I had a classmate at university who was determined to date one guy from each Spanish-speaking country. As Spanish is the official language of 20 countries and one dependent territory, it might not seem like an unfeasible idea but imagine the work you should put into the hunt if you live in Central Europe, where you mainly meet Spanish speakers from Spain. The number of those coming from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, or Puerto Rico, is way too small to fulfill such ambitions.
Undoubtedly, dating someone whose mother tongue is the one that you want to master has its benefits, but don’t despair if love finds you closer to home. There are ways to learn languages regardless of the origin of your significant other.
Having an unusually crowded past in terms of language learning, I know what works for me and what doesn’t. I’m sharing my thoughts in the hope that they will help your journey towards the freedom that speaking the local language guarantees in a foreign country.
I started learning Spanish in 2022. Age-wise, I’m beyond the stage when I need to prove my knowledge and abilities at various exams, and it’s liberating. I learn what and when I want, and no one has any expectations of me. But most importantly, I have a motivation that nothing can beat – I want to be able to freely converse with my Spanish-speaking friends. They are not many, but all the more motivating.
Live the language you learn
I’m not exaggerating when I say that Spanish learning took over my life. I freelance, and I have reached a point when I accept work in line with my lessons and homework. I have refused projects because I knew I had some Spanish-related tasks lined up. As an adult, focusing on homework might sound ridiculous, and it’s certainly a privilege, but as long as I can afford it, I’ll let this little obsession rule my world.
Full immersion is necessary for me to stay on track and for my brain to adapt to a new culture. In the past, I had the opportunity to live and work in the countries whose languages I learned, but in the case of Spanish, this is not currently possible.
Thankfully, the brain is like a sponge, wherever you are. Making sure it gets the right nutrients, we can achieve extraordinary things. And now, read on to find out what I consume daily to ensure that immersion.
Music
I turn on music the moment I get out of bed, I switch it off though, when I work. The bills must still be paid after all. Latin American music is slowly becoming a favourite of my neighbours, I’m sure, for no one has complained. Make sure you turn down the volume though, if they ask you to!
I didn’t know many Latin artists before beyond the most popular ones, but Spotify does the job for me, offering an endless list of performers daily. I have found a few gems in the last year and my current favourite is Alex Cuba. I just can’t get enough of his music, his voice is a balm to the soul and his lyrics are relatively easy to understand with a little help from a dictionary if you are still at the start of your language-learning journey.
Cuisine
I cook daily so why wouldn’t I give a chance to dishes from Spain, Argentina, or Colombia? Not everything will turn out as they should, especially if you have never tasted them in their homelands but who cares? In this case, authenticity lies in the intention, not in the end product.
Search easy-to-make recipes and give them a go. The good news is that traditional recipes are rarely complicated, and they don’t include fancy ingredients. If some of the ingredients are not available in your country, you can replace them with whatever is locally accessible. Getting a taste of the country is priceless and it can be extremely motivating. By the way, the frijoles negros I make are unparalleled. Whether Cubans would agree, that’s yet to be seen.
If you’d rather let yourself be treated or you can’t see the difference between pot and pan, try authentic food in a restaurant. The owners or the staff will appreciate being approached in their native language.
Films
Up until I started learning Spanish, Netflix was as strange to me as to a dinosaur. I didn’t feel the need to do those marathons that so many people enjoy on a lazy day. I subscribed solely to watch Spanish series and movies and to get access to real-life language.
I wouldn’t understand too much of the stories without subtitles, but I understand words, expressions, and short sentences. At times, my attention wanders off the screen, and I catch myself suddenly understanding the conversation, and that shows how important it is to let our fears and unhelpful ideas about ourselves and our abilities go. The mind does everything we tell it to do, so it’s better to feed it positive commands. And, relax.
Use your friends shamelessly
If you have friends whose mother tongue you are learning, use them in any way you can, but of course only to the extent they agree to. Don’t stalk them, that won’t help your cause – advises a professional stalker. Even those occasional few words in a chat can make a difference, because your brain will accept them as your new reality, and the one-time strange language will feel less and less foreign in no time.
