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If you have taken formal classes and used all kinds of teaching tools but still struggled to develop conversational Spanish, then I encourage you to give the coaching program a try.
I have wanted to learn Spanish for many years, since taking my first Spanish class in middle school. I have always known how helpful it would be for me to be able to communicate in Spanish, especially since in the area where I live Spanish functions as an unofficial second language. Ultimately I became a medical doctor, and found it even more important for communicating with my many Spanish-speaking patients and their families. Speaking their language helps me take better care of my patients, build their trust, and better understand their culture.
I had taken years of Spanish classes in school many years before, but my language skills were very out of practice. I still knew a lot of words and some commonly-used questions and phrases, but could not put words together efficiently and could only use grammar and conjugation at a very basic level. I felt very uncomfortable with spontaneous conversation.
I started reading through the materials from the early lessons of the Accelerated Spanish books and was impressed at the unique approach the program took to language instruction. I knew that my biggest challenges with the language had always been grammar/syntax and conversation, so I was hopeful this program would help me overcome some of these hurdles and allow me to use the language more fluently. It is true that I was hesitant to join at first, but eventually decided that if I wanted to invest in improving my Spanish I should choose the program that I thought would give me the best chance of success.
The main focus of the coaching has been on improving my ability to communicate in Spanish. This is something I hoped to find in my college Spanish classes many years ago, but I recall that even at the peak of my abilities to read and write Spanish I never felt comfortable communicating in everyday conversation, and found that very frustrating. After all, isn't that the point of learning a language? It is surprising that it is so difficult to find opportunities to learn conversational Spanish in formal education systems, but the coaching program ultimately gave me that missing factor - regular, scheduled meetings with a native speaker for the sole purpose of becoming better at conversation in Spanish.
The most useful part of the coaching program is conversation practice with real-time corrections in my Spanish so I can avoid making the same errors over and over again. It is also helpful to get tips about how to express ideas in the clearest way possible, most similar to how a native speaker might do so.
My understanding of the structure of the Spanish language has improved so much in the past year, which means it is far easier for me to understand sentences and to formulate my own correctly. My comprehension of the language has also improved dramatically, so it has become more realistic and fun to understand spoken Spanish and to listen to or watch Spanish media.
Accelerated Spanish has really advanced my Spanish language skills and confidence. This improvement is great motivation for me to find other ways to practice Spanish and embed ongoing language learning into my life in unique ways. The more comfortable I become with conversation the more I have started to use more Spanish in my daily work and to chat with Spanish-speaking acquaintances. I look forward to being able to travel and experience Spanish-speaking countries, and someday in the future hope to join a medical team that teaches ultrasound in rural areas.
Honestly, I would first ask yourself what you want to accomplish. This may not be the best program if you are hoping to quickly accelerate the volume of vocabulary you know. But this program can certainly help you understand HOW the Spanish language functions, which can really enhance your overall understanding in the long run. If, like me, you have taken formal classes and used all kinds of teaching tools but still struggled to develop conversational Spanish, then I encourage you to give the coaching program a try.