Ms Carolina del Mar Fernández Sarmiento

Lecturer - Sound Recording, Audio Visual Production (Film & Television)

Universidad Central, Bogotá, Colombia

“[The] techniques were really practical and made my lessons so much more efficient. I felt confident that I was helping my students develop language skills more than before.”

I first met Philippa and Fiona during my studies at the University of Queensland's Institute of Continuing & TESOL Education in 2019. At that time, I was focused on improving my English to pursue postgraduate studies and enhance my opportunities in my field of Film Production. 

However, as an educator myself, my conversations with Philippa and Fiona often turned to teaching. They were interested in my experiences as a lecturer at the Universidad Central in Colombia, and the school system in Colombia in general. We shared perspectives and I always left our conversations feeling inspired as a teacher.

While I was in Australia, I supplemented my income by tutoring in Spanish. When COVID forced my lessons to go online, it was Philippa and Fiona I turned to for advice on how to manage the online classroom. They showed me the basics of Zoom and a few strategies to help my students to focus on individual sounds, authentic pronunciation, and how to structure and 'plan' my lessons to gradually help build student confidence. They even showed me a few digital apps I could use, like Padlet, to share materials with students. These techniques were really practical and made my lessons so much more efficient. I felt confident that I was helping my students develop language skills more than before.

What impressed me the most was that even though my lessons were in Spanish, the principles of language teaching they shared were universal. These are practices I know I will take back with me to my lectures in Colombia in the future. I'm so grateful for that!