SPANISH STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: JESS WENGER

I took Latin in high school, which is not really a spoken language anymore unless you’re the pope. I tried taking an adult introductory Spanish class about a decade ago, but it was really “Spanish for people who already took Spanish in high school” so I was immediately lost. It was not the true Introduction to Spanish class that was advertised. That turned me off from wanting to try again. I played around with DuoLingo a bit on and off, but that didn’t help me truly understand the language. When a colleague in UVA Facilities Management, Emily Martin, our fabulous DEI Specialist, was looking to organize some small group beginning Spanish classes I thought it was the perfect time to give it another try.

My goals are a combination of personal and professional. I became interested in Spanish when I was in grade school. We visited my grandmother in Florida every summer and her basic cable package had Univision and Telemundo. Those channels weren’t as widely available as they are now, so I’d spend time watching those and seeing if I could figure out the story without knowing the words. My cousin also married into an amazing family of native Spanish speakers and I’d love to be able to join in their conversations when I’m invited to their family gatherings. Or at the very least, read their social media posts without using an online translation. 😊 More recently, professionally, I’ve been inspired to want to be able to communicate with native Spanish speakers in their own language in the workplace. Improving communication and making connections with others is never a bad thing.

Latin and Spanish are similar in their structure, but my biggest challenge is Latin was never spoken in the sense of having to listen, understand, and then respond appropriately. Everything in Latin was reading and writing. Thus listening and trying to speak a second language is muscle I never developed. It’s not easy! I am working on strengthening that skill while trying to learn the words as well as appropriate sentence construction. I really like the idea of learning how to speak in Spanish the way a native speaker would say things, rather than trying to just translate my English phrases into Spanish. I’m still in the basic sentence phase of my language journey, but I try to keep that concept in mind as I’m learning.

Rachel and Franco are both awesome instructors! I love learning from Rachel because she’s a native English speaker who is fluent in Spanish. So she understands a bit of my English to Spanish language journey from a similar point of view – how we would naturally say things in English and trying to make a similar point in Spanish even if it’s not a one to one translation. Franco is a native Spanish speaker who speaks fluent English. He is great at trying to make sure I’m not just focused on what I’m saying, but how I’m saying it so I can improve my pronunciation. He keeps me from sliding into Spanglish and to really try to speak like a native. Both Rachel and Franco provide a slightly different perspective on how they approach the content. Hearing things from their different perspectives has really helped broaden my understanding of the language and how everything goes together.

My class with Rachel is an in person class with a small group of coworkers. I love that because we can customize the class a bit to our workplace needs, while still covering the basic course material. I love Franco’s class too because it’s online and slightly larger (4 versus 8). This class is not tailored to my specific workplace needs, which is good because it makes sure I have a broad perspective of the basics of the language. I love that Speak! has options for both. If you want a customized class, they can make it happen. If you just want to jump into a basic intro class, you can make it happen. There are people in my classes who took Spanish in high school, who are fluent in other languages besides English, and even a few true beginners like me. We are all getting something out of each class, which speaks to the amazing talents Rachel and Franco to keep everyone engaged and progressing.

I’d heard about Speak for many years, but the one on one approach with a personal tutor seemed a little too intense starting out and wanting to learn the basics. I love learning in a small group. Although we are covering the course material as a group, we often to break off and have small group chats to practice the new skills with our classmates. I enjoy those one on one opportunities to not only get to know my classmates, but to practice with someone who is at my skill level and may have the same questions I do. It's more fun to learn together! Both of my instructors do a great job of making sure everyone receives personal attention in a way that benefits the progress of the entire class.

SPANISH STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Spanish student spotlight

Jess Wenger

Jess, tell us a bit about yourself by way of introduction.

Could you describe your Spanish language learning journey over the years?

What initially inspired you to learn Spanish with Speak!? Are your goals more personal, professional or both?

What are your Spanish speaking goals? How do you dream of communicating in Spanish now and as you gain even more fluency?

You've taken both in-person and online group Spanish lessons with us and with 2 different teachers, Rachel and Franco. What are the differences and benefits of each method/style? What do you like about the group class format vs. individual lessons?

What do you find to work best for you in terms of getting you speaking Spanish and feeling a sense of growth or progress?

How would you describe your Speak! lessons in 3 words?

If you could travel to any Spanish-speaking country or city for 2 weeks, which would you pick and why?

Describe your Speak! Spanish Classes in 3 words:

SPANISH STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: CAREER COACH MELISSA HANNAH

SPANISH STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: MARLEY MAINELLI