I Passed C1 DELE Spanish Exam – #BaseLangStories

Welcome to the latest post in our BaseLang Stories series where we put the spotlight on BaseLang students – asking them what impact learning Spanish has had on their lives, their motivations for learning a foreign language and what advice they have for anyone who wants to repeat their successes.

We’ve already highlighted three unique students, with three unique stories.

Make sure to also read about:

• Jacob traveling Latin America here,
• Michaela dating a native Spanish speaker here,
• Peter arriving in Colombia without speaking Spanish here.

For part 4 of this series, meet DELE student Corinne, who fell in love with Spanish and decided to take a DELE C1 exam after studying with BaseLang’s DELE program.

***Corinne sent us her story in Spanish, which we’ve included along with the English translation!**

Tell us a little bit about yourself

Español: Me llamo Corinne. Vivo en California, en los Estados Unidos de América.  Me gusta hacer ejercicio en el gimnasio, ver documentales, escucha música a través de Spotify, y viajar.

English: My name is Corinne.  I live in California, in the United States of America.  I love to work out in the gym, watch documentaries, listen to music through Spotify, and travel.

Why did you start learning Spanish?

Español: Hace dos años, comencé estudiando el español porque quise enfocarme en algo más que solo trabajar durante la semana.   Asistí a clases de español en una universidad comunitaria.  Después de tomar dos clases allí, me enamoré del idioma.  Pero, no pude continuar tomando clases en persona debido a mi trabajo a tiempo completo y a la disponibilidad limitada de las clases por la noche.  Por eso, comencé a explorar la opción de tomar clases en línea.  Tomé algunas clases con una variedad de profesores por Italki.  Aunque me gustó la posibilidad de seleccionar mis profesores, había una variedad entre sus estilos de enseñarme y los materiales que cada profesor usó.  Después de explorar otras aplicaciones y páginas web para aprender idiomas, encontré Baselang.

English:  Two years ago, I began studying Spanish because I wanted to engage my mind in more than just work throughout the week. I enrolled in Spanish classes at a local community college.  After taking 2 classes there, I fell in love with the language.  However, with a full-time career and limited class offerings in the evening, I was unable to continue taking Spanish classes in person.  So, I began exploring online class options.  I took classes through a variety of teachers through italki.  Though I liked the ability to select my teacher, there was such a variation in what was being taught by each teacher.  After exploring other language learning applications and websites, I found BaseLang.

 

 How long were you using BaseLang for?

Español: Comencé tomando clases por Real World para mejorar mi capacidad de mantener una conversación.  Algunos meses más tarde, decidí cambiar a DELE y tomar las clases con más estructura y exigencia, para desarrollar mis capacidades en las cuatro áreas clave (leer, escribir, escuchar y hablar),  y así poder evaluar mi progreso, y recibir retroalimentación para mejorar.  En total, tomé clase por BaseLang para 8 meses.

English:  I started taking classes through Real World to improve my conversational skills.  After a few months, I decided to switch to DELE to have classes with more structure and rigor, to develop my skill set in all 4 key areas (reading, writing, listening and speaking) and where I could track my progress and receive feedback on how to improve.  In total, I took classes through BaseLang for 8 months.

How has speaking Spanish improved your life?

Español: Mientras estudiaba español, mi mundo se expandió.  Conocí amigos alrededor del mundo y exploraba otras culturas. Soy más consciente sobre temas globales y disfruto experimentar la riqueza del mundo a través de este idioma.

English: While learning Spanish, my world has expanded.  I have met friends around the world, explored other cultures, am more aware of global issues, and enjoy the richness of experiencing the world through another language

What do you wish you had known before you started to learn Spanish?

Español: Antes de estudiar el español, me hubiera gustado haber sabido que hay más profundidad en el idioma que las palabras y la gramática. Hay expresiones idiomáticas, referencias culturales, y los aspectos sutiles del idioma.  Las palabras llevan más significado de lo que se explica en un libro.

English: Before studying Spanish, I wish I had known that there is so much more depth to a language than words and grammar.  There are idiomatic expressions, cultural references, and subtleties to the language. Words carry much more meaning than what is taught in a book.

Favorite BaseLang teacher and why?

Español: Mi profesor favorito fue Juan Carlos Barradas porque llevó mucha energía y alegría a cada clase. Aprendí como una persona puede expresar tan profundidad de sus pensamientos y sus emociones en español.

English: My favorite professor was Juan Carlos Barradas because he brought so much energy and happiness to each class. I learned how a person can express such depth of one’s thoughts and emotions in Spanish.

Why did you decide to study DELE?

Español: Con la meta de vivir afuera de los Estados Unidos en un país de habla hispana, continué con BaseLang para prepararme para hacer el examen de DELE al nivel C1.  Dos meses después de hacerlo, recibí los resultados emocionantes que aprobé el examen. Agradezco muchísimo a BaseLang por la calidad de sus profesores y su material de aprendizaje.

English: With the goal of wanting to live abroad in a Spanish speaking country, I continued with BaseLang to prepare myself for the C1 DELE exam.  Two months after taking the exam, I received the exciting results that said that I had passed the exam.  I greatly appreciate BaseLang for their excellent quality of professors and learning material.

Advice for other BaseLang Students preparing the DELE Spanish exam?

Español: BaseLang es una plataforma maravillosa porque las clases están disponibles por la mañana, por la tarde y por la noche.  Las clases son personalizadas y los estudiantes pueden seleccionar a sus profesores.  Los profesores tienen acceso al progreso del estudiante, así se pueden identificar las áreas débiles dónde se necesita prestar más atención durante la clase.  A través de DELE, los estudiantes tienen la oportunidad de mejorar todas sus capacidades y practicar hablando sobre una variedad de temas, lo que, para mí, fue difícil al principio.

English: BaseLang is a wonderful platform because classes are available during the morning, afternoon, and evening.  The classes are personalized and the student can select his or her professors.  The professors have access to the student’s progress, so they know in which areas to focus.  Through DELE, students have the opportunity to develop a well-rounded skill set and practice speaking about a wide variety of topics, which was challenging for me in the beginning.

Watch Corinne’s video story below

____________________

If you are serious about learning Spanish in 2018, then we would love to be part of your story.

At BaseLang, you get unlimited one-on-one Spanish tutoring with professional teachers, over video chat, for just $179 a month.

Your first week is just $1. And we have a negative-risk guarantee: if at any point in the first 35 days, you don’t absolutely LOVE BaseLang, we’ll give you a full refund plus $20 extra for wasting your time.

You can sign-up here