanic Studies (MA) and Pastoral Studies (MA) from Loyola University Chicago. She has taught Spanish at different levels, from kindergarten to university level in Boston, Mexico City and Chicago. She loves movies (especially drama), reading (especially memoirs and costumbrismo novels), walking (preferably in parks) and swimming (but she is not very skilled at this).t this).

Lina is a native Spanish speaker, born and educated in Colombia. With experience mentoring multicultural groups, she has successfully guided students of all levels, from complete beginners to advanced learners.

She graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá. Understanding that learning a new language can be an intimidating journey, she empowers her students with confidence, helping them navigate their unique path to fluency.

Lina embraces the philosophy of community learning and enriches her Spanish lessons with the vibrant culture of Latin America—its traditions, cuisine, music, and literature.

A personal anecdote that highlights her dedication as an educator is her experience teaching Spanish to her English-speaking husband. Through commitment, carefully selected resources, and immersive experiences, she takes great pride in the fact that he has now achieved fluency in Spanish.

An accomplished poet, writer and editor, Alberto Robles is also an educator with decades of experience teaching in university classrooms. He started teaching workshops in linguistics, literature and composition as a graduate student at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (National Autonomous University of Mexico). Upon his arrival in the United States, he discovered his passion for teaching Spanish. As a published author, Mr. Roblest enjoys sharing his mastery of the Spanish language with his students. He is the author of seven books of poetry and three collections of short stories, some of them published in bilingual editions in the United States. In his classes, the emphasis is on teaching students to communicate in real life situations, since the main function of a language is to communicate.

Luz has taught Spanish for over 15 years. Luz has instructed both beginners and advanced Spanish to students and business executives alike. Luz is a graduate of La University Pontificia Bolivariana en Medellín, Colombia.