julio xicara

• Why do you like teaching Spanish?
  I love to share my ideas and get to know different points of view so we can be good friends. It's very exciting to do that especially with people from foreign countries. They can find out about Guatemala from me and I can travel around the world through them. I love getting to know my student not just as one student among many others but as a whole person and as a good friend of mine. I will give the best within myself so that my student can expand his/her world.
• What are the challenges of being a Spanish instructor?
  I am committed to teach Spanish but my greatest commitment would be to empower my student for his/her future and/or activities requiring deeper knowledge and understanding of Guatemala or any other Spanish-speaking countries. I'm teaching the language and culture to my student so he/she can express him/herself to obtain what he/she wants and needs. I always keep in my mind that my student needs to be taught in a way that he/she can be self-sufficient with skills to obtain necessary helps and get along with local people so that he/she can learn to be a true member of the Latin American society.
• How do you make your class interesting?
  From my very own experience of learning English as a second language, I can say that very simple and active teaching method is the best way to guide my student. The core element of my lesson is an active conversation with variety of brain-teasing activities and right amount of homeworks to slowly move my student into an authentic context where the language and culture are most active. The best way to bring out motivation and commitment from my student is to present the richness of vocabularies and significance behind the expressions used in the real Spanish-speaking world. That way, my student will be naturally "breathing" Spanish.
• What do you do to grow as a professional and person?
  During weekend, I'm volunteering at my church as a youth counselor. Majority of people at the church are indigenous origin and some Mayan youth are suffering from low self-esteem due to discrimination, etc. I'm spending time with these teenagers with their activities so that they can have better self-esteem and they can become more assertive. Also, thanks to my students and other instructors, I'm becoming much more attentive to the social issue in Guatemala. Whenever I listen to news and hear about traditional events taking place, I'm thinking about how to explain to my student.
• What is the best of Guatemala?
  The best things in Guatemala are: - Its history... Mysterious Mayan civilization, ruthless conquest, horrifying human rights abuse, reconstruction... - Its folklores... They are living history of Guatemala. - Its vast natural resources... Great volcanoes, steamy coastal areas, etc. - Its people... warm and respectful. - Its traditional cuisine and accompanying music... I love making "mole"!
• What would you do if you have only one more week of life?
  What I would do is to give away my belongings to those less fortunate and to my friends. Also, I would leave my will to my friends about things I could not do so they might be able to finish them for me. And finally, I would like to talk to a group of kids in my church, sharing with them about good things and bad things that had happened to me in my life.
• What were you doing 15 years ago?
  My parents were still living together and I used to travel often to the eastern side of Guatemala with my father since my father used to be a merchant. When I was not traveling, I used to hang around with my brother at his work in a local FM radio station.
• What will you be doing in 15 years down the road?
  I hope I could have started my business by then, probably in IT field so I can improve the life of Guatemalan people. Doing that, I hope I can generate jobs and train good professionals.
• Who is/was the most influential person in your life?
  My mother. Although she has suffered lots of family problems and sickness, she kept working, raised us and overcame the problems. All the moral values, self-discipline and education that I was able to obtain is something I am deeply indebted to her. She encouraged me to work harder and showed me from her own life how to be strong in difficult times and that is why I believe that her life is and will be my source of inspiration.
• What is the Guatemala's biggest social issue? What do you propose to solve the Guatemala's problems?
  The biggest problem in Guatemala is its lack of true leaders. The solution would be to give better leadership education to kids. We need to be leaders in our community, workplace and everywhere so we can all be a part of change in our country.

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