The face behind Español Universal.
Español Universal was founded on Oct. 19, 2009, by Débora López Rodríguez.
My name is Débora López Rodríguez, I was born in Madrid of Seville parents and I have lived in many Spanish regions such as Madrid, Andalusia, Catalonia, Galicia, the Basque Country, the Balearic Islands and Valencia. Traveling gave me a broader view of the different cultures in Spain. In 1993, I moved to the Netherlands.
By now I have been living in the Netherlands for 30 years where I have successfully combined my passion for the Spanish language and culture and my talent to transfer knowledge. I am an experienced, enthusiastic Spanish teacher and I have an excellent ability to empathize with the needs of my students in order to work with them to make the whole educational process successful.Prior to my years of experience teaching Spanish at various educational institutions, I founded my own language school in Haarlem in 2009 called Español Universal. Entrepreneurship turned out to be a new passion.
Español Universal was founded by me on October 19, 2009 from the conviction that learning the Spanish language can only succeed if it goes hand in hand with making Spanish culture and its manners your own. To close a business deal, to order food in a restaurant … manners are an integral part of the language. High motivation and commitment from both instructor and student are, of course, also a requirement for the favorable outcome of any language course.On Oct. 19, 2023, my Spanish language school Español Universal celebrated exactly 14 years. That was a time to look back gratefully at the past, to look proudly at the present and to look to an exciting future. Español Universal has grown big in Haarlem precisely by wanting to stay small and by being true to its personal and creative approach to learning. I would like to express my gratitude to all those hundreds of people with whom I have been able to share my passion for the Spanish language and culture over the past 14 years of Spanish classes in Haarlem.
I studied Psychology and Spanish Language and Literature in Spain at the Universidad de Valencia. In the Netherlands, I obtained my doctoral degree in Spanish Language and Literature majoring in Linguistics Teacher’s Variant from the University of Amsterdam on 1998. I completed my pedagogical didactic preparation at the Institute for Teacher Education in Amsterdam.
During and after my studies in the Netherlands, I taught at several language institutes where I have gained experience in teaching different types of Spanish courses at very varied levels over the past 30 years: private lessons, group lessons, intensive courses, conversation courses, corporate training and children’s classes. Regarding corporate training, I have extensive experience in the following industries: fashion sector, food sector, telecommunications sector, transportation sector, aviation sector, engineering sector, flower sector and AGF sector. I have also provided Spanish classes in Elementary, Middle, High School, High School and High School.
I look forward to guiding you through the world of Spanish language and culture!
