Despite the setbacks of the current global situation, Hispania, escuela de español decided early to revamp the way it teaches its Spanish classes.

At Hispania, escuela de español, human values and the safety and well-being of our students and staff have always been our priority. Thanks to the massive investment in new classroom technology, we are able to continue to offer excellent quality, while protecting students and teachers from the risk of Covid19.

We have interviewed Rita Rodríguez, ELE teacher and, together with Ana Maiz, responsible of staff training for hybrid classes at Hispania, escuela de español, to learn more about the benefits of this modality.

So that we can all get an idea of the advantages of hybrid classes, Rita, can you tell us how they can benefit teachers and the students who learn Spanish?

I believe that it is the future. The technological advances offer us unique opportunities, and with hybrid classes, you are inside the classroom but at the same time you are out in the world. You are meeting people who are situated in different places around the planet in a single space.

Students enjoy it a lot because, on the one hand, those who are still in their countries already begin to feel like they are in Spain. They are being taught by highly-trained native teachers, and communicating with other students who are already living here and who can talk to them about their experience, give them advice... And for the students who are in Spain, like the teacher, they have the possibility to travel without moving from their seat.

Being able to say things like ¨it´s so hot here, what is it like there?¨ or ¨it´s 9 o´clock here, we have just woken up, what time is it there?¨ is priceless.

Undoubtedly, the benefits of the ELE classes are great, but we understand that this method is also a challenge for the ELE teachers. What do you think?

The biggest challenge is changing your mindset. We are teaching a language and that requires practice and active participation in the class. We also follow the Hispania Method, which relies on giving special attention to every student. The teachers have to be able to blend online and in-person teaching into one, whilst continuing to make all students feel comfortable and that they can get 100% out of their Spanish classes.

So, do you think that the hybrid method is something temporary or is it here to stay?

I think that the hybrid method is here to stay because we live in a world that is becoming more and more interconnected. In regards to ELE teaching, it also offers students a unique opportunity: to start studying Spanish with their future teachers and classmates before arriving in Spain.

Not only is the hybrid format the future, but the ELE teacher of the future is a teacher who completely takes charge of both in-person and online classes, who feels comfortable and resilient taking advantage of all the network’s resources and who is always in contact with students, independently where they are in the world.

Would you like to learn more about our hybrid classes, or try one yourself?

We’re looking forward to hearing from you :)