How to Use the Site

The best way to get the most out of my site is to take your time and experiment with all the images and banners that you find. Almost all of them contain some hidden link or drop down menu that will take you to some new place or download some file to your computer.  All the exercises and readings are in two forms, web pages and PDF files. The web pages are for your use while online and the PDF files download a file that is much better to print and to keep on your own computer for future use. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download and view them but almost all computers come loaded with that program and if your computer does not have it you can get it here gratis.  I hope you enjoy and benefit from this site. It has a lot to offer if you take the time to explore and then explore some more.  But don't forget to read and study those exercises y ¡haganlo en voz alta!

Juan

Compañeros
Como pueden ver (en la photo) tengo amigos de todos tipos y que viven en todas partes del mundo. El hombre que ven a la izquierda es muy buen amigo mío de Oaxaca, México. Lo conocí hace sólo unos meses, y nos charlamos un buen rato. Yo le dije que él debe comer más, y llevar puesto una corbata de vez en cuando. Pero en serio, quería añadir esta página para compartir con Uds. algo de mi pasatiempo predilecto, enseñar español. Cuando decidí a regresar a la universidad para conseguir una educación, necesité tomar unas clases en un idioma extranjero. Los requisitos de University of California exigen que los estudiantes tomen a lo menos dos semestres para entrar en el sistema. Entonces decidí tomar español y fue la mejor decisión de mi vida. Me encantaba la lengua, la cultura latina, y el reto de aprender una lengua desde el principio. Más tarde, tomé muchas clases en UCB con estudiantes latinos los que hablan, leen y escriben español perfectamente. No me quedaba la menor duda que quería seguir adelante para completar mis deseos. Conseguí mi bachillerato con minor en español y seguí mis estudios en San Francisco State University. Durante todo esto viajaba a México muchas veces para participar en programas de inmersión quedándome con familias Mexicanas y siempre por mi lado era mi esposa, María. ¡Ella había decidido aprender español también! Puesto que María es trabajadora social, ella tiene muchos clientes hispanohablantes, y ella se ha mejorado tanto que sus jefes la han hecho la persona que toma todos los clientes que necesitan ayuda en español. Hace cinco años que empecé a enseñar clases en la escuela de adultos en Albany. Lo hago por mi afición. También enseño ingles en los colegios comunidades. Si quieren ver mi pagina de ingles haga clic aquí. Ha sido un verdadero placer enseñar y pasar mis noches con todos Ustedes.
Bienvenidos a mi clase. Ojalá que lo pasen muy bien.

Compañeros
As you can see (in the photo) I have friends of all types that live everywhere in the world. The man that you see to the left is a very good friend of mine from Oaxaca, Mexico. I met him only a few months ago, and we chatted for quite a while. I told him that he should eat more and that he should wear a tie from time to time. But seriously, I wanted to add this page in order to share with you something about my favorite pasttime, teaching Spanish. When I decided to return to the university in order to get my education, I needed to take some foreign language classes. The requirements of the University of California demand that the students take at least two semesters to enter the system. So I decided to take Spanish and it was the best decision of my life. I loved the language, the Latin culture, and the challenge of learning a language from scratch. Later, I took many classes at Cal Berkeley with Latin students who spoke, read, and wrote Spanish perfectly. I never had a doubt that I wanted to continue in order to complete my desires. I got my bachelor's degree with a minor in Spanish, and I continued my studies at San Francisco State University. During all this I traveled to Mexico many times in order to participate in immersion programs staying with Mexican families and always by my side was my wife, María. She had decided to learn Spanish too! Since Mary is a social worker, she has many Spanish speaking clients, and she has bettered her Spanish so much that her superiors have made her the person that takes the clients that need help in Spanish. Five years ago I started teaching classes in Albany Adult School. I do it because it is my hobby. I also teach English in community college. If you want to see my English site click here. It has been a true pleasure teaching and spending my evenings with all of you.
Welcome to my class.  I hope you have a good time.