English Language Center Faculty
Our English language faculty is comprised of native English-speaking professional language teachers, all of whom have TESOL, TOEFL, CELTA and/or other language teaching certifications and extensive experience working in the field of language instruction with students ages 3-16.
One key to our success over the years has been our truly outstanding faculty. I cannot be modest about a group of teachers whose credentials include the Royal College of Music in London, Exeter, University of Chicago, New York City’s School of Visual Arts, Belfast’s Queen’s University, and the University of Aix-en-Provence, among several other prestigious schools and universities. If you could see these teachers in the classroom, where their energy and passion for their subjects and their talent for inspiring students shine so brilliantly, then you would understand why I believe they are the finest faculty assembled in Barcelona for an English language program.
They are selected for their talent, their varied experiences in their disciplines, their enthusiasm, and above all their ability to inspire our students. Led by these outstanding teachers, our courses immerse students in learning a language through engaging topics and themes about which they are passionate. Read more about our outstanding faculty in their bios listed below.
ELC Teachers by grades
- Early Childhood/Kindergarten (K groups)
- Primary School (A and S groups)
- Upper Primary/Middle School (B groups)
- High School (C groups)
- Summer Afternoon Activities Program
Early Childhood/Kindergarten (K groups)
Jenny Brown
Jenny Brown was born in London England and grew up in Kensington. She studied music, piano & violin as well as combined teaching methodologies at the Royal College of Music. She has lived in Barcelona since 1996. She has extensive experience in young learners and believes fun and variety assist pre-schoolers in natural and fun language acquisition. Making English fun at the early stage encourages children in the later years to flawless fluency. Jenny is one of the longest serving members of staff having taught the early learner program since 2002. It gives her pride in her work to meet some of her earliest students who are now studying at university in either the USA or UK. In her spare time she restores antique furniture and plays music.
Rosaura Paredes
Rosaura was born and raised in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Central America. She graduated from an international school in her hometown, and began her professional career as an assistant. After obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, she continued working for four more years as a teacher. Rosaura came to Spain in 2010 and after 2 years she earned her Master’s degree in “Intervención en Dificultades del Aprendizaje”. Meanwhile, she met her husband (also from her hometown) and got married. Now, they have a beautiful baby girl. Rosaura has been working at ASB and English Program since 2012. She loves working with the “little ones”, help them grow in independence and develop all the necessary skills needed to continue their journey through the program. Rosaura enjoys spending time with her family at the beach.
Adelina Vaquerizo
Adelina was born in Spain and has both Spanish and Belgian nationalities. Fluent in Spanish, French and English, she has traveled the world thanks to her husband’s responsibilities as an expatriate. Her travels have allowed her to find a home in many countries, among them are Belgium, Egypt, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and USA, as well as Europe. Adelina is passionate about her work with children and sports. In China she was an elementary P.E. teacher at the International School of Beijing. She was also a Kindergarten and Elementary Teaching Assistant and P.E. teacher at the American International School of Guangzhou. Adelina also has experience as a Kindergarten and psychomotricity teacher at Escaan in Sitges. For the past twelve years, Adelina has been a Kindergarten Teaching Assistant at the American School of Barcelona and after-school activity teacher in Yoga, Music and Movement, Life and Science and Drama.
Justine Connelly
Originally from Seattle, Washington, Justine earned a Bachelor’s Degree at Seattle Pacific University in Elementary Education and Latin American Studies, with a minor in Global and Urban Ministries. Justine began her teaching career in Guatemala, where she taught English for two years. Upon returning to Seattle, Justine taught in a Spanish immersion school for several years before deciding to move to Barcelona to pursue a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics and Language Acquisition at the University of Barcelona. She has taught K5 at ASB for two years and in 2017-2018 she will be teaching in 1st grade. Barcelona reminds Justine in many ways of a much sunnier version of Seattle, with the sea and mountains nearby. Justine enjoys most anything that involves being outdoors, Seattle sports teams, cooking, gardening, and spending time with friends and family.
Jeanette Aller
Jeannette Aller was born in Caracas, Venezuela. She grew up in a Spanish-Venezuelan family and lived part of her childhood in Andover, Massachusetts (USA). After obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education in the Universidad Metropolitana de Caracas, Jeannette returned to the US earning a postgraduate degree in English as a Second Language from Haverhill Community College in Massachusetts. Married with two lovely boys, Aleczander and Matheus and a girl named Cristina, Jeannette lived in Brazil for 25 years. While there, she studied a degree in education and taught English, Spanish and Portuguese to PK-12th grade students for over 28 years. Having worked at several international schools in Venezuela and Brazil. Jeannette came to Spain in 2017 with her family and has been teaching at ASB since then. She is a passionate, loving educator who enjoys watching students discover new interests and passions through their learning. In her free time, Jeannette loves to cook, travel, read and spend time as a mom with her 3 teenagers and family.
