April 18, 2025 • 19 mins
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V I D E O SÂ Â T OÂ Â W A T C HÂ Â N E X T :
Online Business Tips to Working and Traveling In Mexico: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zGH0voCyOc&list=PLh3xKhkMgH_IA6s3KvB_g9Cc9Ze1eji8j&index=2
Moving to Mexico: 10 Reasons Why We Chose to Live in Guadalajara https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK23vD8_xjc&list=PLh3xKhkMgH_LAY7UV78YMgms-f2e1UcwN&index=23
Tips for Moving Overseas: Top 5 Remote Work Skills That Make Money: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFzjCrlNAL8&list=PLh3xKhkMgH_IA6s3KvB_g9Cc9Ze1eji8j
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
If you're planning on making amove from the US or Canada to
Mexico or anywhere else in LatinAmerica for that matter, chances
are one of the first things onyour mind is, how do I learn
Spanish?
How do I learn the locallanguage so that I can
communicate, make friends, andget by a lot easier than I would
if I were just looking at myphone all the time?
(00:24):
On Google Translate.
Welcome to Entrepreneur Expat.
I'm Amanda.
This is Justin.
And on this channel we talk allabout doing business globally,
being digital nomads, living inother countries as American
expats.
We're currently spending most ofour time in Mexico, so you'll
see a lot of content about that.
And we also talk aboutinternational investment and
(00:44):
business opportunities.
So if that's something that youare interested in, make sure to
subscribe and hit thenotification bell so you don't
miss a single video that we havecoming out on this channel.
We're trying to do our best toanswer all the questions we are
getting in the dms about, uh,moving to Mexico because those
are probably the questions weget asked the most.
We're doing our best, so makesure to subscribe so you don't
(01:04):
miss any of these videos wherewe're answering your questions.
And if you have even.
Further questions, or you needhelp with the actual relocation
process, we can now help youwith our white glove relocation
services.
We can help you with everythingfrom the immigration process to
finding real estate, moving yourpets, everything in between.
And the first place you wannaget started with that is to book
(01:26):
a Moving to Mexico ConsultBelow.
All right, let's get into it.
How do you learn Spanish?
Or maybe the first thing weshould probably answer,'cause
this is a question we get askedall the time.
Can you get away with notspeaking Spanish, living in
Mexico?
Yeah.
I, I can attest to this myselfbecause when I, I.
First moved to Columbia severalyears ago, and I ended up
(01:47):
spending about three and a halfyears there total, I barely,
barely, barely spoke a lick ofSpanish.
I mean, what they teach you inhigh school, Spanish in the US
was about what I knew.
Now, I did live in Tijuana a fewmonths out of the year when I
was a teenager, and I picked upa thing or two, but like my
Spanish, uh, put very lightlywas no bueno.
(02:12):
When, when I, uh, when I firstcame to Columbia and I was
basically walking into a store,I'd have to use Google
Translate.
Uh, I would not be able to havereally intelligent conversations
in Spanish at all, uh, versustoday.
Obviously I have a wife that isa Latina.
She speaks Spanish fluently.
I mean, we, we speak to eachother in English or Spanish,
(02:34):
depending on the, the contextand who else is in the room.
But, uh, I can get by much, muchbetter having learned the
language.
So to answer your question, likecan you get by with just English
in certain cities?
For sure.
Like here in Mexico, if you're,let's say in Cancun or play Del
Carmen or a lot of places inMexico City.
(02:55):
The menus are in English andSpanish in places that are
frequented by expats.
But even in places like that,it's gonna limit your experience
a lot because let's say you arein Mexico City and you want to
go out of the poka, uh,neighborhood, or you want to go
out of, of Essa Roman Norte, orone of the, one of the places,
uh, where there's a lot ofexpats, well, you're gonna have
(03:17):
to learn Spanish or it's justgonna be like.
An awkward, uncomfortableexperience for the most part.
Now, Mexicans, as most otherpeople in Latin America, are
very friendly to foreigners, andeven if you don't speak the
language, they're certainlygonna try to, to help however
they can.
