It’s possible that you’re looking into learning Spanish online simply because you want to read and write in the language.
However, it’s more likely that you’re interested in speaking — you want to engage Spanish speakers, establish friendships, eat out in a Spanish-speaking environment, and more. You’re probably not interested in the theoretical conversations typically covered in a traditional Spanish course (e.g., “Shall we go to the cinema?”).
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One of the hardest parts of your Spanish learning journey will be learning to speak it properly. This is more than just pronouncing things correctly (or not, as in the case of colloquial Spanish). There’s also the use and understanding of slang and colloquial phrases. That’s why the Spanish lessons we offer feature a lot of time spent in conversation.
Dynamo Spanish’s courses are geared toward:
- Improving your pronunciation and accent
- Increasing your level of fluency to help facilitate conversation with other Spanish speakers
- Building your grammar and vocabulary knowledge in a natural way
- Improving your confidence levels so you can speak comfortably
Contents
Why are Conversational Spanish Lessons Important?
When learning a new language, some students feel comfortable studying it academically (learning grammar rules, memorizing vocabulary, and so on). But, at some point, everyone has to converse with others. This is one of the more difficult parts of language learning. Not only are working on your listening and understanding skills, you’ll need to be able to draw from all that you know (quickly!) to respond in turn.
What’s Covered in Dynamo Spanish’s Courses
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Dynamo Spanish’s courses emphasize conversational skills from the beginning, because speaking Spanish fluently is so challenging.
Yes, you will be speaking even at the beginner’s level. You will begin with basic Spanish skills, like greeting others and engaging in small talk. Your teacher (who is a native speaker) will help you work on correct pronunciation and other grammatical topics as you are using them when speaking. The ability to recall the right words and phrases almost instantaneously is what helps you on the path to fluency in the Spanish language.
The Big Three: Accent, Pronunciation, and Confidence
As you speak, your teacher will also help you with accent and pronunciation. Perfecting these requires time, patience, and practice, which is why it only helps to start early. The goal is to help you get to the point where Spanish speakers have no problems understanding what you’re saying.
Finally, your teacher will help you build the confidence you need to speak to others. Even if you know the grammar and vocabulary well, you might not be confident enough to converse and use your Spanish in the real world. With enough practice, you’ll learn Spanish to the point where you don’t have to think about speaking — you just do it.
Listening Skills
We’ve spent a lot of time on what you will gain conversationally, but a dialogue occurs between two people. In addition to gaining fluency, you will get lots of practice listening to Spanish as spoken by a native Spanish speaker.
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In the end, there’s no replacing a live teacher who is engaging you in real time.
Conclusion
No matter what Spanish course you’re enrolled in, you’ll spend lots of time practicing your vocabulary. This will help you express your thoughts and ideas clearly.
As you progress, your intermediate and advanced Spanish classes will begin to include exercises where you present details arguments in favor of (or against) a topic orally. This helps you with vocabulary, as well as thinking about a variety of topics from all perspectives…in Spanish.
Learning to speak Spanish is one of the hardest skills you need to master, but becoming fluent is a lofty accomplishment.