Teachers
Ana Ruiz
Ana Ruiz holds a 5-year Spanish BAHons (equivalent to Master Degree), majoring in Spanish Linguistics and Literature, University of Alcalá, Madrid; a Diploma of Education, University Complutense, Madrid, and a Post-Graduate Certificate, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London.
Ana has worked since 1990 in various Universities – Charles University, Prague and Palackého University, Olomouc, both in the Czech Republic; the University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain; La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand and Monash University, Melbourne.
Ana established El Patio with Toni Edwards in 2001, and is the academic coordinator of all courses. She has a methodological approach which pursues the skill of the student in different situations and communicative contexts taking into account the formal study of grammatical rules as well as non systematic learning based on the student’s own experience.
Toni Edwards
Toni Edwards established El Patio with Ana Ruiz in 2001, and is administrator and business manager.
She holds a BA in Music and Languages, La Trobe University; Introductory Cert. in Teaching English as a Second Language to Adults, Massey University, NZ; and English as a Second Language Training for Tutors, AMES, where she has worked in the Volunteer Tutor Program.
She also holds the DELE (Diploma de Espańol como Lengua Extranjera) Nivel Superior (proficiency level).
She also co-established and ran the Black Cat Café in Fitzroy, Melbourne for 20 years until 2002. As teacher of a language to adults in Australia, Toni believes her role is not only that of language instructor, but cultural informant and hopefully someone who might give inspiration in the language-learning process.
April Edwards
April Edwards is a NAATI Accredited Level 3 professional Translator and qualified Interpreter who has been speaking Spanish for the last 16 years.
In 1989 she studied Spanish Language and Culture at the University of Granada, Spain and completed a BA majoring in Spanish at Latrobe University in 1996. In 1998 she then went on to complete a Graduate Diploma in Interpreting and Translating at Deakin University.
Since then, not only has she worked constantly as a freelance translator in a wide range of government, commercial and community settings since 1999 but has also worked as an in-house technical translator, lectured in Interpreting in RMIT and continues to translate fiction and non-fiction texts for both business and pleasure.
Having travelled widely throughout Spain and Central America and having begun her journey into the Spanish language as a native English speaker she has a profound knowledge of the linguistic and cultural difficulties English students face. She provides a relaxed, comfortable and supportive setting in which anyone can learn.
Craig Burgess
Craig Burgess has been part of the Spanish-speaking world since 1999 and has lived and worked in Mexico and Spain. He has also travelled extensively in Hispanic America and the Peninsula as well as many other parts of the planet.
Craig completed the BA (Languages) at Monash University in 2003 with Honours in Hispanic Studies and Linguistics. The main focus of his investigation was immigration and Spanish identity. He has studied in Mexico and at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in Spain and holds the DELE certification at the highest level.
During 2004 and 2005 Craig taught at Monash University and coordinated and ran the off-campus Open Learning Australia program for Spanish.
Craig's classes at El Patio are fun, and they often delve into relevant social, historical, political, environmental and culinary realms inspired by the students' interests.
The development of cohesion within the student group and the satisfaction of the inquisitive mind are features of Craig's teaching style. Craig's classes thrive on the blend of his energetic attitude, the students' enthusiasm for learning and the quality teaching environment provided at El Patio.
Sarah Bignell
Sarah Bignell's love affair with all things Spanish began at La Trobe University, where she completed a BA in Spanish and was included on the Dean’s Honours List for Academic Excellence. She has been teaching for 11 years, first as an ESL teacher in Spain (where she lived for nine years and where she completed the Cambridge CELTA course), then in Australia as an ESL and Spanish teacher (at La Trobe University, the CAE and El Patio).
Sarah delights in transmitting the passion and enthusiasm she has for Spain and its mother tongue to her students, and believes in using a communicative and methodological approach in her lessons. She considers learning about culture, music, history and gastronomy just as vital a cog in the wheel as learning grammar and vocabulary.
Sarah has worked as a freelance business-focused translator and interpreter, and has also worked in theatre, most recently with the renowned and controversial Catalan theatre company La Fura dels Baus, acting as simultaneous interpreter between the actors and audience. It was always a childhood dream of Sarah’s to speak another language fluently, and the absolute buzz she gets having realised her dream is something she wants all her students to experience.
Lorena Belmonte
Lorena Belmonte is originally from Spain. She holds a BA in Educational Psychology (Malaga University) and a Post Graduate Certificate of Education for LOTE in Secondary Education which she studied at Canterbury Christ Church College in England.
She has been teaching languages since 1998; In Spain for 3 years, then she worked in England for six years teaching Spanish in an Adult Education Centre as well as a Secondary School.
She is a very enthusiastic teacher who enjoys sharing her knowledge of languages and culture. She especially likes adding cultural aspects to her lessons as she believes it is a key part of learning a foreign language. She has developed a visual and communicative approach to language teaching. She also likes to create a relaxed atmosphere where students can feel comfortable and not afraid of “having a go”, something that is not always easy in the foreign language learning process.
Isalbel Arenales
Isabel Arenales Aylagas was born in Castilla y Leon, Spain, in a 500 year old village protected by a castle shaped like a ship. She completed her six-year degree in Spanish Philology in 2005, during which time she spent a year in Italy teaching and translating Spanish at the Cervantes Institute, Padua.
Moving to England, Isabel worked for local Brighton company “Buenos Dias”, running both adult and toddler classes. After a quick stint living on the west coast of Ireland – where she still managed to give private tuition to Spanish language students – Isabel recently moved to Australia, which, as far as her mother is concerned, is quite possibly on the moon. Nonetheless, Isabel has quickly established herself at El Patio with her passion for her native language and her enthusiasm in teaching it.
Isabel’s excellent standard of English allows her to communicate with her students at an advanced level to enhance their learning. Having also learnt Italian to a fluent level, Isabel understands the process of learning another language. As a lover of Spanish cuisine, it is with some regret she has noticed that Australia has not yet widely discovered the delights of tortilla de patata and jamon iberico but does appreciate that the coffee is just as good.
Julie González
Julie Gonzalez is administrative assistant at El Patio. She completed a BA (Gender Studies and Creative Writing) at the University of Melbourne in 2003, later completing a Graduate Diploma of Education (Media and English) at the same university in 2005. She has worked as an English teacher in Osaka, Japan and has a great appreciation of the challenges and rewards facing students who are learning a foreign language.
Her background is Chilean, and she has travelled throughout South America and, most recently, Spain. She is enthusiastic about encouraging students to get the best out of their learning experience and immerse themselves in Hispanic culture. She is also looking forward to expanding her role with El Patio and encourages any prospective students to get in touch and give it a go!
