There are many reasons why people might consider learning Spanish. Among those, there is the growing globalization of the language—Spanish is in the top three most spoken languages in the world—it is easy to learn and speak quickly, and it will add to your profession and boost you career. But, what is the best way to learn Spanish in a significant way?
Some people speak about immersion, that is, living in a Spanish speaking country where you can use the language and practice it every day, or taking an intensive Spanish class with a very proficient or—even better—a native speaking teacher. However, this is not the case for everyone. Not everybody has the access or the possibility to any of these programs, either due to lack of time or money. Other people talk about online lessons and this is what this article talks about.
So, why learning Spanish online?
We have searched among the reasons to learn Spanish online and have concluded that there are many advantages—besides being in the comfort of your home or office at your own schedule—for the language learner under this modality. Below, we highlight the top 5 reasons within our criteria.
- Confidence. People often feel intimidated by learning a second language in front of others. One-on-one online lessons help students gain confidence through the opportunities he is given to practice at his own pace. He does not feel afraid to make mistakes because there are no other students to watch him.
- Customized lessons. From using student’s background and needs to going at the student’s own pace, customized lessons is a great advantage of learning online. The teacher observes the student’s progress, plans and guides him according to his needs and goals in the language learning.
- Intensive practice. All four language skills can be boosted during an online language lesson. The teacher interacts with the student in a way that provides him with enough opportunities to listen, speak, read and write in Spanish which allows him to practice non-stop and even monitor his grammar.
- Access to unlimited resources. Once you are online, the access to resources is unlimited. Using authentic videos, podcasts, readings and even grammar exercises as part of the lesson motivates students and puts them into context for learning a specific topic within the language.
- Familiarization with the Spanish culture. A language cannot be taught apart from its culture. Being on the internet opens a window to the Spanish speaking world anywhere. Teachers take advantage of this resource to help students become familiar with the language culture: continents, countries, people, customs, food, etc. so they feel at home when they travel to any of the Spanish speaking countries.The ultimate goal of a language teacher is to have students develop the four linguistic skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. All these—and grammar—can be developed online, making students feel comfortable, at their own pace with intensive practice and unlimited resources. In addition, learning online connects students with the Spanish speaking culture. There is no doubt online learning helps students improve their language skills.
