Many of you ask me: “How do I memorize Spanish words better?”
And then you say: Duolingo, flashcards, lists, panic.
Let me calm you down with a true story. You can be the most distracted human on Earth — like me — and still learn a language.
How Distracted Am I?
I once lost my ID on the way to my driving test. Sí. On the way. De-camino-al-examen.
I left my phone AND my iPad at airport security and boarded a plane to Australia. Tranquilamente.
I left my credit cards under an airplane seat because my son enjoyed playing with my wallet.
I once lost one of my children at the airport. I don’t remember which one. (They’re all alive. Don’t call anyone.)
I lost my car in El Corte Inglés parking in Madrid. More than one hour. Wrong floor. Planta errónea.
So yes. I’m charmingly anormal. And still… I speak languages. I remember words. I teach them.
El Secreto (No Es lo que Crees)
Fluency does NOT come from memorizing. It comes from using words badly… many times.
You get fluent by: speaking while missing words, freezing and continuing anyway, making mistakes in public, forgetting a word today and finding it tomorrow — in a story, in a conversation, in a song.
That’s how memory works. Movement first. Memory later.
And reading. Ohhh reading. Seeing the same word again… and again… and again… until your brain says: ok, fine. You’re not just someone I know. Tú eres de la familia.
You don’t need a better memory. You need more life in the language. Messy. Human. Real.
📖 This method is in the book.
Everything on this page comes from How to Speak Spanish by Mónica Bernabé. 18€, one-time payment, includes access to La Tribu.
“My daughter introducing me to her school: ‘This is my mom. She is 100 years old. And… sorry, what was your name again?'”
Mañana más. Besos y amor, Mónica.
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Monica Bernabe Perez | Spanish-English conversation teacher at BlanBla (blanbla.com) | Storytelling copywriter at nosoyisrabravo.es
— Monica Bernabe Perez