By Hispanic Entrepreneurs
Nayade Muñoz Rivas, director of the Learning Center Institute, presents herself as an entrepreneur at 33 years old and has a big smile that has been an entrepreneur for a year and being her own boss, teaching languages that open doors to success, and it is not just any year, it is the 2020 with pandemic.
The beginnings of the entrepreneur tend to be complicated and even more so with obstacles such as a global pandemic, this is the case of Nayade, who despite working for 6 years as a teacher at the same institute, decides to buy it in 2019 and begins its journey in the entrepreneurship teaching English and German.
The opportunity
They bought the institute last year in July 2019, but since October 2014 Nayade Muñoz, specialist in interpretation and translation, was already working as a teacher in the same place, and she saw as an opportunity to be able to buy it and be in charge of her company, she says “When I worked in the old Learning Center I always thought, if I had high school I would do this… and I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to be my own boss, I like it because I can manage my time, I love teaching ”.
This venture is a family partnership that is formed between a mother and two sisters. The young interpreter confesses “I am a humanist and the numbers don't give me much so my sister Lhuan Muñoz is in charge of the tax, my mother Alicia Rivas put the capital of this entrepreneurship and she gives me all the advice on how to treat the staff, and finally my brother Axel Muñoz participates with conversational classes from Australia and makes contact with all foreigners in our free monthly classes ”.
Everything was going well, but in March the young Muñoz declares “I saw everything black, we were going to start with the training to face-to-face companies, in company, which is to send a teacher to the company for classes or to go to the institute, and with the pandemic not We were able to give no classes, thank God we have students who have been with us for years, especially the little ones, so we decided to grow up and teach online, there was some resistance but then they understood that this quarantine would last a little longer, in addition we were only 6 months with our undertaking was difficult, but with online classes on all platforms (meet, zoom, hagout) we adapt to our students and continue with all online services ”.
Learning Center Seal
The Director assures, “Our classes are very personalized. We begin by conducting an interview, whether with a child or an adult, to understand their expectations and why they want to learn English or German. We adapt to our students' requests, whether for postgraduate studies or for work. We also send them a test that measures their language level, and then we talk with them to find out how their conversational level is. But as for our teaching methodology, we try to simultaneously reinforce the four skills that are essential for learning any language: speaking , reading, listening, and writing. If any of these skills are weaker, then we reinforce and improve them according to our personalized class so that they develop together.”
What differentiates this institution is that its classes are personalized, with continuous evaluation to see the progress that is made, with constant feedback and feedback. Rivas sums it up saying “Our hallmark is that they seek us out because other students have learned English and recommend us. . "
“We offer the service of English and German classes from level A1 to C2, with 60 teaching hours per level, from children (5 years old, regardless of whether they know how to write or read), adolescents and adults, individually, dual or in groups , training for companies through the Sence (In Company) code, translation and interpretation services, and pedagogical support to children by reviewing their homework and teaching them the content they see in school ”due to the pandemic, they are offering more of this service, explains Muñoz.
Additionally, this year the Institute began offering monthly conversation classes with native English speakers. This activity is open and free to anyone who wants to practice their speaking and listening skills. The diverse group includes guests from Mauri (a Polynesian ethnic group from New Zealand), India, and Australia, as well as Chileans living abroad who share their experiences, such as visas, scholarships, and jobs, with plenty of feedback. The teacher emphasizes, "The only thing we ask is that you have your camera on via Zoom and that you contact us beforehand at contacto@learningcenter.cl or through social media."
Characteristics of entrepreneurs and students
According to Rivas, Angelenos entrepreneurs have "the desire to get ahead and not lower their arms, continue to persevere with creativity, we have the ability to adapt especially, such as going to the digital issue with social networks, to be able to do marketing of what is offered." Additionally, she declares that she is a "Proud teacher" and is very proud of her students, since they all have that desire to learn, she segments them into two groups, the "little students" whose teaching is closer and the accompaniment of their learning.
Then there are the adults, many are young, they are focused on doing things abroad, being able to work or study, they take classes because they want to go abroad, they must take international exams such as TOEFL or IELTS, because they are aware that with that tool can develop in another country, whether to work, study the profession that is here in Chile (as in the case of medicine) or abroad, for competitiveness in the labor field, "putting on your resume that you speak English opens doors for you , the language that unites us universally is English, and all my students have that dream of studying and working abroad ”concludes the professional Muñoz.
Virus expansion
Doing classes in this way, online, has expanded them, before they only had students in Los Angeles, now with the issue of the pandemic, their students are from other cities such as Concepción, Santiago, Rancagua, etc., so whatever happens The pandemic ensures that they remain Online and in person at their facilities from Los Angeles with flexible hours, adapted to each student. In the future, they will offer international tests for both English teachers, translators and students who can go and present TOEFL or IELTS, with a focus on the latter that is used to study and work.
Council
"I'm new to this, but I think the advice is to persevere, keep a positive mind, keep an eye on the goal while enjoying the journey, you fall down and you learn from all those things."
Contact them!
Instagram @learningcenterchile
on facebook Learning Center,
Website www.learningcenter.cl
whatsapp + 56987743632
Read the Hispanic Entrepreneurs magazine
