Sara Boo Tomás
Teacher of Spanish and Catalan as a foreign language, second language or heritage language in Mama back to school
Teacher of Spanish language and literature as first language in public high schools in Barcelona
Spanish language and literature as first language or foreign language teacher trainer in public high schools in Barcelona
PhD in Spanish literature
A little bit from here and a little bit from there
I was born in Spain, in Badalona to be precise but I grew up between the mountains of Sant Joan de les Abadesses and the sea of Badalona, in Catalonia. Some of my summers were spent in Galicia (my father's family), others in Murcia (my mother's family) and most of them in Fenals, a beautiful beach on the Costa Brava. When I was a child this resulted in me speaking Spanish (very Murcian) with a lot of Catalan or Galician interference and Catalan with a lot of Spanish or Galician interference. I used to "doblar mitjones" (mixing Spanish and Catalan, instead of “calcetines”, the actual Spanish words for folding socks); I wrote in Catalan "sobre tot" (as it is written in spanish instead of “sobretot”); I said "ara vengo" (mixing Catalan and Spanish, instead of "ahora voy") when they called me; and I gave “bicos” (kisses, in Galician) or besicos (kisses, in Murcian) in equal parts. Long live the mixture! I have no doubt that my love for the languages, dialects, cultures and geography of my country was born there, in my first school, my parents' house. And with the trips we took on Spanish roads every summer - yes, my parents were a "carretera y manta” (road and blanket) kind of people. And it still surprises them that I came out as such a backpacker.
Barcelona came later, when I started university. There I grew to be a woman, a philologist, a teacher and a mother. Maybe that's why Barcelona is home and I always come back to it. I share my life and dreams a physicist who is too chaotic to be German, and our little ones. With those of us who are on an adventure living in London... as if that wasn't enough of a mix!
Catalan as a foreign language
BCN Languages (Private languages school) Barcelona, academic year 2007-2008
Spanish Language and Literature
Institut Jaume Botey (Secondary education in public school). Hospitalet de Llobregat, academic year 2020-2021
Academic and professional career
Fourteen years separate the first photo from the second. In the first photo I'm teaching Catalan as a foreign language at BCN Languages, a language school in the Gràcia district of Barcelona. It was my first job as a teacher (academic year 2007-2008). And in the second picture I'm teaching a Spanish language class at the Jaume Botey Secondary School in Hospitalet de Llobregat. This was the last job I did as a teacher before my second maternity (academic year 2020-2021). Both courses have been among the most difficult of my career. One, because it was the first one; the other, because of the challenge it entailed (COVID-19, 2020-2021).
I was 23 years old when I started teaching. I had just graduated in Hispanic Philology and before dedicating myself to teaching, I took a postgraduate course in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language and the course to acquire the Certificate of Pedagogical Aptitude (CAP), specialising in Spanish Language and Literature. It was from that moment on that I started teaching. At first as a teacher of Spanish and Catalan as a foreign or second language and, years later, also as a teacher of Spanish language and literature as a first language.
While I was working as a teacher, I continued studying and training until I ended up researching one of my great passions: theatre. Specifically Lorca's theatre and its presence in contemporary female drama (“Ecos lorquianos en seis dramaturgas españolas contemporáneas: una mirada intertextual“). Thus, I became a Doctor of Spanish Literature.
As a teacher of Spanish and Catalan I have worked in several schools and universities and, as a teacher of Spanish language and literature, in private and public schools. In recent years, I have also worked as a teacher trainer of Spanish Language and Literature in Compulsory Secondary Education and Baccalaureate. If you would like to know more about my academic and professional career, I invite you to visit my LinkedIn profile.
