Conversational Spanish Coach
MANIFESTO
I BELIEVE that most Americans have a lot of Spanish in their heads, yet they often can't use it in verbal communication.
Many have studied with teachers and tutors for years, but they can't hold a conversation.
This is why I began this coaching service.
Using Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) techniques such as Real-Life Scripts (written for the ear and not the eye), daily immersion experiences, and comprehensible input, I’ll help you improve diction, articulation, and rhythm. This will greatly enhance both your Spanish intelligibility and comprehension.
I can help you use the Spanish that you already know!
Talent
The experiences that equip me to serve as a Conversational Spanish Coach include over two decades of Neutral Spanish Accent Coaching, as well as acting, public speaking, teaching Spanish, working as voice talent on many productions, and voice coaching native Spanish speakers on even more audio, video, and broadcast productions. You can see my talent demo here.
Bring your Spanish to the next level
Even if this means going
from 0 to 1
Regardless of your level, we’ll work on improving your Spanish conversational skills, helping you avoid developing the wrong speech patterns (“bad habits”) that later are hard to break.
As a Conversational Spanish Coach, I can help you improve your Spanish pronunciation, intelligibility, and comprehension. This service is key if you’re already taking Spanish classes or using programs or apps like Rosetta Stone and Duolingo.
Neutral Spanish
Neutral Spanish is used in national Spanish broadcast content in the U.S. because it is the standard for clarity and comprehension when communicating with native Spanish speakers, regardless of their country of origin.
By “leaning” your Spanish to a neutral version of it, both your speech intelligibility and your verbal comprehension will improve significantly across the Spanish world.
Language is better caught than taught
Another advantage of this service is the focus on NLA (Natural Language Acquisition), proven to be more effective than the “study” of language.
Use what you already have
A core principle in the work I do is relevance: I tailor tools, scripts, terminology, and conversational strategies that enable you to build on the Spanish that you already know. Many of my clients have some knowledge of Spanish and can communicate in writing. However, often this knowledge doesn’t translate into effective verbal communication. They can read a little or a lot, they can write a little or a lot, yet they can’t have a conversation when out in the Spanish world.
Just talk
We will work on speaking, listening, and comprehension skills. Tactics include a sharp focus on diction, articulation, and rhythm, so that you can better recognize and use conversational cues. The mix of activities offers an optimal blend of NLA and communicative learning, tailored to your speech communication needs and your media consumption habits. The result? The ultimate conversational experience.
I look forward to putting my award-winning experience in Spanish Communications, Cultural Competence Training, Scriptwriting, and Speechwriting to work for you.
Polite Smile
You know the drill - you say something in Spanish and the other person just smiles, politely. You then write down what you want to say in a few Spanish words, and they readily understand your message.
Excited to communicate, they speak rather fast in what sounds like Sanskrit. When they realize that they are not getting through, they jot down a few Spanish words, which you are able to read and understand.
What’s wrong with this picture?
You have a fair amount of Spanish knowledge in your head, quite a bit of vocabulary and grammar... you can read and write! Yet there seems to be a disconnect between your brain and your mouth... and your brain and your ear.
Bad news first: THERE IS a disconnect between your brain and your mouth and ear.
The good news is neuroplasticity: You CAN create the right connections, at any age. (See Spanish for Your Brain further down.)
As a Conversational Spanish Coach, I can help you activate the Spanish that you already know!
NLA
Sessions include Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) techniques, such as comprehensible input, spontaneous language, real-life scripts, and daily immersion experiences tailored just for you.
Key concept: Language is better caught than taught. When we learn our first language, verbal skills come first, and then we learn to read and write in the language that we already speak. That's what's "natural" about NLA, which, based on what we now know about neuroplasticity, allows us to take advantage of the brain benefits of bilingualism at any age.
See this on neuroplasticity, and read about Spanish for Your Brain below.