But it is tough making friendswhen you, when you speak totally
different languages and itlimits your pool, uh, for sure,
(03:40):
for friendship, for dating, andalso in business.
Because even if the people that,let's say you're trying to do
business with, speak English.
You're not gonna be able tobuild the same rapport and
connection with them as if youunderstand their local language.
And then from there, build onthat, understand a lot of the
idiosyncrasies of the Spanishlanguage, uh, in Mexico and the,
(04:01):
the different slang andterminology and other cultural
references that you kind of needto get Spanish to understand.
Yeah, so you know, in urbanareas you are going to find more
Mexicans who speak both Englishand Spanish, but it is the case
with any country if you make aneffort.
To speak in their nativelanguage, then they're typically
(04:21):
going to be nicer, uh, to youand, you know, be more willing
to help and all those kinds ofthings.
Although I think Mexicans arewilling to help no matter what,
but obviously, uh, it's also, Ithink, respectful, you know, at
least to try and speak in thenative absolutely.
Language.
So, and Spanish is a lot easierto learn than like Russian or
Ukrainian, uh, which I wasspeaking when I, when I was in
(04:42):
Ukraine, uh, several times, manyyears ago.
And you don't have to learn awhole other alphabet, right?
It's, it's 95% the same.
So you should probably feellucky that you're, you're
considering Mexico and not likeChina or, or Russia.
Or Thailand.
Thailand or somewhere with atotally different alphabet.
(05:03):
Greece.
Exactly.
Um, and much more complicatedlanguage.
Spanish has a lot ofsimilarities to English, and
it's nowhere near as difficult.
To learn as a lot of otherlanguages are.
Yeah.
I would say as someone who usedto teach English and Spanish as
a second language, um, they'resimilar.
Or not similar, right?
So English is like a veryefficient.
(05:24):
Language, like you get thingsdone very quickly.
Spanish is not an efficientlanguage.
It's one of the romancelanguages.
So there's gonna be, uh, morewords to learn and the
conjugations and things likethat.
But to your point, uh, it's wayeasier to learn than like.
Thai or Russian or Greek orChinese or Japanese or any of
(05:46):
those things.
And then when you learn Spanish,it opens up all of Latin America
and parts of Europe to you.
Because here's a little pro oflearning Spanish that a lot of
people don't realize.
If you learn Spanish and youbecome very fluent, uh, you can
kind of, sort of get Portugueseand Italian too.
Maybe not when they're speakingit.
And maybe the accents will, um,throw you off.
(06:08):
Like they do with me, but if Ihave like Portuguese or Italian,
like written in front of me, Iget 90, 95% of it just because
I, I'm fluent in, in Spanish.
So I think a lot of people don'teven realize that, that you kind
of more easily understand allthe romance languages.
Well, and not to mentionlearning one language is also
going to help you understand.
(06:28):
How to more quickly learn otherlanguages.
So by learning a single, asingle language, in addition to
simply knowing that language,you're gonna understand the
patterns and the differencesbetween that language and the
language you natively speak.
Which, if you're watching thischannel, I'm assuming is
probably English.
And so you're gonna start to seehow conjugations are constructed
and, and, uh, learn.
(06:50):
Different ways of, of how wordsin the vocabulary relate to
others.
And so it makes learning, let'ssay a third or fourth language a
lot easier.
And like Amanda said, it opensyou up to the Spanish speaking
world, but then also starts toopen you up to a lot more
countries as well.
Because I think once you'vetaken the leap from, let's say
English to Spanish, going fromSpanish to so many other
(07:10):
different languages.
Uh, especially very common onesis a lot easier.
Yeah.
And I would say another benefit,and this is something that we
both have experienced'cause uh,we've been taking holistic
healing classes and meditationclasses here in Mexico and now
we're assisting and facilitatinga lot of those classes.
And, uh, one thing that wasreally interesting was when we
started taking a lot of theseclasses, I mean, we spent a
(07:33):
decade taking these kinds ofclasses in English.
Uh, so we weren't like new tothe content, but I will say.
Say that taking it in anotherlanguage kind of opens you up to
things that maybe you didn'tpick up on on the original
language.
