Wilfredo Lam, Cuban painter

Crossing the language boundary is very important if one wants to achieve a high level of confidence at any professional level. Learning Spanish language and culture will impact with an important benefit for the learner, which is to truly appreciate the enjoyment that us, Spanish-speakers, have of our own language and culture.

Music is great start  and will definitely help non-Hispanic professionals develop that cultural appreciation. Music and language are often used to communicate the delight of life itself. Riddles, beliefs, proverbs, traditional songs, poetry… They all are a strong part of Latino culture.

People are trading conversation for television, not only in the US, but everywhere. We are in danger of forgetting many oral uses and habits that promote and stimulate cultural and personal understanding. Truly enjoying and sharing these conversational habits is a huge step towards crossing cultural boundaries.

Know the culture, learn it and enjoy it. And do not separate it from language learning. It will thrive a deep understanding of what being a Latino (a Colombian, a Mexican, a Puertorrican, a Dominican, a Peruvian, a…) means. And that deep understanding will put you in a position that is hard to reach: that of a truly multicultural person.

One of the most remarkable differences I see between learning Spanish on-site and online is how relaxed the student is.

Some of my students live in New York City. A few of them, after taking face to face lessons, decided to try Hespanica online. And I teach this guy who used to perform okay when visiting him at his office who now that is learning from home is doing incredibly well, compared to what he did in the past.

Being able to take his lessons and not having to worry about a phone call, an interruption or that deadline he has to meet is clearly affecting his Spanish. Our conversation is more fluid and complex. Plus he easily understands and remembers concepts and his learning curve is moving up faster.

Te felicito Mike.