New Teacher Profile: Ms. Angulo

Maria Angulo is one of the new teachers for this new year. She is a new Spanish teacher who has just graduated from Coe College in Cedar Rapids. Angulo studied sociology and her minors are secondary education, history and Spanish.

“I’m a native Spanish speaker, so it was just something that I knew and I wanted to learn more about my heritage and the language itself.” said Angulo. “It was also an opportunity to travel to other countries, I’ve been to Costa Rica, Spain and Mexico multiple times, and learning about the culture and tradition that comes with it.” 

She says that the best thing of teaching in City High is the feeling of home, everybody being friendly and the great students.

“[In my classes] I like to do partner activities and I also try to practice a lot of speaking and communication in the classroom,” said Angulo. “[Teenagers] are fun and the fact that you can have discussions, and be able to have actual conversations: things that you can’t do with younger kids.”

Angulo thinks that her perfect Spanish class would be to travel with the whole group, every month in a different place, teaching Spanish around the world.

“I want [my students] to be participating and happy to be in the class. I want them to have good energy. I want them to feel this class like a safe space, like they can make mistakes and it’s okay, I don’t want them to be afraid to say a word because of their pronunciation or a sentence because it might not be in the right place,” she said.

Angulo says that the best way to learn a language depends of the student, but practicing speaking, listening and writing is the best way. 

“When you are immersed in the community it’s easier to pick up on the language because you are around it. You’re not reading it in a worksheet or in a textbook or your teacher telling you that this is how it is, you are learning it by experience,” said Angulo.