Philosophic Core
Here's what I'm doing. Sharing the knowledge
that I have gained over the past 15 years in my quest to learn this beautiful language.
I have studied Spanish in: Antigua, Guatemala, Panajachel, Guatemala, San Miguel de
Allende, Mexico, the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, as well as with a
number of private tutors.
I hold a Master's degree in another field, and I used to think I was pretty fast study.
Learning a second language has been, and continues to be a huge lesson in humility. I am
possibly the slowest second language learner on this planet. This makes me a very patient
teacher. I am acutely aware of exactly what is difficult for our "English" thinking brains
to take-in about learning a second language. I wasted a lot of time and money in Spanish
Schools that simply did not work for me. I have evolved a conceptual approach based on how
we come at learning this language from our English language organized minds.
Immersion is great for advanced students, but it doesn't make much sense for beginners.
When someone starts trying to tell me I have to put the direct object in front of the verb,
and the indirect object in front of the direct object .... excuse me, my brain goes
'fuzzzz' even in English. Trying to explain this in immersion is just plain silly. Even
highly educated people do not necessarily understand the grammatical structure of their
first language. I am dedicated to making it clear, simple, and as painless as possible.
That's it.
OH, how could I forget -- I also like it to be fun.
I have fallen head over heels in love with the Spanish language and the sweet little town of
Barra de Navidad. My not-so-hidden-agenda is that by opening an unschool and hiring
teachers to teach Spanish to you, my Spanish will eventually become ... perfect.