Staff who believe in what they do are by far the best educators. This is why we view our staff as our key investors in our Spark project, meaning we make a big effort to guide and nurture them to provide the best quality of education and support to our students possible. Choosing Spark is a guarantee that you will encounter staff who not only care about what they do but also genuinely care about YOU.
Inge is the Educational Mastermind behind what happens at Spark, the one who keep things ticking. She is the Educational Director of all our School Tours and advises and supports tour organizers through the tour process. She is originally Dutch but fluent in English and Spanish. Her great passion is passing on to school students her own love for learning languages. Inge is one of the three founders of Spark. She not only has a passion for languages and education but also is an avid blogger and is the author of 100 steps to financial independence on the 100stepmission blog on self development. Read more about Inge on linked in.
Douglas is the General Manager at Spark. His role is to keep the admin and logistics ticking behind the scenes as well as doubling up as the in-house IT specialist. He also assists Inge with running of the different programmes and plays a big role in the professional development of the Spark team. Douglas is Scottish but has lived in Spain for long time and is is fluent in Spanish. His great passion is people development and team building, something that started from his role in running children summer camps. He is also the author of 100 steps to leadership on the 100stepmission blog on self development. Read about Douglas on linkedin.
Pilar is the first face most people see when they come to Spark being the overall responsible of reception and day to day client attention of Spanish and English Academies. She is also a fully qualified Spanish teacher and does many of the classes for the school groups and the English teachers. She is the communicator between parents and students for the English part of the academy, and she is the one who checks the reservations to ensure that the groups that visit Spain will have an unforgettable experience. Pilar is a local from Sevilla and strongly believes that Andalucia is the most beautiful place in the world. Her great passion is teaching Spanish and sharing the beauty of her culture with the foreign visitors, but she is also very satisfied and happy with her other responsibilities and she constantly aims to improve.
Raphael is the fonzie of Spark, the coolest of us. He is our whizz with the school groups, attending each group with minute detail and passion. He ensures that every individual in that group will have an amazing time and is also a fully qualified Spanish teacher who does many of classes for the school groups. His great passion is teaching Spanish and seeing the progress of the group from the day they arrive to the day the depart. He sees it as his duty to pass on his great passion for his own language to others.
Iris is the Spark cleaner of the communal areas of the residence and the classes. However cleaning is not only her only role as she is also a profesora, loving to interact with the students and learn about their life and help them to practice their Spanish. She also runs our cooking classes with the groups. For students, she is “la Mama de todos” because she looks out for everyone, something you will sense for sure. She is originally from Panama, but she has lived in El Puerto for quite a few years now! Her great passion is the most important of any as it is making people smile.
Gema has been teaching with us since the beginning of Spark. She teaches Adult Group Classes and individual classes and also often our school groups as well. Gema is from El Puerto de Santa Maria and her Great Passion is inspiring her students not only in their love of Spanish but in their appreciation of Spanish culture.
Mari José has also been with us in Spark since the very beginning and like Gema teaches a range of Spanish classes. She is also from the local area and like Gema has a huge passion for passing on her knowledge of Spanish and passion for Spanish culture. Her great passion is validating student’s belief that can speak Spanish.
Marina is the fonzie of Spark, the coolest of us. She is our whizz with the school groups, attending each group with minute detail and passion. She ensures that every individual in that group will have an amazing time and is also a fully qualified Spanish teacher who does many of classes for the school groups. Her great passion is teaching Spanish and seeing the progress of the group from the day they arrive to the day the depart. She sees it as her duty to pass on her great passion for his own language to others.
We have other teaching staff in Spark, both of Spanish and English. All of our teachers are fully qualified in teaching Spanish (or English) and all have experience teaching as a foreign language. We especially select our teachers not only on their qualifications and experience, but even more so for their desire to run dynamic and innovative classes that inspire our learners to achieve and follow up on their own learning both inside and outside the classroom.
We also have placement staff who help on client attention and with general admin tasks. They also look after students who stay in our residence and encourage them to speak as much Spanish as possible.