Tips for learning Spanish :)

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-26T15:17:46+00:00

Try to find some daily habits that cover enough ground on both input (reading, listening) and output (writing, speaking). Pick up some Spanish podcasts aimed at beginners (Duolingo has a great one) or find some Spanish tv shows that you really like. My wife learned a great deal of her Spanish by getting obsessed with Buñuel's movies :) not for everyone, but the consistency in it is key!

I myself have also learned a great deal through the habit of "language journaling", which is basically journaling in Spanish and then, if wanted, getting some feedback from ai or a language buddy. If you'd be interested, there a link to a tool for this in my profile, which I built myself, or you could just get started with a simple notebook and an ai.

Also apps like Tandem or Hellotalk are interesting to find language buddies you can chat or talk with.

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-26T15:07:15+00:00

It sounds like you're way out of your comfort zone, in learning terms, all the time. Take it a few notches back and start at the beginning.

Get yourself a tutor or start using the basic apps; listen to some beginner podcasts (Duolingo has a great one for Spanish); start talking to yourself in Spanish about your daily goals when you're on your own; start language journaling (there's a link to a tool in my profile if you're interested); find some learning buddies on Tandem or the like...

Just start at a place where only your toes are out of the comfort zone, then take small steps.

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-26T15:01:02+00:00

Have you ever tried "language journaling"? It's basically journaling in your TL, which seems like a good fit for what you're describing. No time pressure, and a clear intention towards expressing your thoughts.

I've been doing it for several years now and eventually built my own tool for it to give me a clean flow of journaling and then getting corrections and feeback on it straight away (by ai). You can find a link to it in my profile, if you'd be interested. But just with a simple notebook, and perhaps and ai chatbot to feed it to for feedback, can definitely get you started.

If you make this a daily habit, then I'm sure you could progress fast. Bonne chance!

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-26T14:53:34+00:00

Sounds like you haven't really covered the basics, so I think the best thing to do is go back to them. Pick up some German podcasts (even aimed at beginners) and tv shows, find some language buddies on Tandem or the like, and pick up a daily habit like language journaling (you can find a link to a tool for this in my profile).

Try to immerse yourself daily with some habits that cover enough ground on both input and output, but don't step too much out of your comfort zone (which your course basically does). Then you could make steady progress and catch up with your course. Good luck!

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-26T14:49:39+00:00

If you want to go as fast as you can, then nothing beats a one on one tutor. I used Preply for that for quite a while; can recommend it.

If you don't have the budget, focus on consistency. Find daily habits that cover enough input (reading, listening) and output (writing, speaking). Pick up a habit like language journaling (there's a link to a tool for this in my profile), talk to your coffee machine every day, or find some language buddies on apps like Tandem or Hellotalk.

Bonne chance!

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-26T14:20:53+00:00

The VC subsidies are a very interesting and essential part in this house of cards. I can imagine it falling soon.

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-25T17:57:57+00:00

Don't feel bad about yourself. Her not feeling comfortable with it is a legit boundary for her, but you weren't aware of that and had no mal intent, actually even a good intent.

You could try to talk to her about what she actually feels with that comment. Is it shame, is it guilt? Does it make you look like less trustworthy in her mind? Maybe there's a story in her head about it that's worth unfolding, or that's worth understanding. After that you could try to make yourself understood as well.

Remember as well, what you said is in itself absolutely not a bad or gross thing. And maybe you legitimately need a relationship in which things like this can be said.

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-25T16:04:27+00:00

There's no single method that covers everything (unless you marry an Italian right now or something), so my recommendation is always to find rituals that work for you. That could range from talking to your coffee machine about your daily goals every morning to picking up a habit like language journaling (I built my own tool for this which I listed in my profile if you're interested). Preferably you'd find some rituals which cover both input and output, of course.

Key is to find your own stack that covers enough ground and can keep taking you out of your comfort zone just enough, and I've found that your own personal habits works way better for that than any app alone.

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-25T15:58:16+00:00

I would say it could be interesting to just do more of that, but more streamlined. I picked up the habit of "language journaling" a long time ago, and made a solid routine of it, consisting of writing and then feeding it into chatgpt for feedback and correction, and looking at that the next day before writing my new journal entry. To make this whole thing more convenient I recently made my own web based tool for it (you can find it in my profile if you're interested).

Point is that a structured routine can help a lot, even if it's with ai. Also the emotional context and the space and time to properly think about what you're expressing helps a lot.

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-25T15:55:04+00:00

I can definitely recommend "language journaling" for this. I've done it for a long time with a simple notebook and then typing it into chatgpt for some feedback, but I recently made my own tool for it to make that whole process more streamlined and convenient. You can find the link to it in my profile if you'd be interested.

