Perfecto vs pasado simple: repaso anual (B1)

Posted by Clara M. — 28 December

Readers often ask how I keep teaching fresh. This year mixed classroom wins, travel, and quiet failures. I write in two tenses because life arrives both as open experience and as dated events.

Professional highlights

I have taught four evening groups since January. Enrollment rose after spring, and two classes have waited lists for January restart. Last March I piloted a reading circle on Friday afternoons. Attendance started small, yet by June twelve students came regularly.

In September I spoke at a regional conference in Bristol. I shared ideas about comprehensible input and tense contrast. The talk lasted forty minutes, and several teachers asked for slides afterward. I have stayed in touch with three of them through a shared online folder.

Travel and rest

I have visited my sister in Glasgow twice this year. Last visit was in August during festival week. We walked crowded streets until midnight and ate potato pies near the station. Since that trip I have recommended one bookshop to every visitor I meet.

Last April I flew to Lisbon for four days alone. I had never travelled solo in Portugal before. Rain fell on the first day, but sunshine returned on Sunday. I have wanted to repeat the trip since I came home, though work kept me busy in autumn.

Personal growth

I have read twenty-two novels in English and Spanish combined. Last year I read fifteen, so pace improved. I started a podcast in October about grammar myths. Five episodes exist so far, and listeners have sent kind messages from three countries.

Last winter I burned out briefly in February. I cancelled one class and slept an entire weekend. Since then I have guarded Sundays for rest. That change felt small, yet it has mattered more than any conference badge.

Looking forward

Next year I will expand the reading circle. I have already drafted lesson plans, and a colleague has offered room space. If you have followed this blog since 2020, thank you. You have seen me grow from nervous poster to calm facilitator.

Past dates anchor memories: Bristol in September, Lisbon in April, Glasgow in August. Present perfect links them to who I am today: groups I have taught, books I have read, boundaries I have kept since February. A year review needs both lenses. Dates close chapters. Experience keeps the story open into January.

A Year in Review: Blog Post from a Language Teacher

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