Find out why our Skype classes are the best way to learn Spanish online with this interview with one of our students
2019 has been a year of innumerable successes, amongst them are our classes to learn Spanish online.
The classes themselves resulted from the high demand of our in-house students that wanted to bring back a taste of Ronda home with them. This is the case of Bridge Williams, a student from England whom took part in one of the Spanish courses at Entrelenguas. He afterward signed up to our online Spanish lessons.
Would you like to learn more about what led him to study Spanish? Are yuo interested in learning more about these classes and his opinion on learning Spanish online? Keep reading and find out!
What motivated you to start taking these classes?
I came to Entrelenguas around 7 months ago for the week-long intensive course at the Spanish school. I only knew very basic Spanish at that point- how to order food, ask for directions, etc. but was far from being able to converse or even understand more than the most basic of phrases. The week-long course -with a homestay- had a profound impact on my ability to speak and understand Spanish; by the end of the week I was actually able to converse at a basic level and felt like I was finally able to do more than barely survive within the language.
The huge growth in my ability was clearly a result of the immersion in the language and so, to me, it was a no-brainer that in order to continue that growth, I needed to maintain the routine of Spanish conversation and lessons. Skype lessons with my tutor from Entrelenguas was the obvious way to learn Spanish online.
What sort of content do you cover in the classes?
The Skype classes are built largely on conversation and so feel informal, engaging and fun. A lot of the time it feels like catching up with a friend and the lesson always flies by before I know it. Though it feels very natural to me, I know that all the time my tutor is steering the dialogue towards the areas in which I need most practice, for instance talking about the past if I need to practice past tenses. Towards the second half of the lesson we then start to recap and discuss grammar points which are much more understandable when related to actual conversation.
Finally, my tutor gives me an overview of the homework I have to do for next time. This usually includes classroom style worksheets, listening exercises with audio clips and my favourite: watching the next episode of a Spanish Netflix series, to be discussed in the next lesson.
How are these classes different to attending a class in person?
The convenience is a huge help to me. I work very odd hours and so I don’t really have a regular weekly schedule. The Skype lessons are really flexible, and we only book the date and time of the next lesson at the end of the previous one. Because I had already been to Entrelenguas in person I had already developed a relationship with my tutor and so Skype allows me to continue with her. I just wouldn’t go anywhere else now.
Why do you think it is an effective way to learn to speak Spanish?
From lots of false starts with trying to learn Spanish online I now realise that the only way to do it is through immersion and routine. Second to living in a Spanish speaking country, having a weekly opportunity to speak in Spanish with a native Spanish speaker is the closest I can get to immersion. Having it as a weekly goal motivates me to practice hard throughout the week in order to constantly improve my ability to converse in the lessons.
Why would you recommend Skype Spanish classes?
Learning a language is hard. It takes dedication, discipline and constant practice. There is no way round that and no shortcut, however, there are ways to make the process easier. Today we can use apps, online exercises, Spanish subtitles on films etc. which all make the process far easier than the traditional book-based learning. These are what got me my basics in Spanish language, but regular Skype lessons are now the main component of my learning and is what drives my progression into more advanced language skills. I believe there is no substitute for that and if you have an internet connection and one hour a week, you can do it anywhere.
At Entrelenguas our main focus is to ensure your language learning fits your goals. As you can see in the interview above, our students feel very comfortable in our hands to reach the level they have in mind. If, like Bridge, you’re also interested in dedicating just a small part of your week to learn Spanish online with a native Spanish teacher and advance your learning, please take a look at the online Spanish classes that we offer, and get in touch with us at info@entrelenguas.com for more info. To further your online Spanish learning Entrelenguas are running a series of Spanish webinars, take a look at this months schedule here!
Written by @entrelenguas Team