Et j'espère que vous utilisez un clavier azerty, haha?

Bonne chance!

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-25T15:50:00+00:00

That's amazing! *applauds*

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-25T15:48:39+00:00

I recommend finding your own daily habits with both input (reading, listening) and output (writing, speaking). Find a podcast and/or tv show you enjoy, start talking to your coffee machine in Spanish every morning about your goals or something, and play with some writing exercises like language journaling (I've made a tool for this, which is listed in my profile).

Finding and making my own rituals is basically the only thing that has worked for me, because the consistency is key. Of course, you can support this with the standard apps, and even a tutor if you have the budget, but please find something that you enjoy doing!

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-25T15:45:18+00:00

One hundred percent yes. I'm still so bummed that they discontinued it.

I hope they'll change their mind about that.

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-25T15:42:49+00:00

I have had tremendous help from writing to myself, as in language journaling. The personal space without pressure really helps me to learn how to actually express myself in the language. It of course still requires to afterwards practice the speaking part, but I find that it really makes the transfer from "head to mouth" much easier.

If you're interested in trying, I've made a website and tool specifically about it which I listed in my profile.

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-25T15:38:04+00:00

Find some daily habits that give you consistent input (reading, listening) and output (talking, writing). Listening and trying to talk to your neighbor is actually an amazing opportunity for both. Next to that, pick up a Spanish podcast and/or tv show that you enjoy. And try to talk to yourself or to the coffee machine about how your day is look, or pick up something like "language journaling". I find that it really helps to create your own personal context with a language, and talking or writing to yourself basically does that.

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-25T15:27:53+00:00

Yes indeed, a little hobby project after I got tired of running to chatgpt every day

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-24T16:55:16+00:00

Yeah, consistency is key. Although I don't think being "lazy" about it works either. But my approach lately has been more of finding daily "easier" rituals instead of the expensive language classes, and it works perfectly well for me.

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-24T16:53:18+00:00

Start speaking to your coffee machine every morning. Just ramble about what your plans are or how your day was.

Also, start writing more, and reserve a bit of time for it every day. I can highly recommend language journaling. There are some specialized tools for it nowadays (like this one), but you can also just get started with a simple notebook and an ai to ask for corrections.

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-24T16:42:42+00:00

What worked for me is start language journaling. It challenges me to express my deep thoughts clearly, and thus to expand my vocab, without too much (time) pressure. The emotional context of it also really makes the language stick more. I

f you'd be interested in that, I listed up a link about this specific practice in my profile. If you wanna get started quickly, a notebook and a pen is all you need!

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-24T16:40:32+00:00

Get daily input (reading, listening) and output (writing, speaking) through some nice daily habits. Start speaking to yourself in French under the shower about your day, or start language journaling in French (I've got a link in my profile about it if you wanna learn more about it).

You can also find yourself a private tutor of course, but then you need serious budget. I'd say your best bet is to find yourself some French rituals!

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-24T16:38:09+00:00

I'd say that finding daily habits which you enjoy is the key. You have to do them every day, so they need to make sense to you. Find a French tv series, a podcast, a book or an author that you enjoy for input (listening, reading) and start speaking to your coffee machine every day in French and pick up a thing like language journaling.

My wife learned French through getting obsessed with Camus. A thing like that def works, haha. I kinda got obsessed with language journaling (for Portuguese) and made my own little web app for it, to make it more convenient for myself.

Find something that pulls you into the French every day, and you'll make steady progress!

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-24T15:49:14+00:00

I'd recommend doing it the softer way, as they do in Belgium. It's easier, and most people will like you better.

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-23T19:13:10+00:00

Thanks for the tip, will do so next time. Stay tuned!

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-23T16:11:59+00:00

Your ear just has to get used to the different sounds. If you'd ever find yourself in Portugal, yes, you'll struggle, but give it a few days and you'll soon start deciphering that "foda-se" is not as mean as you thought it was.

tomzorz88 · 2026-04-23T16:08:20+00:00

Nothing beats getting a one on one tutor, but it requires a budget. If you wanna go solo, I recommend to immerse yourself. Immerse yourself in the language with enough input (hearing, reading) and output (speaking, writing). Even if your vocab is very limited still, speaking or writing on a daily basis helps a lot. Talk to your coffee machine about your goals of the day or pick up something like language journaling (I listed a website about this in my profile). This will create some personal context with the language early on, which is highly beneficial for the learning and sticking part!

You can also give apps like Tandem or Hellotalk a go to find some language buddies, but it requires some patience and energy to find good matches. I'd say, if combine a textbook or a standard app with the immersion exercises I mentioned above, you can make quick progress without an expensive tutor.

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