About Me

Name:  R o b e r t o   C e r v a n t e s

I am a Columbia University alumnus who studied a Master of Science in Computer Science, so Systems Analyst is my other activity. I am a native Spanish speaker from Mexico City.

You might ask, "What does Computer Science have in common with a language like Spanish?" Computer Languages are similar to Human Languages. They both are represented by grammars, words, and characters (tokens). There are computer software elements called "parsers" that check the syntax (part of a grammar) of a language. My thesis work in college was a speech recognition phone system that also recognizes speech based on grammars. When you call a company whose phone system prompts you to say some phrase, you are using computer based speech recognition systems. These programs are written using grammars, automatons, and lexical analyzers. In other words, a person who was trained in certain topics of Computer Science possesses an extensive knowledge of the same terminology linguists use.

The above description does not mean lessons focus on grammar only.

Experience: I have extensive experience as instructor in different fields. I began teaching (and taking) Computer Science related courses. In Mexico City was a Spanish and English instructor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.  Previously, I taught Spanish at the Centro de Estudios para Extranjeros (Education Center for Foreign Students) at the National University of Mexico. I started teaching Spanish in New York in 1995 intermittently, and since 2003 I have been tutoring students non-stop.

I have studied several languages myself to different extents. First, I studied English. German followed. I have a Goethe Institute certificate of German as Foreign language. Unfortunately, I haven't used it very often since then. Later, I studied some French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Romanian. I nearly forgot some of those languages.

These skills are very useful for me as a foreign language tutor, as I have knowledge of different letter sounds in some other languages, so I can guide the student to imitate the correct pronunciation. In short, it helps me to identify why some sound from the student's native language interferes with the Spanish pronunciation.

I have some experience with the Foreign Language Institute of Department of State. On December 2006, I was contacted by an official of the Department of State. I needed to prepare a U.S. diplomat who works at the United States Mission to the NATO, in Brussels, Belgium. The mission was to help him pass the Department of State's Spanish language exam. He knows Spanish already, so it was a matter of passing to a more advanced level. During this period, I was in contact with the Department of State's staff in Washington, who guided me through the process. For personal reasons, the diplomat couldn't travel to Washington to attend the school prior to his exam; he needed to remain in New York. We worked on a daily basis for almost a month. According to them, it was quite difficult to pass the exam if the student did not attend the Department of State's own language school. Luckily for both of us, the diplomat did a great job and obtained an outstanding grade. We were congratulated for his success.