Mirtha founded the school in the 1980s — not as a Spanish school, but as an English institute in Puerto Natales, a small and breathtaking town in Chilean Patagonia — whose name comes from the Río Natalis, a river discovered on Christmas Eve 1894 and named from the Latin for birth. It was that name that Mirtha chose for her school, and that eventually became Natalislang.

When a British traveller suggested she should also be teaching Spanish, she ordered materials from Santiago and Spain and started from scratch.

That decision led to nearly four decades of teaching, the development of her own textbooks and materials, and a school that has welcomed students from over 30 countries.

Mirtha holds a degree in English teaching from the Universidad Técnica de Santiago and a qualification in teaching Spanish as a foreign language from the Universidad de Salamanca. She teaches in person in Santiago and online to students around the world.

She designs every programme, prepares every set of materials and teaches the majority of classes personally. When she is not teaching, she is writing — improving the books and resources that form the backbone of the Natalislang method.

Mirtha believes that good teaching never stands still. She is currently developing a new collection of interactive exercises and digital tools for Spanish learners and teachers — available soon on this site and on selected educational platforms. After nearly four decades in the classroom, she is still creating.

"I have been teaching for nearly 40 years and I still prepare every class individually.
No two students are the same — and no two classes should be either."