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Teacher of Spanish as a foreign language in the International Study Abroad Programme at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Level A2
2016-2017 academic year
Barcelona
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Teacher of Specific Spanish and Catalan language and culture course for families who are moving to Barcelona
Sevilen (mother) : Spanish language and culture classes. Level A1-B1
Ali (father): Business Spanish classes. Level B1 and B2
Leyla (big sister): Spanish and Catalan language classes (stories, games and art activities) . Level A1-B2
2014-2016 academic years
Barcelona
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Language teacher trainer in The art of Tefl courses (British Council)
2011-2012 academic year
Barcelona
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Tutor and Teacher of Spanish Language and Literature in Compulsory Secondary and Baccalaureate Education Teresianes School of Sant Josep-Gràcia
Ghostbusters Carnival 2017
Level 1 ESO
2016-2017 academic year
Barcelona
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Business Spanish teacher in Spanish2go
Level B1
2010 academic year
London
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Teacher of Spanish Language and Literature in Compulsory Secondary Education and Baccalaureate. Public educational centres. Departament d' Educació. Generalitat de Catalunya
La casa de Bernada Alba de Federico García Lorca
Level 4 ESO
2020-2021 academic year
Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona)
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Teacher of Spanish as a foreign language in the intensive courses of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra Language Programme
Level B2
2014-2015 academic year
Barcelona
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Teacher of Spanish as a foreign language and Catalan as a foreign language in the language programmes of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and the Universitat de Barcelona. Merit School
Level A2
2015-2016 academic year
Barcelona
The personal is political: Mama back to school
And during this academic and professional journey, I have also become a mother. First of Lua (2018) and then of Otto (2021) with whom I have allowed myself to accompany him throughout his baby phase. In 2022, my maternity leave was coming to an end. I knew the process well, as I had already experienced it with Lua: after maternity leave, an unpaid leave of absence, and then she went to the small school and I went to school for as little time as possible for both of us. Begging for early classes, pumping milk between classes and keeping my fingers crossed that she wouldn't get sick. So this time, with Otto, I decided to take full time care of him until we were ready. Little did I know that within a few months the whole family would be living in London. A job opportunity for my partner was the excuse to say yes to this family adventure that is allowing us all to grow in every way. In particular, my little one and I have been able to stay together until he is 2 years old. And now, thankful for this mother-baby stage that we have been living and wishing for, the time has come to go back to school.
You can't imagine how much I've missed being a teacher all this time. Just as I said that I feel at home in Barcelona, I feel at home in the classroom, too. I am one of those who think that my job is the most beautiful in the world. The work, yes, but not the conditions that most schools and universities offer us. I am referring to contracts, salaries, timetables and other abuses that we teachers, especially language teachers, are well aware of. Leaving this aside, I insist: being a language and literature or language teacher is the most beautiful profession in the world and I feel deeply fortunate and grateful. Among pronouns, poems, trips around Spain and Latin America, conjugation races, stories, linguistic varieties, characters, spelling board games, tragicomedies, accents, bilingual doubts... and, above all, among students. Accompanying them in their learning and their personal, academic and professional growth. This is, without a doubt, the best part of my job.
So I'm going back to school, and back to paid work! But at the pace of my little one and not at the pace of an adult and the pace demanded by society. That's why you will see that both the timetable and the courses I offer at the beginning are less than I intend. Everything will increase and grow as my little one grows. And let's be honest, what school or university can offer me this? None. Or maybe yes, one, but with what conditions. Once again, "the personal is political", as Carol Hanisch reminds us. If reconciling within your comfort zone is extremely difficult; reconciling abroad, without a network to support you (maternal or paternal family, friends or a tribe of upbringing), is practically impossible. For this reason, while we all work together to make work-life balance a reality, I have decided to create my own school on my own terms and in my own way.
Why am I telling you all this? Because language teacher, mother and, now, expatriate are the driving forces behind Mama back to school. A language school where, above all, there is a work-life balance. Where the work and personal life of the teacher and the student are valued. That is why we offer two modalities (face-to-face and online) so that you can choose the one that best suits your stage of life (childhood, adolescence, youth, adulthood and old age). And to cover the objectives, interests and needs of each stage (school, university, work, family and retirement). I put my more than fifteen years of learning and experience as a teacher at your service and I offer the greatest possible flexibility as long as it is also compatible with my bimaternity. And I say this as excited as I am scared. I am aware of the privilege it entails, but also of the financial and emotional toll that this decision will sometimes take.
And as I finish writing these lines, I am infinitely grateful for this space and this time without interruption, without staying up until the wee hours of the morning while you sleep. And I am grateful without guilt. A space and time necessary to be able to create this school that is constantly illuminated by you, Otto, Lua and Claus.
And I am very grateful to you, who have read me all the way to the end. And if in the end you decide to learn, continue learning or improve your Spanish or Catalan with me, I assure you that here, in this school, you are going to have a very, very good time while we learn a lot, you and me. Bienvenidas y bienvenidos. Benvingudes i benvinguts. Welcome :)
Hey ho, let’s go!
If you are new, let’s meet first! I offer you a 20 minutes long information session to discuss your needs and objectives. Also, to assess your level. And so that I can explain my classes in more detail and you can solve all your doubts: here.