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.

 

[HaveringRob]

Any specific recommendations?

 

[BobY333]

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 second the recommendation for Complete Language Transfer. It's outstanding. Very approachable. I'm pretty good with Spanish, but I do go back and listen to (some of) this when I want refreshing.

That being said, I'm sure person-to-person learning would be even more helpful in "locking in" the learning through verbal practice and repetition. Enjoy!

 

[HaveringRob]

I second the recommendation for Complete Language Transfer. It's outstanding. Very approachable. I'm pretty good with Spanish, but I do go back and listen to (some of) this when I want refreshing.

That being said, I'm sure person-to-person learning would be even more helpful in "locking in" the learning through verbal practice and repetition. Enjoy!

I have been listening to Language Transfer and like it a lot. I was looking for more specific recommendations for online classes.

 

[Mahonsk]

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.

Personally, I never tried online lessons. I used an App which I think was great. That way, I could also do some learning whilst on Camino as well. I was really surprised just how well I coped. So was my Wife, who has a very good grasp of French.

 

[AllisonMarie]

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.

I have taken a series of online Spanish classes and found them to be quite helpful in gaining some practice serially speaking to another person. I would recommend it!

 

[MaxHelado]

I have been learning Spanish for some years and have attended group classes in person and also group classes online and one-to-one online classes.

The big advantage in my mind is that online classes give you access to native Spanish speakers.

I think that 10 lessons will not really help with conversations but it will allow you to order food, book a room and other basics of a camino. Most importantly, in my experience the Spanish will embrace your efforts figuratively and sometimes literally.

PM me if you would like contact details of the school I use.

 

[Juspassinthru]

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.

I’ve been taking virtual lessons via Zoom as a follow up to a month of immersion classes. The technology works fine and I have a great relationship with my instructor and that I think is the key. If you can find a school and instructor who will work with you on your specific wants/needs I think it would be very beneficial. Hearing native speakers whether they are from Spain or Latin America is important, to me. For your needs, I would do one on one to maximize your time. My Academy, based in Mexico is very affordable. If you’re in the US, the time zones are more manageable too. Good luck.

 

[BobY333]

I’ve been taking virtual lessons via Zoom as a follow up to a month of immersion classes. The technology works fine and I have a great relationship with my instructor and that I think is the key. If you can find a school and instructor who will work with you on your specific wants/needs I think it would be very beneficial. Hearing native speakers whether they are from Spain or Latin America is important, to me. For your needs, I would do one on one to maximize your time. My Academy, based in Mexico is very affordable. If you’re in the US, the time zones are more manageable too. Good luck.

Hi there - you caught my attention with the reference to My Academy. Trouble is...I can't find it even with the all-knowing Google? Can you give more detail? Thanks!

 

[MariaSP]

As a Spanish online teacher, my opinion is only slightly biased , but here it goes: whether you do your lessons online or in person, the value is the same.
One advantage of doing it online:
- you have a bigger choice of teachers, so you can look for one from the country you want to go to. In this case, assuming you want to learn Spanish to use on the Camino, I would pick a teacher from Spain.
One advantage of a teacher vs. an app:
- you don't have to waste time learning things you may never need; instead, you can focus on the language you're most likely to need. Same would apply to learning 1:1 vs. in a group, unless the group class was Camino-focused.

 

[mla1]

Many in-person language schools also offer online options -- both for people who can't travel and for former students after they have returned home.

But there are also apps like italki which offer one-on-one lessons. italki has both professional teachers and what they call "community" teachers, who do not have professional qualifications and whose time can be less expensive. Many of the community teachers are students working towards their qualifications. The rates vary a lot. The teachers come from all over the world. You can read reviews of their work and see how much they charge and, usually, watch a little introductory video of them describing their classes. If I remember correctly you can have a few trial lessons with different teachers; when I did it they cost $5 for 30 minutes. It was enough time to get a sense of what the teacher would be like before you committed. (A couple who sounded great on paper were totally not right for me!) I ended up taking lessons with someone in Alicante -- it was tricky because of the time distance, but she was excellent. {she is no longer on the site}

My one issue with italki is that you have to spend your credits in a certain amount of time -- and they disappear with no notification first. Good business model for them - not great for the peregrina who only remembers to start studying spanish as a trip is coming up.