I found coaching to be a useful addition to my conversation practice with tutors. I felt like coaching helped me address the more intangible items with which I was struggling as a second language learner, such as feeling more comfortable striking up a conversation with a native (getting out of my comfort zone). Also, Walter was very flexible and we pivoted the coaching several times during the sessions. He also introduced me to several tools with which I was previously unfamiliar. He suggested other creative ways to approach expanding my ability to speak with more fluidity, which was my primary goal with coaching.

Initially, my request was simply to be able to function in Uruguay, where I had moved (I contacted Walter about a month after moving) because I had major issues understanding people on the street and expressing my thoughts, which consequently increased my stress levels. So, my request was very general. In the first session, Walter helped break down my goals into sub-goals, for which he then offered specific tools and approaches. Overall, I want to highlight Walter’s systematic (but not boring at all!) approach, which really helped me.

In general, I really appreciate Walter’s style of working on the mindset level; moreover, he doesn’t limit those who attend his sessions to a single set of tools or techniques, but offers a variety (not all at once, to avoid overwhelming), like watching films or series, reading, talking, listening to music, role-playing, gradually introducing them.

Together, you figure out which ones are most useful for achieving your goals. He makes the language learning process engaging, so it’s never boring. It’s always a collaborative process, where you work together as a team to achieve your objectives.

For me, it was important that we also adjusted the workload and tool set. Some weeks we agreed that I’d “do more,” but when I was drained (a common thing for immigrants), and didn’t have the energy for listening to Spanish, watching anything or talking, Walter suggested reading short stories. Overall, the idea and his approach of learning bit by bit with varying intensities were reassuring, especially for someone with perfectionist tendencies.

When it comes to specific techniques and tools, I really enjoyed the sessions where we worked through real-life situations on various topics. I also found Walter’s suggestions of useful but not obvious applications to be very helpful.

I noticed the most improvement in my listening skills and the expansion of my vocabulary that I needed. I definitely became more confident thanks to the improvement in my understanding of Rioplatense Spanish. I’m also grateful to Walter for explaining local cultural nuances. And he answered questions about local customs, mentality, and everyday traditions. Plus, I expanded my knowledge of culture, including music, cinema, and so on.

I consider the experience positive. After completing the coaching program, some time has passed, but I still occasionally notice that certain aspects of daily language learning have become habitual and now feel like part of my life. I would recommend this coaching to people who move to Argentina or Uruguay and need help building a functional but non-burdensome system for language learning and cultural integration.

I participated in a seminar program with Walter about developing hobbies in the language you’re learning. I enjoyed the experience so much that I decided to sign up for his coaching program. I have to say it was completely worth it. Walter helped me find unique and interesting ways to incorporate Spanish into my everyday life. I like how amenable he is to the ideas of immersion learning – but at the same time, he doesn’t scoff at more traditional methods. That can be a hard quality to find in a tutor/mentor.

After just over a year of learning Spanish, I reached a comfortable level of conversational fluency. I think Walter played an important role in me reaching that goal. And since there’s always room for improvement, I continue to follow Walter’s content so that I’m always al tanto regarding unique and interesting ways to engage with the language I’m learning.

I studied “Spanish from Spain” for 1.5 years with a Russian teacher online. We focused on grammar (quite complex), so when I arrived in Uruguay, I realized how difficult simple everyday situations were for me: listening, understanding, and explaining.

My initial objectives were to be able to navigate everyday situations, deal with bills, rent an apartment, and know how to ask the right questions, among other things, and simply communicate with people on the street, and most importantly – understand what they are saying and then improve conversational skills, among other objectives.

Walter helped formulate goals during the first session, explaining that language learning is divided into two basic components: receiving (when you learn to understand incoming information) and producing (when you deliver information, and it’s important for you to be heard). He managed to convey the important idea that language is learned when the material is interesting. I started reading a lot about nature (my hobby), watching shows about Uruguay’s nature, and even enrolled in a local course about Uruguay’s ecosystem in Spanish.

Also, I really enjoyed some cool language learning apps which Walter suggested. I found the sessions very helpful when we rehearsed how to conduct everyday conversations (questions when renting an apartment, dialogues in government offices, etc.). This is what is really needed in the early stages, much more than knowledge of the subjunctive tense.

Some of the changes I noticed: I started to navigate much easier in everyday situations, not afraid of being misunderstood, knowing that in the end, I will figure it out anyway, my language comprehension skills have improved. In general, the attitudes instilled in school and university have changed; learning is not just about textbooks, grammar exercises, tests, etc. Learning a language – it’s fun and exciting, the modern world offers many more tools and approaches than the classical system.

It was a very positive experience. I also want to add that Walter is an easygoing, down-to-earth person in the best sense of the word. After the sessions with him, you don’t feel like you’re ‘not cool enough.’ I know that for many people, this stereotype about coaches can be a barrier when seeking their help.

I would recommend turning to Walter primarily for those who are just starting to learn a language, to dispel false beliefs about the learning process, broaden their horizons, and set the right goals. If this had happened to me earlier, I’m confident that by this point, my language skills would have been higher.

And also to anyone who continues to learn the language (regardless of whether they are already in Uruguay, Argentina, or elsewhere). Walter will definitely help establish a system, suggest how to make the process more engaging and effective.

Walter Freiberg is the ultimate cheerleader! Without his knowledge and encouragement, I wouldn’t have signed up for learn-to-draw for beginners classes with instruction solely in Spanish, I wouldn’t be listening to interesting podcasts in Spanish while I cook dinner, and I wouldn’t be curled up in a corner reading “The DaVinci Code” as “El Codigo DaVinci,” all of which have contributed greatly to my language skills. His suggestions have been invaluable.

I loved working with Walter and found it enormously helpful. I have been studying Spanish for many years, and Walter was able to quickly identify the areas where I could study much more effectively.  Together we created a study plan that has totally transformed my approach to the language. Not only am I learning more, but I’m also having much more fun.