Fluency Is Not a Race: Jake’s Real Talk on Learning Spanish

In this inspiring episode, Jake returns to share the unfiltered truth about learning Spanish—from his dream of visiting Spain and Colombia to the self-doubt and setbacks along the way. He reflects on what it really takes to make progress, how staying consistent with Coach Fran has changed his mindset, and why fluency is more than just a goal—it’s a lifelong journey. Honest, motivating, and full of heart, this episode is for anyone who’s ever questioned their path but kept showing up anyway.

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Transcript

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My name is Jake Burt I'm from Arizona. From a city called Mesa, Arizona, United States I would love to visit Spain Of course, Colombia. Not every day. Every day is not going to be perfect. You know, it's not going to feel like sunshine and rainbows and frolicking through a rose garden every day when you're learning Spanish because it's it's a difficult thing. You're learning a different language and to stick with it, because I think fluency in other languages is is huge. And just stay hard working and it'll come. Hello everyone! Welcome to another episode of Conquering Spanish. I'm your host, Tania Roman. I'm the student success manager at Spanish55, and I have conversations with our students where they tell us their motivations. Their talent is why they started speaking Spanish, and they provide you, our listener, with many practical tips on how to put your Spanish into play. So today I had a fantastic conversation with one of our students, Jake Burke, who did a wonderful job speaking Spanish. He shared with us why Spanish has been so dear to his heart ever since he was young, and how his first work call went entirely in Spanish. He also shared with you listeners a couple of practical tips so that you can put them into play when practicing your Spanish. He even shared the names of a couple of music groups that I think you will enjoy. I hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did, because it was wonderful listening to his mindset and just feeling his vibrant energy. So remember, set your subtitles so you can follow along while you listen and enjoy the conversation. Very good Jake. Welcome to Spanish55, I'm very pleased. that you are here and I loved that Francis I have told you and you have wanted to participate And now, tell us a little about yourself please. Of course, my name is Jake Burt I'm from Arizona From a city called Mesa, Arizona, United States I am a loan officer mortgages in a company called “Peoples Mortgage” I've been working on this company for five years and I'm very happy to be here Excellent! Tell us what you do at your company. Normally My work If someone in my city or anywhere in the United States If someone wanted to buy a house Call to talk about your credit and their qualifications and the type of house for which I could qualify at the moment or if I couldn't qualify, how can we change your credit, your income Their Debts al mes To qualify for your home Very good. And I imagine Being in Arizona, you have to talk to people. who speak Spanish Yes definitely. But for being real I'm usually a little nervous So I already had my first conversation with someone only in Spanish. And it was perfect Many people think That the conversation will be Bad or....of course nervous Before starting the conversation But when you are in the conversation Nothing bad happens Of course. And how did you decide it was? time to have the conversation in Spanish? Well, in this last conversation. Before you start The call I told the man that Of course, I'm still learning Spanish. And it was very nice We had no problem So during our conversation, There were probably five or six things that I must understand to help this person and everything I had to learn for the conversation, I did So that part I think was the best part of that conversation. Fantastic How did you feel when you finished? After In fact, some of My friends came into the office during this call So when it's over I felt very very happy Why again before, this type of calls people think that everything is going to go wrong And that doesn't happen So, I felt really cool after that call Of course it was very good for your confidence. Exactly exactly then it reminds me that I need to speak more Spanish in my daily life with people I don't know because it's more comfortable Talk to you or coach Fran I do it every day, but to learn Need get out of my comfort zone Exactly, exactly. And you talk to other people Where do you live? Well, I live with my girlfriend. I look at her now were our expert of fact! I live with my girlfriend and some of our friends Her name is Avery, my girlfriend's name is Gaby and we have been living together for Five years or so Okay! and you talk to her in Spanish? Not usually. In fact, my girlfriend has already started. to learn Spanish for four months So I hope that in the coming months and years we can start talking together Normally, after my classes with coach Fran I speak Spanish of course because it's in my world Sorry in my head and she doesn't understand anything But now