One of the best things you can do to improve your Spanish skills in less time is reading a book series. Ideally, it would be a series you’ve already read in a language you know (i.e. in English). If you are a fan of Harry Potter or Games of Thrones, you should probably go over them again in Spanish. As you already know the plot, the characters —and you [...]

As you learn Spanish, you don’t need to give up your favorite English [or, insert your native language] content. You can read Spanish translations. If it’s a popular book, chances are that you can find an edition in that language. For websites and other digital content, there’s Google Translate. Let’s say you have a favorite blog or two that you read every week. You don’t want to miss what [...]

In August 2019 I started learning Italian. That meant that —for the next year or so— I would read less content in English, and more in Italian. As my target language was so close to my native tongue (Spanish), I thought: ‘Why not continue reading the book I’m halfway through (Educated, by Tara Westover) in Italian (L'educazione)?’. I made a quick search on Amazon, and I bought the Italian [...]

“(...) interest may be not enough for optimal language acquisition. It may be the case that input needs to be not just interesting, but compelling. Compelling means that the input is so interesting you forget that it is in another language.” “Compelling input appears to eliminate the need for motivation, a conscious desire to improve. When you get compelling input, you acquire whether you are interested in improving or [...]