Maria Teresa Roura Vivas
Hi! I’m Maria Teresa Roura Vivas, I am an ESL teacher and my passion is to teach, and also to expand s e l f – a w a r e n e s s.
about me
I was born in a family of teachers. My mother ran a kindergarten, my father was a Primary School teacher. I was only a teenager when, during my summer holidays, I used to help Mum and Dad teach little kids how to read and write, and do Maths. As soon as I learned English at my Dad’s private practice I started teaching English myself to teenagers. We sang songs and learned the lyrics, practised every day English dialogues, or told stories. Kids loved their “speaking” lessons!
My interest in British language and culture developed when I lived in Kew Gardens (London) while preparing my tests to become an English teacher for Escuelas Oficiales de Idiomas de Andalucía (Languages Schools which belong to the Andalucian Government). British culture became an issue and still is nowadays when I am spending Christmas with my extended family in London as I am writing this.
In 1993 I passed all the tests and started my career at Escuelas Oficiales de Idiomas (EOIs) in the beautiful town of Ronda. Thirty years later I can say I have experienced being Head of English, Head of Studies, Head of Administration, Deputy Headmistress, and Headmistress, at different EOIs in the whole of the Andalucian region, sharing work with many many colleagues from all over Spain and abroad.
From Day One I showed an interest in Emotional Intelligence, attending courses that developed techniques and strategies which would engage students through emotionally intelligent activities. A section is devoted in this blog to emotional intelligence in the classroom. More recently I became acquainted with Mindfulness practices which led me to deliver online talks on Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence.
In this blog I am sharing learning activities for emotionally intelligent ESL classrooms which have proven successful with my students. I am also presenting Mindfulness activities that students can practice in the classroom before (or as regular training for) their speaking exams.
After I undertook my MEd. in PINEP at the University of Málaga (Spain) my concern about students with learning difficulties grew considerably, becoming a SENCo of projects with a focus on Inclusivity. I am currently creating dyslexia-friendly activities for ESL Classroom and have two publications.