Sample Story Biographies/Story Info - Profe Kyle
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Sample Story
Biographies/Story Info
Profe Kyle is a Canadian English teacher born
in 1990. He first started learning Spanish in 2010
after becoming friends with a Mexican acting
student in his university dormitory. By 2012, he
was having his first conversations in Spanish.
The same happiness he felt upon having
conversations in Spanish for the first time he wants to give you
with his fluency stories.
(1st Person Present)
Hey, my name is Kyle. On social media I’m called Profe Kyle.
Where did that name come from? Well, I taught English at a
private university in Cartagena, Colombia in 2015. I noticed that
most of the students called me ‘profe’. It was kind of funny to
me because in English a professor is usually only a university
instructor with a doctorate degree1 and tenure2.
It felt kind of 3 strange being called ‘profe’ at first, but then
somebody explained to me that ‘profe’ in Spanish was used with
instructors in many Latin American high schools4 and universities.
When I returned to Canada in 2016 and started my Facebook
page to help Latin Americans learn English quicker, I decided to
use ‘Profe Kyle’.
Now that you know why I’m called Profe Kyle, you might want
to know how my methodology works. Well, it’s quite simple, you
learn languages by using the language. That’s how you learned
Spanish when you were a kid. You listened to your parents, you
read stories, and you watched television.
Grammar can be useful. I took 3 semesters of Spanish
classes at university, and they taught me a lot of grammar. By
1 título
2 tenencia
3 un poco (‘sort of’ y ‘a little’ son sinónimos aquí)
4 colegios
© 2020 1comparing the Spanish grammar to English grammar, I was able
to understand Spanish quickly. However1, I soon realized that
grammar was just a tool2 to help me understand the language.
After 3 semesters, I couldn’t have a conversation in Spanish.
Over the next 8 years, I began teaching myself Spanish with
just the internet and language exchange partners. It wasn’t easy,
but I managed to reach a conversational level of Spanish.
When I began teaching English I wanted to create a unique
methodology that combined the natural way of learning a
language that kids use with the analytical way of learning a
language that adults use. These stories are the culmination of
16 years of learning languages and 6 years of teaching English to
Spanish speakers like you.
The goal with the stories is to give you experience with the
language so that your brain begins learning English naturally
without really trying. The stories aren’t meant3 to be super
difficult because frustration is the enemy of effective language
learning. However, in order to continue advancing, you do need
to challenge yourself. So the stories have a few new words that
you don’t know. Obviously, you can’t learn a new word if you
don’t know what it means or how to use it. For that reason I put
the translations of the new words at the bottom of the page. You
don’t need to waste any time using Google Translate.
�No te preocupes,
mis cajas de infor- If a new word is really complicated, or there is an important
mación te explicarán grammar aspect that I want you to understand, I have information
todo que no entien-
des en español. Nun- boxes on the side that will help you understand everything
ca estarás perdido. perfectly.
Estoy aquí contigo.
With my stories, you will improve almost all aspects of your
English except for writing. Your listening improves with the story
audio, the questions audio, and the choral practice. Your speaking
improves by answering the questions below out loud4. Your
pronunciation improves by doing the choral practice and reading
the story out loud after listening to it a few times. Your vocabulary
improves by reading the story and learning the new words. Your
reading improves by... reading.
1 sin embargo
2 herramienta
3 están destinadas
4 en voz alta
© 2020 2After reading all of the stories, you will be surprised how much
your English has improved. You won’t need to pay thousands
of dollars for classes that don’t help you speak in English. You
will realize1 you’ve reached an intermediate level of English after
finishing all of them.
Of course, if you’re already taking classes, these stories will
make you the smartest student in your class. I guarantee that.
I hope to see you inside the course soon.
Questions
Respond to the questions in the accompanying audio out loud as if someone were
asking you the questions in real life. If you want to train your writing and create
a better connection with the language, write your answers separately on a piece
of paper.
