LIVE AND LOVE SPANISH
LEARNING BEYOND THE LANGUAGE
Live and Love Spanish started operating in Austin in 2015. We have taught over 100 students in one on one / private lesson. We have had over 10 groups created at beginners, and intermediate levels, and we have online students all over the Country, and Europe.
One on One lessons are personalized, and customized based on the need of the student. We will seat with you on a short “meet and greet” (or online), and discuss your needs and your expectations. We mainly meet in public places, though we also go to schools, offices and private homes. Distance to travel, and number of lessons a week, will define the cost for the private / online.
Group lessons are created with a fix schedule notified to you in advance. Location and hours to meet are also coordinated in collaboration with the students, before lessons start. These fill up pretty quickly. 6 students is the limit. We finalize every lesson with a fun outing to Austin’s Latin Venues to dance or enjoy a movie, or museum.
For these three modalities, we create 8 week packages, to assure consistency and commitment.
CULTURAL IMMERSIONS
Live and Love Spanish offers a few different options to Live the Language in a Cultural Immersion context.
1. You pick your dates. We work with the best Language Institute’s in Cuenca-Ecuador, a desired city for learning Spanish, due to the proper dialect, manageable speed, welcoming people. It is a walkable city, and it offers beautiful surroundings – nature outings, city markets, museums, and a geography that allows you to slow down, and enjoy the learning process. 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks. You chose the length of your stay, dates, and we will give you options regarding stays (family homes/ AIRBN)
2. We create a yearly Open Cultural Immersion. We pick different destinations every year. Mountains, Beach, Rain Forest. These immersions are not only Spanish oriented, but mainly a way to travel and enjoy the diversity of the Country (Ecuador).
Next Cultural Immersion: July 2020 – Click here for details
3. Family Immersions. Families can request a trip, similar to the Open Cultural Immersions, but we adapt to the presence of children (ages 6 and up). A minimum of three families are required to plan your trip. Options are:
a) Travel to Cuenca (Andean Mountains), and have a city experience that include Spanish lessons, outings to Nature, markets and Museums
b) Travel to the Beach, and have experiences near the Ocean, staying in simple cabins. Spanish lessons are offered
c) Combine Andean Mountains and Beach, Spanish lessons will be offered as well.
About Paulina
I am from Ecuador, South America. I hold a Bachelors degree in Linguistics/International Relations. I graduated from the Pontifical Catholic University in Quito- Ecuador. I have been teaching in Austin since 2011.
Live and Love Spanish was created in 2015. I started learning languages at the young age of 8, when, with my family, we lived for two years in Brussels-Belgium. French is my second language. I teach Spanish in a way that makes sense to the student, understanding that learning a language involves learning and understanding a different culture, and never isolated from the people within a Region and a Cultural Context. My most valuable personal experiences regarding Cultural understanding, involves life in the Galapagos Islands, and in the Amazon Rain Forest, teaching Environmental Issues, language, and living with Indigenous Communities, as a way to explore and understand their language, and their cultural context.
I am a Yoga Instructor. I teach Yoga in Austin at Yoga Studios, and teach private sessions, I travel to South America to teach workshops once a year.
I am a mother of two children (13 and 11). They are my biggest classroom, to learn and to teach. They are bi-cultural and bilingual. We travel to South America to visit family, and I create volunteer opportunities, and situations for them to
learn the language in Context. Every year we take an adventure, that leads us to a profound understanding of cultures, people, traditions and geography. Some of our trips have been integrated in my CULTURAL IMMERSIONS for Live and Love Spanish.
“Our family has been working with Paulina for Spanish tutoring for the entire 2015/2016 school year and we plan to continue for next year as well. Paulina has been very flexible. My daughter enjoys her calm, nurturing demeanor and mom enjoys her homework activiites after each session for accountability. Although our daughter speaks French and Japanese at a high level, she wanted to try and get Spanish under her belt. With Paulina’s effective teaching, Paulina has enabled her to teach her the skill of being able to switch between languages which is a skill unto itself. Paulina should know as she speaks several languages as well. Paulina is joyful to work with and we highly recommend her!”
– Debbie Arnow
“I’m learning Spanish as an older adult, for fun and cultural expansion, and I couldn’t be happier with Paulina as my teacher. She’s very good at tailoring your lessons to what you need and where you want to go with them. She has those essential qualities needed for teaching both adults and children: a sense of humor, patience, enthusiasm, and the ability to be disciplined but flexible. She also enjoys being creative in finding materials and methods that appeal to kids or grownups. This creativity is aided by her background as a native of Ecuador, her studies in anthropology, and her wide knowledge of languages and cultures. I look forward to our lessons each week!”
– Dell Hollingsworth
“Having not used my Spanish in nearly a decade, I was nervous about taking a new job where I’d need to be communicating more frequently with Spanish-speaking workers. Paulina has helped me become more comfortable speaking again, and is really good at identifying where my weak spots are and developing content to help me strengthen those areas. I also bring in work projects that I’ve translated so that we can walk through them together. It’s made me more confident in my job and in my ability to communicate in written and spoken Spanish in my everyday life. I highly recommend Paulina to anyone wanting to begin (or begin again) with their Spanish!”
– Alejandra Villareal Weiss
“Paulina will customize your lessons depending on your skill level and your ultimate goals. I began private tutoring with Paulina in preparation for a trip to South America. I had an informal background in Spanish with a decent vocabulary. Paulina created lesson plans that would best prepare me for the conversational Spanish useful to travel. As a native speaker, she is familiar with the nuances of the language that are critical to a deeper level of proficiency. Most of all, she’s very patient no matter how many times “Hablo como un gringo!”
– Chris Layden
“Paulina is an excellent teacher if you are looking to learn or expand your Spanish. I knew Spanish pretty well, and needing more advanced help. She has created custom lessons around areas that I need specific help. As part of this advanced lesson, she provides examples of real-world use of the language, as opposed to the more formal Spanish many of us were taught in school, to really fine-tune my speaking for practical, every day use.”
— Jennifer Strachan
“Dear Ms. Paulina,
Thank you very much for teaching Alice Spanish. We are so lucky to find you to help Alice get back to Spanish. With your great knowledge, passion and individual study plan Alice has improved her Spanish on every aspect such as grammar, vocabulary, writing and spoken Spanish. She is very confident to talk with friends from Mexico and Spain in Spanish at school. We are so thankful you will teach her again next year.
Thanks!“
– Wendy Xu
© 2019 by Live and Love Spanish
Tel: 512-299-6681 ( Call or Text )
learn@liveandlovespanish.com
