Meet Ms. Rosal, Glenbard West’s newest Spanish teacher! After student teaching several Spanish classes last year, Ms. Rosal now teaches Spanish 2H and Spanish 3H for Heritage Speakers.
A heritage Spanish speaker herself, Ms. Rosal grew up in Spain. She married her husband there, then moved to the U.S. with him shortly afterwards, saying, “There were more opportunities for us.” As it turns out, moving to the United States is what first inspired Ms. Rosal to become a Spanish teacher. Having realized this dream, her favorite part of teaching is her students. “I love the energy in my classes,” she says. “I love teaching about my heritage because I have things in common with them, being a native speaker.”
Now, a few months into her role, Ms. Rosal remarks how “the list of things to do never ends!” Aside from the hard work, it surprises her how much of an impact teachers can have on their students. For instance, Ms. Rosal was surprised to overhear her students talking about how much they like her. She strives to show students that it is possible to learn a foreign language while enjoying themselves, explaining, “I think people learn more when they have fun.”
One of the ways she creates a positive classroom experience is by giving room for students to “talk and ask questions that apply to them.” This can look like discussing pop culture and life at school in Spanish. When a student struggles, Ms. Rosal prefers helping them one-on-one by “seeing what they struggle with and working with them on that specific topic.”
Outside of the classroom, Ms. Rosal loves Spanish music artists like India Martinez, El Barrio, and Julieta Venegas. She also loves using Spanish music and watching shows in Spanish (like Bluey, an animated children’s TV series!) as a fun way to help immerse her students in the language.
