In developing Living Language Platinum we hired a crew of language teachers from all over the world. These native speakers will contribute to this blog, answer questions on Twitter and our forums, and teach small group sessions. There’s nothing like learning the nuances of a language and cultural insights from someone who has lived it. We will introduce each of them in the blog with 5 Questions.
Name: Anna
Hometown: Barcelona
Current Residence: Brooklyn, NY
Languages Spoken: Spanish, Catalan and English
LL: What do you love most about the Spanish language?
Anna: Without a doubt, Latin American literature. Julio Cortázar (Rayuela), Gabriel García Marquez (Cien años de soledad), Miguel de Cervantes (Don quijote de la Mancha) and many others.
LL: What’s your favorite phrase in Spanish?
Anna: So many of them, but if I had to pick just one: “A caballo regalado no le mires el dentado.” (Literal: To a given horse, do not look at its teeth. Meaning: To evaluate quality of horses, experts look at their teeth to know about their age and health. When someone says “a caballo regalado no le mires el dentado” it means that if you are getting a gift or something for free, don’t be picky about it. A gift is a gift, you can’t be demanding!)
LL: What language would you like to learn?
Anna: Actually I am learning German with Living Language. I also would love to learn Chinese.
LL: Why did you decide to become an e-tutor?
Anna: Because the idea of being an e-tutor seemed just great! I could do my job as a Spanish tutor from home, teaching Living Language students from all over while enjoying a café con leche. I would never have been able to teach Spanish to so many students from so many different places, ages, and backgrounds.
LL: What’s your lucky number?
Anna: El número seis (6). Recuerdo reír a carcajadas cada vez que mi padre decía la palabra “seis”. él tenía un acento del sur de España muy fuerte y pronunciaba “ER ZEI” con un ceceo con mucha gracia, pero casi imposible de entender. Recuerdo también tratar de enseyarle la pronunciación “correcta” cada vez. Por cierto, nunca aprendió a decirlo bien!
Number six (6). I remember I used to laugh out loud every time my dad used to say the word “seis”. He had a really strong accent from the south of Spain and his pronunciation was more like “ER ZEI” with an hilarious lisp, almost impossible to understand. I remember trying to teach him the “proper” pronunciation every single time. By the way, he never learned the right way to say it, and I loved it.
