From a very young age, I knew that education was my calling. Thanks to the orientation of my primary school English teacher, Miss Conchita, I decided to pursue a Degree in English Literature and Linguistics. After graduating I earned the Certificate of Pedagogical Aptitude (an official Spanish postgraduate teaching qualification, equivalent to today’s Master’s in Teacher Training), with a specialisation in English. However, at age 25 I couldn’t imagine myself teaching at a secondary school for my entire career, so I chose to carry on studying. Taking advantage of having had Catalan as my second language during my degree, I sat the official Catalan D Certificate (equivalent to an advanced C2 according to the Common European Framework, and a requirement for teaching the language). Shortly afterwards, I enrolled in the doctorate programme in English Studies, from which I obtained the Diploma of Advanced Studies after defending my minor thesis.
Work trajectory
Professionally, after years of teaching at the language school where I had studied English, I had the opportunity to join the University of Lleida. First, I earned a research training fellowship from the Catalan government in the Department of English and Linguistics (now Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures), and from there, I started collaborating with the Language Service, nowadays Language Institute, where I discovered teaching to adult learners. Soon afterwards, I passed the public entrance examination and earned a permanent post as a language specialist for English. In addition to teaching English courses, my responsibilities included:
- Expanding and consolidating the English section;
- Organising and coordinating English courses (levels A1 to C2) for students as well as teaching and administrative staff, in face-to-face and blended formats;
- Coordinating and training the English teaching team;
- Organising and supervising official English exams and certificates;
- Managing, in collaboration with the International Relations Office, the placement tests for outgoing students applying for Erasmus scholarships;
- Providing support to students at the Language Self-Access Centre;
- Offering language consulting, supervising external translations for university members, and creating and maintaining terminology databases.
New chapter in Switzerland
With the growing success of the English courses also increased my administrative duties, which kept me away from the classroom. For this and other personal reasons, in 2013 I decided to move to Zurich. Here, to maintain ties with my home country, in addition to teaching English, I also have the opportunity to teach Catalan and Spanish as foreign languages, applying my accumulated teaching experience. This has allowed me to enrich my methodology and adapt it to multicultural international contexts, while continuously updating my training to face new professional challenges.
In September 2025, I returned to university teaching with a role I find incredibly exciting. During this academic year, I am responsible for the Catalan lecturership at the Department of Romance Studies of the University of Zurich, the only university in Switzerland offering this language. As a lecturer, in addition to teaching Catalan courses from beginner to B2 level, I also organise activities to promote the Catalan language and culture among the members of the university community. For this task, I have the institutional support of the Institut Ramon Llull.
If you want to learn more details about my professional background, you can find my full CV on LinkedIn.
Elena Pérez Serrano - Languages 