My name is:
Aaron
Thank you Aaron!
¡Felicidades a Aaron por avanzar al nivel A3! ¡Bien hecho! We are so happy to have you in our online Spanish classes!
My name is:
Aaron
Thank you Aaron!
¡Felicidades a Aaron por avanzar al nivel A3! ¡Bien hecho! We are so happy to have you in our online Spanish classes!
My name is:
Thank you Penny!
¡Felicidades a Penny por avanzar al nivel C1! ¡Bien hecho! We are so happy to have you in our online Spanish classes!
My name is:
Paula
My new level is:
A2
Approximately how much time do you dedicate to working on your Spanish outside of class?
I work about 30 minutes per day on homework and I try to think in Spanish as much as possible throughout the day.
On average, how many times per week do you take classes @ Pura Buena Onda?
I take classes once a week but more often would be better.
What role has Pura Buena Onda played in helping you improve your Spanish & advance to the next level?
I’ve spent many years learning grammar in a classroom setting and i knew that i needed more practice speaking. The teachers at PBO are amazing, they work together so well and provide feedback, and have helped me with my confidence to speak. So happy that my Spanish speaking ability is improving.
What are some of your favorite resources?
For fun I follow PBO on Instagram and now the blog, but mostly the teachers and fellow students are my favorite resources.
Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
Congrats on 13 years!! So glad i found you when I did!
Thank you Paula!
¡Felicidades a Paula por avanzar al nivel A2! ¡Bien hecho! We are so happy to have you in our online Spanish classes!
My name is:
Quan
My new level is:
A2
Approximately how much time do you dedicate to working on your Spanish outside of class?
0
On average, how many times per week do you take classes @ Pura Buena Onda?
1
What role has Pura Buena Onda played in helping you improve your Spanish & advance to the next level?
Listening and responding to questions.
What are some of your favorite resources?
wordreference, google translate
Thank you Quan!
¡Felicidades a Quan por avanzar al nivel A2! ¡Bien hecho! We are so happy to have you in our online Spanish classes!
My name is:
Thank you Jenna!
¡Felicidades a Jenna por avanzar al nivel B1! ¡Bien hecho! We are so happy to have you in our online Spanish classes!
My name is:
Missy
My new level is:
C1
Approximately how much time do you dedicate to working on your Spanish outside of class?
10-15 hours per week
On average, how many times per week do you take classes @ Pura Buena Onda?
Recently 2
What role has Pura Buena Onda played in helping you improve your Spanish & advance to the next level?
PBO has played the most important role in my journey. From the beginning, they made it more comfortable to start speaking which was the hardest part and from then on, everyone has been patient and encouraging along the way and has offered multiple different types of opportunities to improve. The teachers are incredible and the community that Caro has built is the best part. I have an amazing group of friends to learn and practice with because of PBO.
What are some of your favorite resources?
I’ve been into listening to a lot of podcasts lately, I started with News In Slow Spanish a few years ago but now try to listen to Buenos Días America most weekdays. I also love No Hay Tos, Platicando, and Hoy Hablamos and have made it a recent goal to listen to all available episodes of Radioambulante. Netflix has so many good shows in Spanish (my favorites include La Casa de Papel, Gran Hotel, Las Chicas del Cable, El Internado, there are many more). The McGraw Hill books are great if you are a nerd like me.
Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
PBO has changed my life and I can’t thank them enough. I would never have imagined 4-5 years ago that I could now have a coherent conversation with someone in Spanish and love the process so much!
Thank you Missy!
¡Felicidades a Missy por avanzar al nivel B2! ¡Bien hecho! We are so happy to have you in our online Spanish classes!
My name is:
Sean
My new level is:
B2
Approximately how much time do you dedicate to working on your Spanish outside of class?
~6 hours a week
On average, how many times per week do you take classes @ Pura Buena Onda?
1
What role has Pura Buena Onda played in helping you improve your Spanish & advance to the next level?
PBO is the main reason I have improved at all since I started learning Spanish
What are some of your favorite resources?
es.thefreedictionary.com, spanishdict.com, Youtube, Twitter, BBC Mundo, Yahoo Noticias en Español, Netflix, Books, Podcasts, Music
Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
Incorporating Spanish into many aspects of my life has really helped me out. Instead of just setting aside “study” time for Spanish, I make it a part of my routines, so that more things that I hear, watch, and read are in Spanish and keep me learning about the language.
