The former Macedonian singer who went viral teaching Catalan on social media with his grandmother

GironaIt is well known and evident that the Catalan's health is not at its best. However, among so many discouraging surveys on language useEspecially among younger generations, positive initiatives that inspire optimism and hope are also making a name for themselves. One such project is that of Irene Carreras, a 27-year-old from Girona who, through her social media accounts—where she has amassed over 75,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram—charmingly teaches simple expressions and words to capture the attention of new speakers. Carreras, who was a singer in the second-to-last generation of the family band Macedonia, often appears in her videos with her grandmother Dolors, who revives obsolete vocabulary, expressions, and idioms. And, thanks to her online presence, she has already begun offering online courses.More than 500 students at the basic and intermediate levels.

"A little over a year ago, I realized the country's need to help people coming from abroad learn Catalan, and I decided to embark on a new professional path," she recalls. The young woman from Girona, a graduate in French philology with a master's degree in education, had until then worked as a teacher in Olot and at an international school in Andorra: "I thought to myself, 'Wow, you speak Catalan, French, English, and Spanish, why don't you teach Catalan, your language, your language of love and thought, to speakers of these foreign languages?'"

So, to make herself known in a world dominated by reels and algorithms, decided to open an account on Instagram and TikTok, first combining translations from Catalan, Spanish, English and French, until Catalan, which was the one that really aroused the most interest, became the central part of the profile.

Grandma and the words that are being lost

Many of her videos have gone viral, and much of their success is due to her sensitivity in promoting the authentic Girona dialect and, with the help of her grandmother, the vocabulary ofbefore"When I worked in schools, I realized that teenagers, and I myself, didn't know how to use or weren't familiar with many of these words. I saw the need to preserve and record these more Girona-specific, dialectal ways of speaking from past generations, which are in danger of disappearing," she explains. And that's why Grandma Dolors's presence is so important. She started appearing almost by chance, explaining a Christmas recipe: "It came about because I wanted to make a video, just last Christmas, showing how to make beef with mushrooms, and people liked it so much." Since then, videos of Grandma and the cleaning lady have become very frequent. The rapport between them is immediately apparent and adds a heartwarming tone that makes all the difference.

Students from all over the world, especially Spanish speakers

This role as a content creator has opened many doors for her as a teacher, since 90% of her students have discovered her through this medium. In fact, her videos already have a strong educational component, and although they also engage native speakers, they are primarily aimed at new learners. After just one year, the response has been fantastic: she receives constant messages and hundreds of comments requesting spots on the online course. In the basic courses, she mainly encounters Latin Americans who want to learn to feel integrated and find work. At the intermediate level, there are also English and French students who already have a certain level of proficiency and live here. And in the more personalized classes, she has students from all over the world, from Russia and the United States to Guatemala and Argentina, with the exception of Asian countries.

While aware of the current situation of Catalan, this warm reception gives him greater confidence in the language's future: "It's undeniable that I keep receiving messages from people who want to learn Catalan and who are eager to feel integrated and become part of our society."

The Macedonian footprint

Public exposure on social media is by no means something entirely new in Irene Carreras' life, since, at only 16 years old, sharing a generation with Sara RoyShe began to gain relative recognition among younger audiences thanks to Macedonia, a now-defunct group that enjoyed a golden age and filled concert halls throughout Catalonia. "Macedonia has been a fundamental part of my experience; it has made me feel comfortable standing in front of a camera and talking about things, it has given me confidence and helped me to be aware of the impact my words can have when spoken in public," she concludes.