Señora Mahoney shares valuable insights she learned from her Valenciano teacher this summer while in España!
Alicante, a city just 2 hours south of Valencia, is where I finally met Eva, my amazing Valenciano teacher, after two summers of studying the local language of Valencia under her tutelage.
Eva’s technique for explaining the complicated grammar and vocabulary of this occidental dialect of Catalán, was something that caught my attention. I knew I had to find out more about her story.
Her online Language Academy known as eValen (representing Eva’s name, converging with the first part of the word Valenciano) got started during the Covid Pandemic, when the demand for online language courses hit an all-time high. Finding herself explaining the same lesson over and over to her individual students in back to back sessions is what finally led Eva to form group classes and establish an online academy. The business caught on like wildfire. That is what happened, but it’s not the whole story.
On Friday, July 26th, Eva, and her fiancé, Javi who takes care of the technical and business side of the language academy, were waiting for me in the sunny Mediterranean port city of Alicante when I arrived by bus. The palm tress waved their fanlike leaves in the air above us as we entered the quaint seaside restaurant and sat down at a table that Javi had reserved. What followed was a conversation that lasted several hours from one language teacher to another. Here are some important takeaways from our conversation:
It’s ok to want to do something different When it was time for Eva to choose a path of studies in high school–science or humanities– Eva told her parents she waned to study art. That meant Eva would have to wake up extra early and go to a school in a different town, since an art focus was not offered where they lived. She didn’t care how much effort it would take or how the other students would look at her, she was curious and interested in art, so she went to school in a different town. No one else in her town did that.
Disadvantages open doors In one of her art classes, she learned about philosophy, which was the next step in her career, studying a degree in Philosophy at the University of Valencia. Among her classmates were full-fledged lawyers and doctors, to whom the professors always gave the best grades, while she was never allowed to shine. She decided to post an add for conversation classes in Spanish or Valenciano on a webpage called Mil anuncios (A thousand and one advertisements), and began to get many requests for classes at 5 euros per hour. Eva loved philosophy: asking questions about life and death and reflecting on the meaning of everything. She dreamed about teaching young children philosophy, and that is exactly what she did for her final degree project. It was a total success! She and a friend decided to start a totally innovative business, teaching philosophy to primary school children. Schools loved the program, which flourished until the pandemic hit.
Parents are teachers Eva talks about how it was never easy for her to learn complicated concepts, that she was in tears many nights trying to do her work. Her dad always came to her aid and would make a hard concept fun to learn, breaking it down into simple and easy steps. Eva picked up his technique and now uses his methods in her lessons of Valenciano. No wonder all of her students love her.
If you fail, you will learn it better the next time When certification in Valenciano became a requirement for jobs in the Valencian Community, Eva’s mom signed her up for the certifying exam. Only, she didn’t tell Eva until a few days before the exam, expecting that since they speak Valenciano at home, Eva would pass easily. Well, she failed. The next year, her mother signed her up again for the exam, and another failure. The following year she signed her up again, but Eva studied very hard to pass the exam, and still she failed. The next time, she decided to take the more advanced exam, since she felt she knew the material well, and at last she met with success!! Not only that, she took the course to become an examiner of Valenciano and passed with flying colors! She became the person on the other side of the desk, administering the certification tests and empathizing with the nervous test takers in a way they could never know!
Do something new When the Pandemic closed her small philosophy business, Eva created her online academy. She was swamped with requests for Valenciano classes, since the only form of learning was online at that time, Eva dared to do something new. With her tips and tricks for learning the language (after so many times failing the exam) Eva was an immediate favorite for students all over the region. Soon she began to add more classes, which filled up with language learners who felt understood by Eva, who could identify with the ones who struggled the most.
Relationships matter Javi, Eva’s fiancé, joined the venture from the technology end and helped coordinate the financial and legal aspects of the business, allowing Eva to use all of her time teaching, preparing classes and correcting. They work so seamlessly together. People who believe in us and support us are our best allies. Eva’s philosophy of making personal connections with her students, texting them after a few classes to see how things are going, is what makes her an amazing teacher. She is there to help each person succeed, not just to explain grammar to a group of random students online.
Be smart about the future Our conversation concluded with a reflection about her vision for eValen in the future. She and Javi smiled at each other, “We are creating a physical academy.” In fact, they already have purchased the building! Eva wants to create an Academy with several rooms in which different subjects could be taught at once. She concluded wisely, “I am not going to call it an Academy of Valenciano, because if there comes a time that people are not interested in Valenciano classes, I will be able to teach something else.” Good luck Eva and Javi!