After a while, even those who were initially reluctant to make the effort and help with the practice might suddenly switch to their mother tongue seamlessly. They realise that they no longer have to wait patiently for you to try to decipher their words and then listen to an answer that would only make the parents of a one-year-old child proud.
Travel abroad or locally
If you are planning a holiday anyway, visit a country next time where you can use your new vocabulary at whatever level you are. I have been to Spain a few times since 2022, and at the end of 2025, I will spend three weeks in Cuba. You can read about why this upcoming trip means a lot to me in a previous post here.
During my first trip to Spain, I could hardly utter a word, and even less I understood, but reading felt easier already then, and it is partly thanks to the many words similar to English. Six months later, at the end of my second trip, I had a proper conversation with a waiter when I ordered my food for the last dinner. Don’t think of a sophisticated or deep conversation, but it provided a sense of achievement and pushed me to continue my journey.
If you can’t leave your country, but you live in a bigger city, you might find a meet-up group or some kind of language exchange club where foreigners and locals meet to help each other practice their chosen languages. You might also find a cultural centre that promotes your destination. They often organize performances and various events around their culture. You don’t have to be fluent to appreciate the music or cuisine of a country, but being in an authentic environment will inevitably and positively affect you.
Find your teacher
Apps don’t work for me. Period. No matter what their marketing tells me about their effectiveness, I need a human to learn from. I need someone who doesn’t mind questions, for I have many.
Your teacher must be able to adapt to your needs as well as your brain. Our abilities and personalities differ. I’m better at writing and reading whatever language I use, and when I just start learning, the difference is even more pronounced. I will speak when I feel that I have enough information, and my teacher either accepts it or I’m out of the game.
I have had a couple of lovely Spanish teachers, I genuinely liked them, but the person who made a real difference was David Mendoza from The Spanish Enablers. David offers various programs. I first attended his 6-week course called Spanish Unclocked, created to boost your Spanish in small groups. It was the most intense and liberating experience I have ever had in language learning.
I promise this is not a paid advertisement, but if you want to start learning Spanish or are frustrated with your progress, reach out to David (@thespanishenabler) and see if he can help you (yes, he can). His lessons are challenging but fun, and thanks to the safe environment he creates, anyone can and will improve under his guidance. After completing this inspiring course, I wanted more, so I joined his community of Spanish learners.
Qualifications can look impressive on a resume, and it’s wonderful if your teacher has the best credentials, but it’s more important to find a teacher who understands your needs, and no degree can guarantee that. It takes empathy, an open mind and heart, and a wealth of life experience to inspire a student.
It’s not always sexy
Besides the depressing fact that no matter how well I speak Spanish, I’m not going to become a hot Latina, the reality is that learning a language takes a lot of work. No teacher can replace perseverance and dedication. For most of us, using a language we speak only to a limited extent seems daunting. We have to accept that it will take years to become fluent, and we have to understand that making mistakes is not only normal, but it can be fun.
The muscles you’ll often need in the process are the gluteal muscles, so it’s better to proceed accordingly. Thankfully, everything becomes lighter once you find your why. My reason for learning languages has always been to get to know the world as well as possible. This desire has only increased over time, and learning a language as diverse as Spanish provides me with a constant source of information. Behind the mind-boggling richness of its vocabulary lies a complex history that could keep me busy for decades, even if I don’t take up anything else to learn.
I started learning Russian in elementary school only because it was obligatory. The first languages I started learning willingly were Tibetan and Mongolian, followed by Swahili and sometime later Yoruba, with a few others in between as requirements during my university studies. All this to research and immerse myself in the culture, because I believe that the only way to gain insight into a tradition is to speak its language. Our knowledge as outsiders remains limited, but it gives us enough insight to appreciate the value of diversity. And goodness, how much the world needs us to appreciate each other more!
The difference between my past and present experiences is that the languages mentioned earlier served the needs of my mind, while Spanish now speaks exclusively to my soul.