that he is learning There are things I say that you already understand So, we don't normally speak Spanish, but soon! What a pleasure! have someone to continue practicing with outside of classes And what else do you like to do Jake? I'm a bit boring, to be honest. When I'm very active. We prefer go climbing Or just walk in the mountains to the North There are some cities we are going to visit When it gets colder I love to chat With my family, with my girlfriend's family Of course, and usually I like to have a good time with the people who love me And Francis told me that you like to travel. Definitely, definitely yes Yes, you went to Mexico recently. or long ago? We went to Puerto Peñasco in 2022 a little trip We were there for almost two days and the time before this was when I was a child So I haven't visited Mexico. many times my life. Okay. And when you went to Puerto Penasco, did you speak Spanish? Not much because this I think this was when I was just starting to learn Spanish when I started learning Spanish with Francis A okay was at the beginning Exact And do you plan to go to other countries to continue speaking Spanish? I would definitely love to visit Spain. Of course Colombia. We need to go abroad abroad. We haven't done it But we definitely want to do it. We have a trip this coming week to California and next week Utah But we don't have any trips abroad planned yet. Very good. Maybe you'll meet someone in California. where you can chat a little. Of course, exactly. Very good Jake. Why did you start learning Spanish? Well, when I started learning Spanish It was, on the one hand, because of my work. Where I wanted to meet my clients better I wanted to meet other clients Most of the people in my company don't speak Spanish. Customers have no one to talk to They can't speak It was this side Because of my profession, my job of course But, since I was a kid I wanted to learn Spanish No, no, there is no reason. specifically, but in my heart I always wanted to learn then in 2022 I did it Very well. Okay. How interesting. Why usually. In high school, in preparatory school Many students learn Spanish and then return to it. but you since you were little I wanted to connect with the Spanish Exactly. When I don't know how to say it. They say in in espanol. The school within the prep How do you say the first school? La elementary. Primary school. Primary school. Exactly between the two, in the United States there is another school and grade seven. and eight in these degrees I learned Spanish during those two years But after those two years it was over. And never pick it up again. until I reached Spanish55 So for you to learn Spanish It's not just for your job. If it is not fulfill this dream to learn a language you like it is a lifelong journey Exactly. I think so. Now that we're talking about this When I was a child I had a friend named Jesse and his family always spoke in Spanish and they didn't understand me at all So I think that's where I found love to learn Spanish Okay, and are you still in touch with Jesse? Not yet Sadly we haven't spoken recently. No. Okay. I would be surprised to hear from you. Exact Yes, surely very well. and they also told me there that you love the group “Los mesoneros”? Yes definitely yes. And what do you like about the group “Los Mesoneros”? Well, they are a group I don't know how to say it in Spanish, but how indie more rock, indie, this type of music I love it then when I started learning Spanish I was looking for music to listen to every day, driving to my work Or returning home and I found “Los Mesoneros” Another group is “Electric Diamond” For example, But the innkeepers They are my favorites And they are different There is no group like “Los Mesoneros” in English. Let them sing in English But their song“Two” or “More Yours” I love “Más Tuyo” I have many Songs that touch my heart Okay, let's put a link in the shownotes. so that our audience can get to know them because I think it is very good Learn Spanish by listening to music Yes, definitely. And do you also listen to podcasts? Do you watch TV shows, movies? What else do you do? I usually only listen to music in Spanish. I need to start looking Movies. Other things. I changed the language on my phone When I started learning With Coach Fran But no, I don't have any other things that I heard. It's usually just listening to music in Spanish. Okay, very good. And there you learn new words? And do you write them down or what do you do with those words? normally. When I'm listening to music If there is something I did not understand when I'm not driving of course I search on my phone and read the lyrics on Spotify and when I can read When I can read the letters, I can usually understand better. Because If you are learning Spanish I can now understand better reading that when someone is talking faster, smoother and and the words match? How do you say more or less they come together. Hey, it's harder to understand. They merge Exactly, exactly, exactly. But there is a new word that I find I'm going to check the lyrics and if I need translate Google Translate. For example, and after listening to it about three or four times I can understand most of