This is not regular language instruction. It is not teaching or tutoring. After all, my clients include native speakers, and even Spanish teachers and tutors (but mostly voice talent and actors). I'm a coach, and you're the star! With this Conversational Spanish Coaching, you'll see how you'll enjoy the Ultimate Conversational Experience.
On Neuroplasticity and Bilingualism
Spanish for Your Brain
From Scientific American, by Sauyri Hayakawa and Viorica Marian
“...neuroimaging has shown that bilingualism can enhance attention and sensitivity to sounds, even past infancy, and even if you begin to learn another language later in life. Bilingualism can also make your brain more efficient at managing the immense volume of information that comes streaming in on a second-to-second basis, helping you focus on what matters and ignore distracting inputs.”
“...extensive exposure to multilingual speech can result in more robust encoding of sounds in the evolutionarily ancient brainstem, as well as increased gray and white matter in the primary auditory cortex. As a result, after training, even adults may find it easier to perceive foreign speech sounds, as well as mimic foreign accents, compared to monolinguals.”
“Just as having stronger muscles allows you to lift weights with less effort, increased gray matter in classic executive control regions may make it easier for bilinguals to manage irrelevant information. Bilinguals also have increased white matter in the tracts connecting frontal control areas to posterior and subcortical sensory and motor regions, which may allow them to off-load some of the work to areas that handle more procedural activities. Because the same neural machinery can be used for both linguistic and nonlinguistic tasks, multilingual experience can even affect performance in contexts that involve no language at all.”
“Increased gray and white matter, as well as the ability to flexibly recruit different brain regions, may help explain why bilingualism can delay the onset of dementia symptoms by four to six years. Fortunately, there doesn’t appear to be a deadline for fortifying your brain, as learning a foreign language can still have an impact well into adulthood and after relatively brief amounts of training. Furthermore, changes to one area or function are likely to have cascading effects; better cognitive control can enhance auditory processing, which may facilitate further language learning and continued neural restructuring.”
Bottom line:
I can help you take advantage of the benefits of neuroplasticity and bilingualism
by helping you activate the Spanish that you already know.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’m not taking any Spanish classes right now.
Current Spanish study is not necessary to benefit from this Spanish coaching service, since it’s designed to help you use the Spanish you already know, regardless of your level. (If you do not know any Spanish at all, it will indeed be a natural language acquisition experience.) If you’re interested in studying the language, I can help you use free or paid online tools and apps such as Duolingo, Babbel, Rosetta Stone, and others, which you can use at your own pace on your phone, tablet, or computer. Then we would have the option to incorporate that material as needed into our coaching sessions.
I already have a Spanish tutor.
Keep working on grammar and vocabulary, and basic pronunciation. About this Conversational Spanish coaching service: I can help even your Spanish instructor or tutor deliver better spoken Spanish. I work with native Spanish speakers in recording studio settings, all of them professional actors, narrators, and voice talents, helping them deliver their lines with greater clarity and effectiveness, as well as “neutralize” their national or regional accents so that they are readily understood by all Spanish speakers regardless of country of origin. This service complements, not replaces, your current Spanish studies. Yes, I say that “language is better caught than taught.” This comes from the natural language acquisition philosophy. Yet, I can’t deny that some people can also learn with focused study, especially if they’re primarily interested in reading and writing skills. My coaching service will enhance this study, yet with a focus on verbal skills and conversational competence.
Why should I focus on “neutral” Spanish?
Because by “leaning” your Spanish to a neutral version of it, both your speech (intelligibility) and comprehension will improve significantly when communicating with native Spanish speakers, regardless of where they are from in the Spanish world.
Do you offer an initial assessment?
Yes, we start with an intake interview lasting up to 90 minutes ($150 flat fee). During this interview, we discuss your needs, and I assess your current Spanish verbal skills (with a focus on delivery and comprehension).
What is your fee for this coaching service?
