Why Everyone’s Suddenly Asking Me About Spanish
Okay so honestly I’m writing this because my phone literally hasn’t stopped buzzing all week. Like literally. My cousin Priya texted me yesterday asking about the Spanish language course online with certificate I’m taking. The day before that, my friend Arun called me. Like called me on the phone asking about it. Not a text, an actual call. Meanwhile, my wife’s coworker apparently mentioned to my wife that she heard I was taking a Spanish language course online with certificate and now she wants recommendations. Even my mom asked me about it because, apparently, she mentioned to her friend that I’m doing this course and the friend’s daughter wants to know which Spanish language course online with certificate I chose.
I was sitting at home having breakfast last Sunday and my wife just goes “Just write something. Write down that you did the course so people can read it instead of calling you every single day.” She was annoyed honestly. I don’t blame her. Basically, our home phone was ringing constantly.
How This All Started With A Netflix Show
Seven months ago on a random Sunday, I was doing absolutely nothing. Just sitting on the couch. My wife was watching something on Netflix. In Spanish, I think. Or maybe it was like a show from Spain? I don’t even remember the name. Some drama. I wasn’t really paying attention at first.
But then, something happened where I started actually listening to what was happening on screen. Getting interested made me want to know what was going on, but I couldn’t understand because it was all in Spanish and the subtitles were tiny. I kept asking my wife “What did they just say?” every two minutes. She got annoyed obviously.
“Just learn Spanish if you wanna watch it,” she told me.
And I was like, okay, you know what, maybe I actually will try that. Just casually. Not super seriously. Just a fun thing to do. So the next day, I downloaded Duolingo.
Duolingo Was A Complete Disaster
I opened it and started doing lessons. The first day felt cute. There were these little games and you’re learning words. I did like five, six lessons and was feeling good about myself.
However, day two arrived and it felt annoying already. The lessons were way too short. Like, you’d do one lesson and learn one word and that’s it. And there were so many ads. Plus, the mascot character was driving me absolutely nuts. It was trying way too hard to be funny.
Day three I opened the app and did like two lessons. That was it. Already bored out of my mind. Essentially, nothing made sense. I was just memorizing random Spanish words that had nothing to do with each other. Like “the cat,” “the fork,” “the house.” What am I supposed to do with this? Couldn’t say a sentence to save my life.
This went on for like two, three weeks. Opening it daily, doing a couple lessons, then closing it. My wife would catch me and just roll her eyes. She wasn’t saying anything, but I could tell she thought it was useless.
After about twenty days, I just stopped opening the app entirely. Don’t even remember when exactly. One day I realized I hadn’t opened it in a week and was like okay forget this.
Raj’s Wife Changed Everything
Three weeks after quitting Duolingo, I was at work complaining to my coworker Raj. “Everything is either too easy and stupid or too hard and confusing,” I told him. “There’s no middle ground.”
Raj perked up. “My wife did this course. It was actually good. She actually speaks Spanish now.”
I asked “Oh yeah? Where?”
“Some Berlin place? Berlin Institute or something? My wife kept talking about the teacher Maria. She was really good apparently.”
Maria? Teaching Spanish at a Berlin institute? That sounded weird but interesting. I didn’t think much about it immediately. However, that evening I was like okay let me just Google this and see what comes up.
Finding https://berliners-institute.com/spanish-language-courses/ was eye opening. It was a real thing. They had actual course listings. Different courses for different levels. I was scrolling through and I saw the beginner course. Twelve weeks. Three times a week. Live classes with a teacher. Certificate at the end.
Reading through it, I was like okay this actually looks real. This isn’t some app. This is like actual instruction from an actual person. Showing it to my wife during dinner was the test. “Look this is what Raj’s wife did,” I said.
My wife was skeptical. “Okay so are you actually gonna do this or are you gonna do Duolingo part two?”
“No I’m serious this time,” I replied.
“We’ll see,” she said. Clearly, she didn’t believe me, but that was fair.
Paying And Freaking Out Before Class One
I went to the website and registered. They had different payment options. Monthly or upfront. I decided to pay the whole thing at once because if I paid it all I’d actually do it. It was like 15000 rupees or something. Maybe a bit less. I honestly don’t remember the exact amount anymore.
Getting the confirmation email hit different. My login credentials were in there and my first class was Tuesday at 7 PM. I wrote it down immediately. Telling my wife “Tuesday 7 PM I have class” felt official somehow. She was like “Okay don’t forget.”