the song. Okay, perfect, that's a great tip you're giving. so that If you are just starting out on this path or if you already know a little bit They can learn new words, listen to different accents accents and rhythms I said and I want to go back to what you said to put your cell phone in Spanish What a great idea! Yes, definitely, it is a big step. Why times at the beginning. Nothing is understood Well, it's not easy. Particularly if you use a phone for work. Whenever you have to search by words what I have never seen when you are busy you take a long time to check the words that you don't know but is necessary I think it is necessary. If you would like to learn faster. Of course. Excellent. Very good. Thanks for sharing those tips with us Jake! Now I would like to ask you about your motivation and the challenges but What do you think if we do it now in English? Of course, we're going to do it. Excellent. So congratulations Jake I mean you were wonderful speaking Spanish. I don't know if you were still nervous, but no I you did wonderfully. Thank you. When you start talking, especially as a yapper, it becomes a little bit easier. I'm sorry to myself. Yeah, myself. I think it's a lot of. It was amazing. So I like to ask you, you know, you told me that you started speaking Spanish because of your word. Because, you know, it was dear to your heart. What led you to Spanish 55? Just researching. Honestly, I, I knew I wanted to start, but I had no idea where. I knew that Duolingo wasn't going to cut it if I wanted to learn at a reasonable rate. You know, not to not to shame because, I mean, Gaby, you know, she uses that right now. She doesn't use Spanish 55, and she's starting somewhere, right? Like it is a place to start. I don't think it's going to be the end all. Be all. And I realized that, you know, I had started with that, and, I started searching, and eventually I came across Spanish 55. And it had to have been in 2022, because I remember I was living in an apartment at that time, and I had my first call with Fran, at the island in my kitchen, and the rest was history. From there. I, you know, I found it online and and it's all been a ride since. Great. So it just, I'm just going to, clarify for our listeners out there. So whenever, you're on our website and you're ready to start with spend 55, you can book a free consultation call and have a 50, 55 minute session with a native speaker or a professional native speaker who will give you a feel to what, like the lesson would be like. So you had this with Fran. And what about this call? If you remember, it made you say, yes, this is the place where I want to be. Fran was very, very welcoming. And it was obvious, like the call is to give, you know, in my case, me as the learner, an idea of what I'm expecting. But it also helps the coach to understand what that person is, assuming that they come into Spanish 55 where they're going to start. And I felt that Fran was really, she was intentional with the call, and she just had a big old smile on her face the whole time. And and I knew I wasn't doing good. You know, I came into this a little, you know, like a call like this, you know, a little nervous before you're like, I wonder how this is going to go. And she just had this energy about her that was so welcoming. And, I just remember her saying you did good at the end. And, you know, if you choose to continue, we'll we could start, you know, next week or whatever it is, whenever you want to start. And the second that call was up, I went and talked to my girlfriend, Gavin. I was like, yeah, I gotta start this. It's it's time we're going to do this. All right. Amazing. What's your favorite thing about lessons with friend? We just we're like friends. It feels like it's so fun. Sometimes we'll have lessons. And, you know, we dive straight into it, and it's just nose to the grindstone. Get, you know, get the get the the topic at hand, fresh in our brains. And other days, it's like we're just talking, you know, we're just talking in Spanish, talking about, you know, the things that have been going on in our lives, the new things happening, you know, like, if she's got something new or she's going out of town or if, you know, we're just talking and having fun chatting, you know, like, can do it. It's it makes it feel it's important to me because I don't want things to feel transactional. And it has never, ever felt like that. It has always felt like, I have a friend. I'm talking to that wants to help me learn Spanish, and we just get to have fun sometimes, you know? So her intent fulness and her her just natural cadence has been tremendous. Right. And it's so important what you say about about it not being transactional, especially if it's something that it's because you love it, right? You don't want it to lose that that spark. Exactly, exactly. So, you know, you've talked about your motivation and you've talked about everything that you do. But have there been challenges? Tell me about those challenges. Yeah. I mean, there's definitely challenges, mostly with self-confidence and, and, the progress at which I've learned, and I think, you know, I listened to a couple podcasts with other