I have a passion for languages and different cultures from around the Hispanic world, and therefore I am determined to forge my career in this field.

For me studying Hispanic Studies at university is the natural choice to develop my interest in the subject.

Having a Portuguese background and being bilingual has given m an advantage when learning Latin based languages. Making me fluent in English and Portuguese and having a high level of fluency in Spanish and a solid foundation in French.

Another factor that has given me an incentive to further develop my knowledge and understanding of socio-political and historic aspects of culture in Iberia and Latin America.

The ability to communicate in a variety of different languages would open a huge rage of opportunities for people all around the world including myself.

My Spanish teachers tell me that I am a lovely diligent student which always works hard inside and outside of classes and tries her hardest to meet her goals and targets by immersing into the Spanish Culture.

I carried out my work experience in my previous secondary school. I supported the Spanish teacher as an assistant. I was responsible for making resources such as powerpoints and worksheets for each of the different topics. I also supported the students, explaining to them anything that they didn't understand 1:1. This was important for me as I had first-hand experience of teaching, which is a career path in which I'm interested in.

During this time it was demonstrated to me that Spanish isn't just a normal subject that you study in school but it’s one of the biggest forms of communication between millions of people all around the world, making it the 3rd most spoken language in the world.

I have also worked as an assistant swimming teacher for more than a year in an area densely populated by Portuguese people so it has allowed me to practice not just the normal day to day language used at home, but also specific technical vocab and the language of instruction to teach swimming.

During the time that I have been working at Aquarius Swimming School I haven’t only gained knowledge of new forms of communication but have also obtained experience in leadership through running games and activities with children both in English and Portuguese.

This responsibility has helped me develop my teamwork skills as I am able to communicate with my colleagues so everything runs smoothly and also communicate with the children and their parents.

Having most of my family living in Portugal and spending every summer and Christmas there means that I have been deeply immersed in the Portuguese culture for many years and through this I have found that the English lifestyle is completely different. This encourages me to want to learn more about all Latin cultures. This makes me realise that there is so more to Portuguese and Spanish, it’s not just a subject as many people think.

I try to incorporate as much Spanish into my daily life as possible. Starting off by going to the cinema to watch a Spanish film at Ciné Lumière during the Spanish film festival. I try to listen to the Spanish radio at least 20 minutes a day which gives me an insight into whats happening all around Spain.

Hopefully taking this course I will become totally fluent in the languages that I have knowledge in, I will be able to learn more about my own culture and history of it. As well as learning more and developing my knowledge on the history and culture of Spain and Latin America. In the future I hope to be able to use my expertise in this subject.