Spanish Evening course Feedback
Thursday, 22nd January 2009
Alix Gould-Werth, Cactus’ longest-standing US student to date (now on her FOURTH evening course) tells us why she has chosen to learn Spanish with us, and how she hopes to make use of her new-found language skills in the future.
1. How did you find out about Cactus? What separated us from other language schools?
I found out about Cactus by doing a Google search, and I chose Cactus because the price was more affordable than elsewhere, the location was convenient, and it was starting right when i needed a class to start. Everything just kind of fell into place!
2. Who have been your teachers, and why do you think they are good (as teachers and for your study plan)?
3. How many courses have you taken now? Why did you decide to continue?
4. What are your long- term goals for Spanish, and how has Cactus helped you to reach them?
5. How do you think speaking another language will help you in the future (at work/ with your personal life)? Do you think languages are important?
(I’ll answer all four questions together).
I have wanted to learn Spanish for a long time now. At school, I chose to take French in the seventh grade and I have been frustrated with myself ever since, wishing that my twelve-year-old self had been wiser and realized that such a significant portion of our country’s population speaks Spanish only. I want to learn Spanish both because I want to communicate with Spanish-speakers that I meet on an everyday basis (on the train, in restaurants), and because it is an essential language for people who do social work and other kinds of social justice work
I started Spanish at Cactus knowing nothing and taking the Beginners level, and have since finished Beginners Plus and Elementary. I am excited to take lower intermediate starting in January. I have been lucky to have Gisela as my teacher for all three levels, and to have students in my classes who are fun to be around and excited to learn. I have appreciated very much that Gisela takes us seriously as students and is willing to go above and beyond the textbook, having us analyzing newspaper articles, fashion magazines, and popular songs in Spanish.
At this point, I am still far from my goals in terms of Spanish-- my Spanish-speaking co-workers certainly continue to make fun of my accent and I still get tongue-tied when people request that I speak for them in Spanish on the spot. However, my knowledge has increased significantly from the complete lack of knowledge that I had when I began studying with Cactus. I plan to continue taking courses until I have a firm rooting in the grammatical structures of Spanish and a solid base of vocabulary. At that point I would like to travel to a Spanish-speaking country with a goal of achieving proficiency to the level that I could effectively communicate with Spanish-speakers in my community and perhaps eventually work in an under-served Latino community.
6. How do you feel the Cactus team has helped you?
The people who work at Cactus have always been friendly and ready to help me, whether taking my credit card information over the phone, soliciting feedback in the middle and at the end of courses, and passing along opportunities to practice Spanish and access resources for learning Spanish outside of class.
Tags: spanish, part-time evening course, new york
Posted by Laura Harrison under Success Stories,
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