Thank you Sean!
¡Felicidades a Sean por avanzar al nivel B2! ¡Bien hecho! We are so happy to have you in our online Spanish classes!
My name is:
Margaret
My new level is:
A3
Approximately how much time do you dedicate to working on your Spanish outside of class?
one hour or more per day
On average, how many times per week do you take classes @ Pura Buena Onda?
1 group class but am thinking of adding a semi-private twice a month
What role has Pura Buena Onda played in helping you improve your Spanish & advance to the next level?
I have been working on moving beyond the present tense and tourist Spanish since last fall. When I first started, I realized that I could barely form even simple sentences even though I understood quite a bit more. My classes have allowed at least some things to become semi-automatic.
What are some of your favorite resources?
Duolingo Spanish Podcasts, Coffee Break Spanish, Notes in Spanish, Breaking Out of Beginner’s Spanish by Joseph Keenan, SpanishDict.
Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
It’s great to have a safe way to take classes during the pandemic.
Thank you Margaret!
¡Felicidades a Margaret por avanzar al nivel A3! ¡Bien hecho! We are so happy to have you in our online Spanish classes!
My name is:
Cassandra
My new level is:
A3
Approximately how much time do you dedicate to working on your Spanish outside of class?
30 minutes every day
On average, how many times per week do you take classes @ Pura Buena Onda?
1-2 times
What role has Pura Buena Onda played in helping you improve your Spanish & advance to the next level?
It’s everything!! Nothing better than conversation. I love how interactive the teachers are.
What are some of your favorite resources?
Babbel, books
Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
Thank you for everything!
¡Felicidades a Cassandra por avanzar al nivel A3! ¡Bien hecho! We are so happy to have you in our online Spanish classes!
Hola de nuevo, chicos y chicas:
How are you doing today? Have you been studying Spanish? Good for you! Or should you NOT be studying in order to improve your Spanish???
If you are a beginner or lower intermediate student, yes, keep studying! But maybe you need to stop if you are an intermediate student trying to reach an advanced level, or an advanced student trying to become fluent. Why do I say this? Let’s find out in today’s blog.
When we start learning a language, we use many resources. We usually have books, we use apps like Duolingo, we listen to podcasts like Coffee Break Spanish, and we watch Youtube videos for language learners.
All those things are very useful. However, once you get to an upper intermediate/advanced level, it will not help you to advance.
Think about it: most of those resources and tools are aimed at beginners and intermediate students. If you are not a beginner or a low level intermediate student anymore, it’s not suited for you. At that point, you need to do something else. Otherwise, you end up being stuck in the same level for YEARS, potentially forever.
Should you NOT be studying in order to improve your Spanish??? Well, you kind of have to forget about studying Spanish. Yes, that’s right! When you get to that point, you shouldn’t learn Spanish in the traditional way. What you need to do is to incorporate the language into your life.
Incorporating Spanish in your life doesn’t mean more studying. What you need to do is to start living your life in Spanish. How do you do that?
Instead of reading books on HOW to learn Spanish, you read books IN Spanish. Don’t to Podcasts that TEACH Spanish, listen to podcasts for Spanish speakers. Instead of watching Youtube videos about grammar, follow youtubers that do their videos in Spanish for a Spanish speaking audience.
So basically you have to ditch the student mentality and make Spanish a part of your everyday life. Read the news in Spanish, watch TV in Spanish, Listen to Spanish-language radio stations…live your life in Spanish everyday like a native speaker would. You should NOT be studying in order to improve your Spanish!
Have a good week and see you soon!
Octavi
A few times a year Pura Buena Onda students ask if they can make a donation to our school. They often say that it’s because they believe in what we’re doing, what we offer for the community, and because they know how much work goes into our offerings. This year’s donations went to a new standup desk, an iPad, a computer for our staff & will provide free classes for one lucky student for an entire year! Thank you so much for your generosity & support San Diego!
If you feel called to do so, you may click here to make a donation.
Mil gracias