View Post Spanish speakers speak fast… And if we’re trying to speak more like them… We need to speak fast too. ¿Verdad? Well, yes and no. Yes, we want to speak at a pace that sounds natural. But “speaking fast” is about as clear a goal as saying “I want to run fast”. It’s not … Read More
Learning Spanish means building thousands of tiny habits. If you underestimate the time it takes for those habits to form, you can end up frustrated and questioning your own learning abilities. But the truth is, there’s nothing wrong with you as a learner. Sure, there are likely things you could do more effectively (that’s the … Read More
Learning Spanish verb conjugations is a pain. I learned them the old school way: lots and lots and lots of written exercises, tests and staring at verb charts. And it did work… so there’s something to be said for this approach. But the process was painful. It doesn’t have to be that way. And look, … Read More
There are so many parts to learning a language that it can feel overwhelming. But like many things in Spanish, it’s easy to underestimate how much our small daily efforts compound. When you improve one thing a day, it may not feel very ambitious. But it is sustainable. In most cases, that means it’s also … Read More
If you’ve been around this newsletter for long, you’ll have heard me tout the value of listening to Spanish from different regions. A big part of that is exploring the pronunciation changes you get outside of textbook Spanish. Why bother learning about this? It’s simple: pronunciation changes aren’t limited to casual situations or “lazy” speech. … Read More
Flashcards can be great if done right. And while some of you enjoy them… I know for a lot of you, the thought of doing flashcards is like laying on a bed of nails. A few weirdos say it’s good for you, but you’ll stick with your Sleep Number, thank you very much. Either way … Read More
Ever wish you could go back and give your Old You some pointers? Help them avoid your mistakes, skip the trial and error and get straight to the good stuff? For today’s Saturday Spanish, I thought I’d do just that. So I sat down and thought: what would I tell teenaged Connor, who loved Spanish … Read More
Just behind Mandarin Chinese, Spanish has the second-most native speakers of any language. It’s also spoken in a territory that ranges thousands of miles, on multiple continents, and across an ocean. So it’s no wonder that there’s such a variety in the way people speak. If you embrace it, it makes the language endlessly interesting. … Read More
Today I want to walk you through a simple solution to two problems most learners face: Here’s why: My suggestion today is easy to implement. Maybe 10 minutes max. Set it up once, then you can enter “Immersion Mode” in about 2 clicks anytime you want. Got 7 minutes to learn between meetings? No problem. 3 minutes while the … Read More
In classes, we often learn that Spanish is a phonetic language. And it’s mostly true! Especially compared to English, written Spanish is very close to spoken Spanish. You can look at a word you’ve never seen and know with confidence how it’s pronounced. But technically, it’s not 100% phonetic. Several common sounds can be represented by more than … Read More