Irene studied French Philology and English Philology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (this included a year in Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines) with the clear goal of becoming a teacher, which has always been her vocation. During her studies, she worked mostly leading crafts and indoor and outdoor games in daily after-school activities and summer camps for a children’s organization in her hometown, where she started her training in values-based education. She then completed a Master’s degree in Secondary Teacher Training specialising in Foreign Languages at the Universitat de Barcelona, followed by a research Master’s degree in Multilingual Communication at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
Irene taught MFL in different schools around Barcelona and in Wolverhampton, UK before moving to China to work as a MFL and Social Studies teacher in Qingdao Concord College of Sino-Canada. There she implemented the SIOP model and differentiated instruction and assessment in her lessons to cater for her students’ needs. She also led a variety of ECAs and took part in the organisation of school festivals. She decided to move to Shanghai to join the outstanding BISS Puxi team where she can bring together her interest in the IB programme and her passion for teaching, not only Secondary, but also Primary students.
Irene is passionate about travelling and learning foreign languages – she studied Russian and Mandarin for two years, and German, Arabic, and Basque for a year each, and she intends to further her knowledge of Mandarin while in Shanghai. She loves taking long walks and attending cultural events, and she is looking forward to enjoy everything that Shanghai has to offer.