My fee of $350 for a 90-minute to 2-hour minimum session time includes my preparation for the session: customized coaching plan, real-life scripts, daily immersion content customized to your media consumption habits, and more. Additional hour $150. Regular hours are weekdays 9am to 5pm, with evening and weekend hours available. Many clients find this coaching service beneficial with two-hour sessions on a weekly or monthly basis.
What is the best frequency of coaching sessions for maximum effectiveness?
After the intake session, I will recommend session length and frequency based on your needs, learning style, and any “deadlines” relative to your Spanish usage. For example, I have clients who spend winters in Latin America and benefit from just one 2-hour monthly session during spring and summer months and then move to weekly sessions in the months before going back south for the winter.
What will the first sessions be like?
I will create a customized coaching plan, and during coaching sessions, we will work together to write “Real-Life Scripts” in English, which I will then write (translate and transcreate) in Neutral Spanish. As we advance through the sessions, we’ll update and expand your scripts to maximize each session’s relevance to your Spanish conversational needs and utilization. We will audio record you as needed, and I will send you my recordings with challenging parts of your real-life scripts.
No textbooks or homework??? ☺
Nope. Your individualized Real-Life Scripts will be the basis for our ongoing Conversational Spanish Coaching sessions. We will have regular conversations using these scripts. Based on your regular media consumption habits, I will compile and customize materials for you, which you can use to read, listen, and watch as part of your “daily immersion” in the language and culture. (In a sense, this would be your "homework" ... doing stuff you already do and that fits your lifestyle naturally.)
Will we work on grammar and vocabulary?
While our focus will be to maximize verbal and conversational skills, as well as your intelligibility and comprehension when you are in a Spanish-language environment, we will invariably touch points in which clarification and reinforcement of grammar and syntax will happen. Something else that will occur is a natural, organic expansion of the Spanish vocabulary most relevant to your Spanish usage needs, something that’s much more effective than trying to memorize word lists or textbook vocabulary.
Will we cover cultural issues?
Cultural topics will also come up naturally as we work on your Conversational Spanish Real-Life Scripts, because these Spanish scripts seldom are literal translations of their English versions. I enjoy using my Cultural Competence Training experience and expertise during our sessions. I studied cultural anthropology and taught Multicultural Communications at the graduate level, so we can get as academic as you'd like on this. Yet my bias is being practical, helping you with actionable strategies and tactics.
Do you teach in a classroom setting?
Our sessions take place at your home or office or my home office in Wayzata, Minnesota. Some sessions may be “on location” and occasionally via video conferencing/messaging (Zoom, Teams, Webex, Google Meet, WhatsApp, etc.).
Who are the typical clients for this coaching service?
Individuals who want to improve their Spanish speech so that they can speak more effectively and with greater fluency while also participating more naturally in conversations. Also, singers who perform songs in Spanish, and executives and authors who must deliver persuasive speeches. Finally, the group that started this service: Native Spanish speakers who need to improve the clarity and quality of their verbal delivery while minimizing or eliminating their national or regional Spanish accents—most of them do regular professional acting, on-camera and voice-over talent work.
You said, “individuals” … Do you teach small groups or couples?
This coaching service is designed for 1:1 sessions. When I began offering this service to Spanish learners, I worked with a few couples. I found that even when both had similar levels of Spanish, their needs in terms of pronunciation and comprehension were different enough that we ended up working 1:1 while the other person just watched. This is due to the nature of the service: Highly customized 1:1 coaching with a keen focus on specific, need-based pronunciation, articulation, and comprehension skills.
Is this your side hustle?
Yep, and one I love. I work full-time in the advertising and marketing industry as Chief Creative Officer at RicoLatino LLC.
Let's connect, email me at rico@RicoLatino.net or call/text me at 503-819-7582.
One more thing
"The importance of neuroplasticity can’t be overstated: It means that it is possible to change dysfunctional patterns of thinking and behaving and to develop new mindsets, new memories, new skills, and new abilities."
-Psychology Today (read the full article)