“My goal is to interact with others in the community, in their own language” #BaseLangStories

Chris had a solid foundation in Spanish thanks to studying the language in high school and college, but a lack of regular speaking practice kept him at an intermediate level. Now, through frequent conversation lessons with his BaseLang teachers, he’s expanding his capacity and can discuss a much wider range of topics. We asked Chris to share his language journey with us here.

BaseLangStories series puts the spotlight on BaseLang students – asking them about their motivations for learning a foreign language, what impact learning Spanish has had on their lives, advice they have for fellow students, and more.

1. What’s your name and where are you from?

Hi! I’m Chris from Las Vegas, Nevada.

2. Why did you want to learn Spanish?

I have always wanted to learn the language and to be fully bilingual. The ability to express myself in a second language and interact with people from other cultures has always motivated me to learn the language.

I also live in a part of the US where there are many native Spanish speakers, so Spanish was always a very practical choice for a second language.

Additionally, my wife and I have plans to eventually move to Latin America, and I don’t want to be just one more foreigner that doesn’t speak the language and that only interacts with other expats. It’s important for me that when we move, we are part of the community where we settle, and I think being able to interact with the others in the community, in their own language, is very important for that goal.

3. In the past, what did you use to learn Spanish?

I started to learn Spanish in high school (3 years of classes) and continued during college (3 semesters), so in the beginning my learning was through school. However, after those several years, I really didn’t learn to speak the language or learn to be able to understand native speakers well during natural conversations.

I ended up not using the language at all for about 10 years, and then about 5 years ago I decided that I wanted to go back and learn the language, with more dedication and effort. Since then I have primarily used podcasts, YouTube videos, and various TV series and movies to learn the language.

For speaking practice, I would try to use the Spanish I learned during vacations to Latin America and Spain, and I also met a friend from Chile with whom I would do a language exchange. He would help me with my Spanish and I would help him with his English, through occasional Zoom calls. BaseLang has been the most recent addition to my list of Spanish resources, when I joined the platform about 3 months ago.

4. Before BaseLang, which part of learning Spanish did you struggle with the most?

Before BaseLang I had developed a pretty high level of Spanish, and could hold decent conversations, but I was fairly limited in the things that I was able to discuss. Most of the conversations centered around familiar topics, as opposed to being able to discuss various topics with ease.

I also didn’t have frequent opportunities for actual conversations. Most of my learning was through listening to podcasts and watching videos online. That probably kept me from progressing beyond the high intermediate / low advanced level, because I was rarely speaking the language.

5. What obstacle would have prevented you from signing up for BaseLang before?

The biggest obstacle that I considered when I thought about signing up for BaseLang was whether I would have enough time to dedicate to the platform, in order to make it worth the monthly subscription price. I work a schedule that fluctuates, and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to easily schedule classes during times that I was free, because that can happen spontaneously.

6. What did you find as a result of signing up?

From the beginning I realized how easy it was to schedule classes during times that are convenient for me, even if it was just a few minutes prior to the class time.

I usually try to schedule some classes a couple days in advance, but I also have never had trouble scheduling a last minute class if I suddenly find that I have 30 minutes available and want to squeeze in a class during that time.

7. What specific feature did you like the most about the Real World program?

For me it has definitely been the most valuable to be able to freely converse with such a wide variety of native Spanish speakers. I don’t tend to focus much on taking structured lessons, since I already have a pretty strong foundation with the language. However, being able to connect with so many different teachers and to have such diverse conversations has been really valuable in increasing my comfort with speaking the language and learning new vocabulary related to topics I like to discuss.

8. How has learning Spanish impacted your life?

Learning Spanish has impacted my life in several ways. It has exposed me to new cultures and people that I have enjoyed meeting and learning about. In a way, it has provided me a new perspective to know the world through the language and the people I have met.

It has helped make me more extroverted, because to truly learn the language you have to get past any fears of engaging in conversation with people that you might not know well.

It has also been a great way to keep my mind engaged on a goal and on learning a new skill. I have always been the type of person that seeks out new things to learn, and I think the process of learning helps keep your mind flexible and healthy.

9. Would you recommend this course, if so, why?

Yes, definitely, for various reasons. The first would be that all the teachers I have met and worked with on BaseLang have been incredibly friendly and helpful. I genuinely feel that they care about my experience with the platform, my progress, and my goals.

But most importantly, I think that to truly learn a language, the most important thing is to have opportunities to speak the language directly with native speakers. There are several other ways to create an environment in which you have the chance to speak the language frequently, but besides moving to another country, I don’t think there are other ways to create such an immersive experience for the price.

If you are someone who has 30-60 minutes per day to dedicate to your learning, you can’t beat the value of $179 per month to work with professional teachers/tutors. If you have even more time to dedicate, the value is incredible for what you receive.

10. Complete the following sentence “After my first month of BaseLang, I realized that…”

I was feeling much more comfortable learning the language and that I was always excited about my next upcoming class.

I also realized that the value of the platform was really noticeable, and that I was able to schedule classes even more frequently than I expected.

11. Anything else to add?

I’ve said it a couple times already, but in my opinion the most important thing you need to do if you want to learn a new language is to speak the language as frequently as possible. BaseLang is the perfect platform to do exactly that.

I also highly recommend that other students find additional ways to incorporate the language into their daily lives. In other words, don’t limit your resources. Find TV series that you enjoy where Spanish is the original language. Find podcasts and YouTube videos for learners that are at your specific level, or even ones that are targeted towards native Spanish speakers if you have a higher level with the language already.

Also, try to break out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself. Whether that means getting over your fear of committing mistakes (we all commit mistakes, even in our native languages), or challenging yourself to discuss topics that are less familiar to you. Just do it.

Start having conversations in the language you are learning, as soon as possible. It’s the best way to learn effectively.