Polite Smile

You know the drill - you say something in Spanish and the other person just smiles, politely. You then write down what you want to say in a few Spanish words, and they readily understand your message.

Excited to communicate, they speak rather fast in what sounds like Sanskrit. When they realize that they are not getting through, they jot down a few Spanish words, which you are able to read and understand.

What’s wrong with this picture?
You have a fair amount of Spanish knowledge in your head, quite a bit of vocabulary and grammar... you can even read and write a little! Yet there seems to be a disconnect between your brain and your mouth... and your brain and your ear.

Bad news first: There IS a stubborn disconnect between your cognitive knowledge (reading/writing) and your automatic functions (speaking/listening).

The good news is NEUROPLASTICITY: You CAN create the right connections, at any age. As a Conversational Spanish Coach, I use Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) strategies and what we now know about neuroplasticity to help you activate the Spanish that you already know!

P.S.: If you know absolutely no Spanish, you are in an even better position! By starting with NLA and conversational skills from day one, you will avoid developing the common, ingrained speech patterns typical in traditional methods—the incomprehensible accents and "bad habits" that later on are so hard to break.