1. Am I American?
2. What nationality am I?
3. Are you an English teacher?
4. Who is an English teacher?
5. Did I teach at a private university in Spain?
6. Where was the private university that I taught at?
7. Can grammar be useful in learning a language?
8. Does grammar give you the confidence to speak a language?
9. Is frustration the enemy of language learning?
10. What is the enemy of language learning?
11. Do my stories make learning English easier or harder for Spanish
speakers like you?
12. Do you need to use Google Translate when you read my stories?
13. Where are my explanations for complicated vocabulary and
grammar?
14. Will you improve most aspects of your English with these stories?
1 darse cuenta
© 2020 315. Will you improve your writing with these stories?
16. Which aspect of English won’t you improve with your stories?
17. Do you want to Speak English with confidence?
18. Do you want to Speak English with a neutral accent?
19. Do you want learning English to be easy?
20. Do I want you to reach an intermediate level with these stories?
21. Who wants you to reach an intermediate level with these stories?
22. Are you excited to start learning English with me?
23. Who is excited to start learning English with me?
Active Practice 1 — Transform
Transform the following text into the 1st person present out loud (en voz alta) or
by writing it out on a piece of paper. The answer will be on the last page.
It feels kind of strange being called ‘profe’ at first, but then
somebody explained to me that ‘profe’ in Spanish was used with
instructors in many Latin American high schools and universities.
When I returned to Canada in 2016 and started my Facebook
page to help Latin Americans learn their English quicker, I decided
to use ‘Profe Kyle’.
Active Practice 2 — Translate
Translate the following sentences into English out loud or by writing it on a piece
of paper. The correct translations will be on the last page. If you don’t translate
them completely correct the first time, you can keep translating it every day or
once a week until you translate everything perfectly.
1. Me llamo Kyle.
2. Tengo 6 años enseñando inglés.
3. Aprenderás inglés leyendo.
© 2020 44. La gramática puede ser útil.
5. Soy el estudiante más inteligente del mundo.
6. Voy a alcanzar un nivel intermedio con las historias.
Práctica Coral
Escucha el audio 1 vez para acostumbrarte a la pronununciación.
Nota las peculiaridades de la pronunciación. Después, repite conmigo la
pronunciación 50-100 veces.
Este ejercicio te dará un acento más nativo si lo haces juiciosamente. Enfoca
en un aspecto de la pronunciación a la vez.
El inglés tiene 3 niveles de énfasis: primer nivel, segundo nivel y tercero nivel.
Cuando escuchas el audio, nota estas 3 niveles (representado con números en la
transcripción al español).
I want a neutral accent in English.
aquí habrá mi transcripción especial para latinos
> aquí habrá ejemplos de palabras con los sonidos de inglés que
no existen en español de la oración anterior
Cosas Para Notar
1. Aquí escribiré mis explicaciones de la oración anterior para que
entiendas cómo los gringos hablan de verdad.
2. Se llama práctica coral porque vas a decir la oración al mismo
tiempo que yo, como harías en un coro en la iglesia.
3. No solo mejorarás tu acento con la práctica coral sino tu
escucha en inglés también. Una razón principal por la que los
latinos no escuchan bien a mi pueblo es porque aprenden una
pronunciación artificial que nunca usamos. Tus oídos esperan
© 2020 5escuchar una cosa de mí, pero en vez de eso, escuchan algo
completamente diferente.
Answers
1) . It feels kind of strange being called ‘profe’ at first, but then
somebody explains to me that ‘profe’ in Spanish is used with
instructors in many Latin American high schools and universities.
When I return to Canada in 2016 and start my Facebook page
to help Latin Americans learn their English quicker, I will decide to
use ‘Profe Kyle’.
2) 1. My name is Kyle.
2. I’ve been teaching English for 6 years.
3. You will learn English by reading.
4. Grammar can be useful.
5. I am the smartest student in the world.
© 2020 6You can also read