Primary School (A and S groups)
Roísín Breen
Róisín Breen grew up in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Her love for travelling and the thirst to learn new languages led her to Barcelona, where she completed her SIT TESOL and recently completed a diploma in Early Years Child Care. Róisín fell in love with Barcelona and it is now her permanent home. Róisín has been working in Kindergarten and Elementary during the summer program for ten years. She loves that she can share her creative ideas, have fun and learn something new every day from the children. Róisín teaches art in the afternoons, where she shares her creative expertise, inspiring others to be creative. In her spare time Róisín loves exploring the Catalan countryside, creating new recipes in the kitchen and reading a good book.
Cristina Branea
Cristina was born in Transylvania and has lived in France and Luxembourg before settling in Barcelona in 2010. She has a BA in English and Japanese Studies and an MA in Cultural Management. She is also fluent in Spanish and Catalan and advanced in French. She has been teaching English since 2012 to both (very) young learners and adults and has been working in the ASB Saturday and Winter Programs for three years. Cristina believes a welcoming and friendly class environment is the best way to encourage students to develop their language skills and absorb input in a beneficial way. Cristina loves spending time outdoors, so when she’s not travelling you’ll find her playing beach volleyball with her friends, swimming in the sea or reading a book and eating some fresh fruit somewhere in the shade.
Anna Cochrane
Anna is from Wimbledon, near London, but has been living in Barcelona since 2003. She has a BA Hons in Literature, Theatre and Dance and recently completed a post-graduate diploma in English language teaching. She started her professional life working in advertising but soon realised that teaching was the job for her. This is her twelfth year teaching first and second graders in the ASB English program! She loves incorporating her love of music, dance and theatre into her classes. She has visited many countries in Europe, Asia and North and South America and hopes to visit Africa some day. In her spare time, she enjoys eating out, photography, dancing and cooking food from all over the world.
Cassandra Hare
Cassandra Hare was born in Houston, Texas and lived in Dallas and Austin before settling in Barcelona in 2012. She has a BA in History and a minor in Fashion Merchandising from the University of North Texas. She has been teaching English for 6 years to both (very) young learners and adults, and also teaches teachers as an Associate Professor at the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya. This will be her first year working in the ASB Summer program. Cassandra finds teaching to be a rewarding and inspiring experience and values the ability to make a difference in someone’s life that goes far beyond knowledge. In her free time, she enjoys traveling the world with her husband, capturing their experiences through photography, cooking vegan food, and weekend hikes.
Jagjit Khela
Jagjit Khela is originally from Manchester, UK. She studied Bsc Media Technology at the University of Lincolnshire in Hull. She moved to Barcelona in October 2006, before that she was living and working in Palma de Mallorca, Bilbao and Sevilla. However, her initial love of Spain was when she spent her summer vacations working on a summer camp in Cadiz back in 2003! She has been working at the British Council for nearly 12 years teaching mainly young learners. She is also a Cambridge speaking and writing examiner. Currently she is finishing her post graduate diploma in Teaching English as a forgiegn language. In her free time she loves spending time with her family. She has two children Max 7 and Sofia 6, they take up most of her free time but when she can she loves going to the gym.
Upper Primary/Middle School (B groups)
Steve Brown
An experienced, qualified, teacher with a Master’s degree and TESOL qualification, Steve has worked in the ASB English Language Center for fourteen years, teaching a variety of age ranges. Originally from London, he lives in Barcelona with his family. During the year he works at a school in Sant Cugat , teaching a wide age range of students and preparing them for the official Cambridge English Exams. In his free time, he hangs out with his kids at the beach, plays sport, listens to music and perfects his home-made sushi skills.
Murray Woodward
Originally from Glasgow, Scotland, Murray has been teaching English for over ten years. He has been living and working in Barcelona since 2010 and spends most of his free time with his partner Fiona, his two year old son Sonny, and his green bicycle. He has been teaching at ASB for one year and this is his first year working in the Summer Program! As a teacher, he likes all of his students to have fun, to get involved and to feel free to express themselves in class. Except when they laugh at his socks!
