| Picture a young man sitting in a high school Spanish | | | | participating in the lessons I felt would make learning |
| class trying to learn how to speak Spanish while the | | | | not only easier and faster, but fun as well. I wanted to |
| teacher wrote Spanish phrases on the blackboard. | | | | smile while I was practicing my Spanish lessons. The |
| That young man was me, and to put it mildly, this was | | | | presentation style of the program needed to be |
| not the best way to get me to learn a new language. I | | | | engaging with a variety of teaching techniques that |
| struggled through four years of this with average | | | | would hold my attention. |
| grades and little retention of the material. Now, many | | | | 3. Results |
| years wiser and with a new purpose to learn Spanish, I | | | | The program that I would eventually choose needed to |
| went in search of a program that would take me | | | | have demonstrated results. I wanted to see proof |
| much further in Spanish language learning and do it | | | | positive that many people had been successful with |
| quicker than those old classroom days of my teenage | | | | the program. I figured that even my remedial Spanish |
| years. Here is what I found. | | | | learning abilities might be enough to get me through if I |
| Let me share with you the things that I wanted in the | | | | could find a program that had a track record of many |
| program. If I was going to get involved in studying | | | | successful students. |
| Spanish, and I was, I wanted to do it on my terms. I | | | | 4. Help When Needed |
| only had a few things on my wish list that any study | | | | I didn't want to be totally out on an island by myself. |
| program that I would start must provide to me. See if | | | | Even though I wanted to study at my own pace, I also |
| you don't agree that the things I came up with are a | | | | wanted access to help if I just couldn't find the answer |
| must for inclusion in any Spanish study program. | | | | any other way. My motto is to always have a lifeline |
| 1. Control | | | | available. |
| It was essential that I have complete control of when I | | | | So, you ask, was I looking for a needle in a haystack in |
| studied, how much I studied at a time, and where I | | | | trying to find a program to learn how to speak Spanish |
| studied. If I chose to enroll in a community college | | | | that met my four criteria? Let me just say that if it |
| course, I would be giving up all three of those things, | | | | was a needle that I was looking for, I found it! I'm a bit |
| and I just couldn't let that happen. It would certainly feel | | | | of a computer nerd, so when I discovered that I could |
| good not to have to leave home to study Spanish in | | | | use my computer to learn Spanish in a fun and fast |
| the evening after a long day at work. | | | | paced way, I was pretty happy. It doesn't get much |
| 2. Engaging and Fun | | | | better I figured than sitting at the computer in the den |
| I didn't want the learning process to seem like work or | | | | learning stuff that seemed impossible 30 years ago in |
| be boring liked it seemed to be in high school. Actively | | | | that stale high school class. |