Night before the first class, I was actually nervous. Proper nervous. What if everyone in the class already speaks Spanish? What if I’m the slowest person? What if the teacher is really strict and makes me feel stupid? These thoughts wouldn’t leave my head.
Walking Into Class One
Tuesday 7 PM came and I opened the laptop. My wife made me tea and told me not to mess this up. Logging into the platform was like opening a Zoom call. Nothing fancy. Some people were already in the waiting room. Different people. Some looked young. Some looked older. One looked really nervous like me.
Then, the teacher came on. This woman. Spanish definitely. Her accent gave it away immediately. Maria was her name. Very warm and nice. Not formal at all. “Hey everyone. Welcome. I know some of you might be nervous. That’s totally normal. We’re all here to learn. Nobody knows Spanish here. That’s the whole point,” she said.
That made me feel so much better. She got it. Understanding that we’re all starting from zero was huge.
The first lesson covered basic stuff. Hola. Como estás. Mi nombre es. Where are you from. Super basic material. But she taught it actually properly. Not like “here’s the word, memorize it.” She was explaining things. Why do we say “me llamo” and not just “yo llamo”? She was explaining the grammar so you actually understood why you were saying something.
There was this guy in the class named Pradeep. He was struggling with the pronunciation. Maria kept helping him without making him feel bad. “Spanish pronunciation is hard. Keep trying. You’ll get it,” she told him. So patient with everyone.
I felt so much calmer after that first class. Like this was real. Actual learning was happening.
Three Times A Week Became My Life
The schedule was Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 7 PM. Three days a week. My wife would remind me “Okay it’s Tuesday. Time for your Spanish class.” I’d sit at my desk. She’d make sure I had water or tea. Opening the laptop at 6:55 became routine.
First few weeks I was still nervous. Speaking wasn’t something I wanted to do much. Answering questions happened, but quietly. Gradually, I started speaking more. Maria would ask us things and I’d try to answer. Sometimes completely wrong. She’d gently correct me and I’d say it right the next time.
There was this woman named Sophia in the class. She was learning super fast. Like picking up things Maria said and repeating them perfectly. Honestly intimidating. I felt slower than her sometimes.
An older woman was also in there. “Aunty is learning!” she’d say enthusiastically. Learning because she was planning a trip to Spain with her family, she wanted to ask for things. Her determination made her keep going. Every time she’d say something right she’d be like “Oh I did it! I said it!”
Pradeep kept trying even when pronunciation got it wrong. Essentially, the whole group was becoming like a thing. Not friends exactly. But knowing each other was nice. Seeing each other three times a week meant we were all in this weird journey together.
Homework Made Everything Stick
After every class, Maria gave homework. Nothing crazy. Like 20, 30 minutes of work. But it was homework and I did it.
First assignment was writing a paragraph about myself in Spanish. Terrible probably but I did it. Then things got harder. Writing dialogues. Listening to audio and answering questions. Grammar exercises kept coming.
Listening exercises were the worst honestly. Hearing someone speaking Spanish and writing down what they said was brutal. Understanding maybe 5 percent the first time around. Listening like ten times just to catch half the content.
Sitting there and listening over and over was frustrating. “Why can’t I understand this?” I’d ask myself repeatedly. However, I kept doing it. Every day after class meant homework. Part of my routine now.
My wife would find me at the desk listening to the same audio clip repeatedly. She’d just shake her head and laugh at me.
Month Two – Things Started Clicking
Eight weeks in and something shifted. Don’t know when exactly. But understanding what people were saying improved noticeably.
One class day Maria asked me a question in Spanish. Answering her happened in Spanish too. Not perfect but actual Spanish. She understood me. I understood what she said back. Real conversation happened.
Later that day, my wife asked how class went. “Dude I actually had a conversation today. Like a real conversation,” I told her. She tried hiding it but was proud. You could see it.
Watching my wife’s show one day and she mentioned something about going to the market. Understanding that sentence was huge. Just one sentence. But getting it made me excited. “Oh my god I got that!” I was so happy about understanding one sentence.
That moment meant everything. Not wasting time. Actually learning something was real.
Three Or Four Months In
By around month three or four, conversations with Maria became natural. She’d ask questions and I’d answer. Follow up questions came and I’d try answering those too. Getting some right happened. Some were wrong. Communicating was happening though.
My wife watched the improvement. Not saying anything but seeing it happen. Happy about me sticking with something was obvious.