High School (C groups)
Michelle Ndrika
Michelle has a degree and CELTA qualification teaching English as a second language. She is also a Cambridge examiner and has a wide range of teaching experience with children between the ages of six and sixteen. She hails from London, has lived in the USA and is now a long- time resident of Barcelona. As well as having been a member of the ELC teaching team for over 6 years, she also works at a secondary school in Barcelona, where she incorporates her love for music and the arts with her passion for English teaching. In her free time, Michelle enjoys singing in her band and working out at the gym.
Corin Tanner
Corin is from San Francisco, California and has been teaching in the ELC programs for the past ten years. He received a BA in Literature and Writing from UCSD and a Master’s in Comparative Literature from the University of Chicago. He has lived in Argentina, Brazil, France, Austria, Italy, and Spain, speaks six languages, and understands full well the challenges of language learning. One of his favorite things about English teaching is seeing shy, unconfident students blossom when they stop caring about making mistakes and take risks when speaking. He is married to a woman from Barcelona, has two children ages 4 and 7, writes fiction, and loves to surf, ski, and play basketball.
Summer Afternoon Activities Program
Roísín Breen
Róisín Breen grew up in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Her love for travelling and the thirst to learn new languages led her to Barcelona, where she completed her SIT TESOL and recently completed a diploma in Early Years Child Care. Róisín fell in love with Barcelona and it is now her permanent home. Róisín has been working in Kindergarten and Elementary during the summer program for ten years. She loves that she can share her creative ideas, have fun and learn something new every day from the children. Róisín teaches art in the afternoons, where she shares her creative expertise, inspiring others to be creative. In her spare time Róisín loves exploring the Catalan countryside, creating new recipes in the kitchen and reading a good book.
David Matiano
David considers dance to be his first love because it is thanks to dance that he has traveled the world. He is originally from Mexico where he started his training at the age of 17. But as long as he can remember his dream was to live and perform in New York City. That dream became within reach in 1986 when former Martha Graham’s principal dancer, Peter Sparling, and Bill De Young, artistic director of Arbor Dance/Works at the University of Michigan, offered him a scholarship and a chance to work and live in the US. David never looked back and right after Ann Arbor moved to NYC where he danced and performed professionally for many years. In 2004 he and his beloved wife decided to move to sunny Barcelona to start a new life. He currently teaches English and Dance to children and adults. Now he is more than thrilled to be part of the ASB ELC Afternoon Program. David’s favorite hobby is to spend time playing with his son, Leo. Nothing else makes his heart as happy as his adorable son.
Annie Cripps
Annie has been living in Barcelona for 14 years and is from Kent, near London. She worked at ASB in the summer program 10 years ago and has now returned to teach the Drama program. In that time she’s trained at The Actors Space, near Vic, in acting, writing and directing. She acted with her local Catalan theatre group for 5 years before dabbling in the English theatre scene in Barcelona. When Annie’s not teaching she’s probably planning her next trip away as she loves travelling and exploring different countries and cultures.
Laurie Ford
Since 2003, Laurie Ford has been living and teaching EFL classes, and more recently Robotics, in Barcelona. But even before this, she spent years as an Environmental (integrated) Science educator in Atlanta,GA, Seattle,WA, North Dakota, Ohio and Alaska. Her passion has been facilitating Science/Robotics education and potentially sparking ideas for solutions to global issues from our next generation ( and, of course, enhancing their skills in communicating them). She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Biology and has studied the Trinity College post-graduate EFL diploma and is a certified LEGO Robotics curriculum facilitator.
While not in the classroom, she enjoys watching movies with her husband and cat, attending indie music concerts and exploring the Catalan countryside.
María Burgos
Maria studied Direction of Cinematography in Centre Estudis Cinematogràfics de Catalunya, (CECC), she received a Master degree in Creative Documentary from University Pompeu Fabra of Barcelona, and went to study at International School of Cinema in Cuba. Over the period 2008-2013 she has been working as an Assistant Director in Films, TV Spots, Theater and other human stories and culture documentaries. Maria has traveled to many countries in the world with children’s NGO like in Nicaragua and Cuba, where she’s been collaborating with the kids doing projects for them. Before joining ASB in 2016, Maria has been living and working in places like, USA, Ireland, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia. She speaks Catalan, Spanish, and she is fluent in English and Portuguese. Maria loves to travel, to climb, read and going to the cinema and at the same time she loves to make videos and film.