I grew up in an English-speaking home. In fact, I never heard a lick of Spanish until eighth grade. I studied Spanish for a few years in high school, but I didn’t retain much. In college, I decided to study abroad in Spain for 4 weeks in the summer of 2009 to satisfy my foreign language requirement. I wasn’t serious about learning Spanish at the time - I thought of it as an opportunity to travel.

But as soon as I set foot in Spain, something clicked: being surrounded by a different language and culture was exhilarating.

After just a few weeks in Spain, (and yes, many awkward, anxiety-provoking encounters in which I frequently consulted my pocket dictionary), I began to have conversations with native speakers.

Was my pronunciation perfect? NOPE. Did I make a ton of grammar mistakes? YOU BET! But I was speaking. My imperfect Spanish allowed me to connect with people who I never would have met otherwise. It was as if I had unlocked a door to a world of new possibilities. I was hooked.

My journey to fluency was not easy. It took a lot of effort, practice and time. However, my experience is proof that adults CAN become fluent in Spanish. The lessons that I have learned and share with my students are:

• Regular speaking practice with real humans is crucial for building fluency.

• Making mistakes is not only ok, but ESSENTIAL to the process of becoming bilingual.

• Beginners can have meaningful conversations with native speakers.

• Surrounding yourself with Spanish is the key to acquiring it.

Today, I am a professional Spanish interpreter, translator and educator. I absolutely LOVE what I do, and I am so excited to welcome new students into my Spanish learning program. Not sure where you might fit? Sign up for a FREE consultation or email me!