Listening to Spanish YouTube videos became my thing. This guy makes cooking videos in Spanish and the first video had me understanding maybe 5 percent. Watching the same video twice weekly for about a month changed that completely. By the end I was understanding 40 percent which felt huge.
At work one day, Carlos who speaks Spanish asked me something. Just casually. Understanding him was automatic. Answering in Spanish happened naturally. Not perfect but he understood me. Feeling so good about that moment lasted days.
My mom called and I mentioned learning Spanish. “Oh that’s nice. For work?” she asked. “No just for fun,” I replied. She seemed satisfied that I was doing something productive.
The Assessment And Certificate
At the end of twelve weeks, came the assessment day. Proving you learned something was required.
Having a one on one speaking test with Maria made me nervous. More nervous than the first day actually. What if I blank out? What if I forget basic things? These worries plagued me.
Walking in and Maria saying “Don’t worry. Just speak. You’ll do fine” helped. She asked about myself. My name. Where I’m from. My family. My job. What I like doing. All in Spanish.
Understanding some things came easily. Other things meant asking her to repeat. Answering in broken Spanish happened but she got it. She was writing notes the whole time.
Then came a writing test. Reading Spanish and answering questions. Writing short paragraphs. Grammar stuff appeared too.
Next was listening comprehension. Hearing conversations and understanding what they discussed was the final part.
After everything, Maria emailed the certificate. It’s a PDF. Having my name on it meant something. Completing the Spanish language course online with certificate from Berliners Institute was official. Dates and level were listed properly.
Printing it and putting it on my wall felt significant. Every time I look at it I think yeah I actually did that. Finishing something. Learning something real happened.
Where Things Stand Now
Seven months in and Spanish feels doable. Not fluent obviously. But conversations happen.
Work friend Carlos and I talk Spanish sometimes. Last week we had a ten minute conversation completely in Spanish. It was slow. Thinking about what to say took time. But communicating worked. He understood me. I understood him.
Those Spanish cooking videos get watched regularly. Understanding half of what he’s saying now is progress. Early on I understood maybe 5 percent. That’s real advancement.
My wife’s show makes way more sense. Skipping subtitles works for like 60, 70 percent. Strong accents or super fast speech means needing them. Most of the time though I get it.
Reading Spanish stuff online became possible. Following Spanish accounts on Twitter happened. Understanding some posts is real. Not everything. But something.
My wife is honest about being proud. Not saying it outright exists. But noticing things matters. When we’re watching her show and I understand something without subtitles, her face shows it. That look says everything.
What Actually Sucked About It
The first two weeks were genuinely hard. Wanting to say something and having no idea how was frustrating. Thinking of English sentences then blanking on Spanish felt awful.
Homework got annoying sometimes. Listening to the same audio eight times becomes tiresome. By the eighth time you’re just exhausted.
Sophia learning super fast made me feel slow sometimes. She’d answer questions before I finished thinking.
Internet freezing during class happened occasionally. Missing explanation parts was annoying. Catching up meant watching recordings later.
My accent is terrible honestly. Speaking Spanish sounds weird. Maria said that’s normal. Improvement might happen. Not sure if it will but whatever.
The Money Part
Paying around 15000 rupees for the whole course happened. Might be off by 1000 or 2000. That’s roughly 1200 rupees per week. About 400 rupees per class.
My Duolingo subscription was costing 500 rupees monthly. Not using it made that money wasted. Spending 15000 for a course that actually works seemed fair.
Monthly payment options existed too. I didn’t do that though. Paying upfront was my choice.
So Should You Actually Do This
I’m not trying to convince anybody. Just telling you what actually happened. I wanted learning Spanish. Duolingo bored me into quitting. Taking an actual course changed everything. Showing up mattered. Homework got done. Spanish got learned. Certificate arrived.
Thinking you might want learning Spanish and actually sticking with it? Checking https://berliners-institute.com/spanish-language-courses/ makes sense. Looking at their options. Seeing if it fits your life is important.
Real talk though – the course works as much as you do. Signing up without attending class or homework means nothing helps. Actually wanting it matters most. Showing up three times weekly is essential. Doing homework even when annoying is necessary.
Following through on those things means it works. Actually learning Spanish happens. Not perfect. But understanding people becomes real. Watching shows in Spanish gets possible. Talking to Spanish speakers becomes doable.
That’s what happened to me. Spanish got learned. Certificate sits on my wall. Now I watch my wife’s shows without asking “What did they just say?” every two seconds constantly.
That’s honestly the real win here.