people doing it sounds like it's a similar sounds like a similar situation with anyone learning a language. There's just going to be setbacks. And there's days where, you know, you get off of a lesson and and you feel like, wow, I didn't learn anything. And I, you know, like, for me, I'm very self judgmental and I get off a lesson. I'm like, I feel like a total loser. I don't I didn't take anything from that. But not every day. Every day is not going to be perfect. You know, it's not going to feel like sunshine and rainbows and frolicking through a rose garden every day when you're learning Spanish, because it's it's a difficult thing. You're learning a different language and there's no other way to sugarcoat it. So, it has been difficult sometimes. And, I think just being stone, stone wall pushing forward is what's kept me in it because as hard as it is sometimes to remember, it's just normal, you know, it's not unique and not to take away from the way other people feel, but it's not. You need to feel like things aren't going well because that's just going to happen. You know. Since you've already listened to some of our other podcast episodes, you know, that I like to ask, you know, about the tip that you would give our listeners? But now I like to to reframe that question. What advice would you give your, would you give yourself if you were starting on this journey. Stick with it. Just remember just remember that it's not going to be perfect. You're not going to feel like a million bucks after every session. You're not going to learn the entire language in a year or six months. And to stick with it, because I think fluency in other languages is is huge. And, you know, studying and and staying on top of your lessons, to be honest, to backtrack a little bit, I think, I think being more on top of doing little practices on the side outside of sessions would be huge advice to give to myself in the past tense, but most important of all, just sticking with it. You know, keep keep your head about you and making sure that you remember that the goal is to be fluent. It doesn't have to be. You don't have to be fluent in a year or two years, you know, because it's it's not a realistic expectation. Just stay hard working and it'll come. Okay. Wonderful. So I'd like to take, a piece of your answer. And so you mentioned that you would have told yourself back then, you know, start practicing on the side. So you didn't do that at the beginning. No, I, I, you know, I tried to stick with it, and a lot of the time, you know, friend would give me exercises and I would do them. And then I slowly kind of pitter patter out of doing them, and, we kind of transition back into doing that. And I've been doing it myself on the side, too, like I do little tests online, you know, like everyone's like, I have Duolingo to do it with Gaby, too, on the side to kind of cheer her on there, too. So I have all these little things where, like, I'm constantly immersing my brain in Spanish so that it's not just, you know, you can learn with a session or two per week every week, but it's going to be even better if you can immerse yourself in it more. Which is why we've kind of, you know, friend and I have transitioned back, and I've been asking her for these exercises after I've been doing all these things on the sides, too. So, yeah, 100%. Okay. Wonderful. Yeah. You can definitely learn by taking just lessons, but it'll always get better if you continue to learn on your on the side. Certainly. Absolutely. All right. So we've reached the end of our interview Jake and I want to ask you, do you want to give Coach Francis a shout out? Absolutely. I honestly, I think I would just. That's all I ask. I appreciate it. Wonderful. So thank you so much, Jake, for being on our podcast. I hope you're back in another episode so you can tell us how much more you've learned. And you know, I love your mindset and I'm sure that our listeners will also, you know, take it to heart and just continue to learn Spanish for the love of it. Absolutely. Can't wait to be back. Thank you for having me. From hesitant first words to belly laughs in class, Jake's experience with Spanish 55 shows the power of consistency and human connection with Coach Fran by his side. He's not just learning a language, he's building something meaningful. His advice to anyone starting out? Be kind to yourself. Stay the course and celebrate the little wins. If his story inspired you. Make sure to subscribe to Conquering Spanish so you don't miss out on more real stories and practical advice to help you move forward. Two and if you're ready to take your Spanish to the next level, check out our website, Spanish 55.com. We offer personalized one on one instruction with professional native speaking instructors who tailor each lesson to your goals. Whether you're starting from scratch or looking to refine your conversational skills, you can even book a 55 minute consultation where you can get a sense of what a customized session feels like and ask all the questions you might have. The link is in the show notes. Thank you once again for listening and make sure to come back next time as we continue conquering Spanish together.