Spanish lessons with an online teacher

[JustJack]

Has anyone taken one-to-one Spanish lessons online with Spanish teacher prior to a camino? Did you find you got good value doing it over Zoom versus an in-person Spanish class? I’m wondering if 10 one-hour sessions with a private Spanish teacher will make a noticeable improvement in my almost non-existent Spanish speaking ability. Duolingo only gets you so far.

No need to mention any particular company names, just whether or not you found the online format effective. I’m deciding between taking a beginner Spanish class here in my city, or having private lessons online.

 

[Molly Cassidy]

I have taken online Greek lessons for a few years (I now live in Greece). They were group lessons, but I did find them extremely useful and effective. Just to spend that time speaking and being corrected (learning correct pronunciation, sentence structure, new vocabulary) was really useful. I have also taken online Latvian lessons when I lived in Latvia (during the pandemic so no face-to-face option) and, again, just having that time speaking is really useful.

I think there can be some advantages to online lessons, too. My Greek lessons were all recorded so I could go back over content in my own time - maybe ask your teacher if this is possible?

I recommend a good headset with microphone for the online classes.

 

[David with new Kit!]

Definitely - I took online lessons specifically Camino orientated for my first Camino. All I can say is that it worked for me as good as the in person classroom sessions that I have also attended since then.

Best of luck deciding

 

[Takahiwai]

As an online language teacher, I heartily recommend these classes, of course!

 

[J Willhaus]

We took online lessons on and off for the past few years. I enjoyed then, but we haven't continued since I retired in the spring (too busy). The company I used had options such as "conversation" or a more comprehensive course with workbooks. I learned more with the workbooks.

We never had a teacher from Spain, and I think that would help my conversation comprehension. All our teachers online were from South or Central America and Mexico.

I learned the most going in person to a couple of weeks of language school in Santiago. Phil learned the most taking two semesters of language in person with traditional aged university students last year before I retired from the university.

Ideally I'd like to go to an in person course in Spain for a few weeks again.

 

[mikeatspokes]

You can learn Spanish grammar and basic pronunciation online or from books, but comprehension is probably better done person to person for most. Knowing what to say is one thing, understanding the replies another! If you only want to learn enough Spanish for the Camino, you can probably get away with online or an app, but if you want to hold conversations with native speakers, a tutor or group is likely the way to go. I would recommend Language Transfer, a 'free' online resource to help people around the world speak other languages via audio lessons. The Spanish lessons can be found at https://www.languagetransfer.org/free-courses-1#complete-spanish

 

[Molly Cassidy]

You can learn Spanish grammar and basic pronunciation online or from books, but comprehension is probably better done person to person for most. Knowing what to say is one thing, understanding the replies another! If you only want to learn enough Spanish for the Camino, you can probably get away with online or an app, but if you want to hold conversations with native speakers, a tutor or group is likely the way to go. I would recommend Language Transfer, a 'free' online resource to help people around the world speak other languages via audio lessons. The Spanish lessons can be found at https://www.languagetransfer.org/free-courses-1#complete-spanish

I think there's a big difference between live lessons with a teacher online and using an app. Online lessons have similar structure to face to face and offer the same expertise and feedback.