And that's actually somethingpretty cool that's, that's
happened to us as well.
So, I mean, there's no harm inknowing multiple languages.
(07:57):
It can only open up your world,not make it smaller.
Exactly.
So let's dive into some of theways that.
We have learned other languages.
I mean, specifically me and alot of my friends, because
Amanda here is a pretty nativeSpanish speaker.
But one of the best things in myexperience for, for learning
Spanish was really just thisidea of total immersion.
(08:18):
It, it was the same thing, uh,as well when I was brushing up
on my Russian after not havingspoken it for many, many years
and being in Ukraine where a lotof the people, uh, spoke
Russian, especially in, in someof those.
Central and Eastern, um, partsof the country where just like
in Columbia, just like inMexico, when you're in that
area, that is completelyspeaking another language and
(08:40):
they're not all speaking inEnglish, which is why, guys, if
you're gonna go to Mexico, don'tjust go to the resort.
Like, don't just hang out in thetourist areas and all the expat
neighborhoods.
Get out there and actuallyimmerse yourself in the
language, in the culture.
Start speaking Spanish withnative Spanish speakers.
You can always use your iPhoneas a crutch and look at Google
Translate if you don'tunderstand a word.
(09:01):
But the best thing to learn alanguage the fastest is being
completely immersed in thatlanguage.
And, and, and I'll, I'll hint atsomething else that we see on
the horizon, which is like a lotof these.
These interactive, uh, languagelearning apps that use virtual
reality to actually put you intoan area.
So you've got, you know, your VRglasses or even just your
computer screen and you're in a,maybe a, almost like a role
(09:25):
playing game, but you'respeaking the language and you're
only that language.
That's one of the tools thatthey're working on in the next,
uh, tip here, which is appswhere they're immersing you.
In that language.
And so, I mean, granted, there'snothing, nothing that comes
close to actually being in thatcountry to learn another
language.
But some of the apps and things,especially the vir virtual
reality ones, do begin to comeclose.
(09:47):
Yeah, I mean there's Duolingo,everybody knows that one.
There's Italkie, which is an appwhich is hooks you up with
private teachers with all kindsof languages, uh, all over the
world.
But I'm glad that you brought upthe immersion because I.
My first job outta college wasteaching English and Spanish as
a second language, uh, in aprivate language school.
And that was the, that was thekey, was like the total
(10:09):
immersion of it.
So, like for example, if I wasteaching Spanish as a second
language, I was not allowed tospeak in English as the teacher.
If I was teaching English as asecond, second language, I was
mostly, they were Venezuelan.
I was not allowed to speak inSpanish, so everything had to
be.
In the language that they werelearning, and it was total
immersion.
And I'll add something to that,which is learning the, uh,
(10:32):
language in terms of how you'relearning it.
What they have discovered, and Isay this as a former language
teacher, um, is if you'relearning it conversationally.
That's how it actually sticks.
So part of the issue that wehave in the United States, for
those of us who are American,um, when it comes to teaching
second languages, that perhapsis a little bit different in
(10:54):
other countries that are morewell known for teaching multiple
languages is like.
I don't know, maybe it was alittle bit different for me
because I was in specificlanguage programs.
You'll have to tell me, but fromwhat I'm being told, it's like
the Spanish classes, it's likeboards and here are all the
conjugations Montana.
Right.
It, it's not, it's notconversational.
(11:14):
Mm-hmm.
Right.
It's just like memorize a bunchof stuff, but it's not actually,
and that's also a flaw of the USschool system as well, because
it's so based on like thewritten, standardized tests and.
Everybody knows that when youtake a class and you learn
whether it's a language or someengineering concept or some.
Some way of solving a mathproblem.
You're learning it so that youcan get the answer right on the
(11:35):
standardized tests and get intoa, you know, university, uh,
based on those test scores orpass the grade or whatever it is
that you're trying to do.
It's not meant for real worldexperience, unfortunately.
Yeah.
And then the other thing, thewhole No Child Left Behind
right.
Irony.
Um, we were both from that era.
Um, so the other thing, um, notonly is it, uh, should it be
(11:57):
conversational, but in theUnited States, it's like Stacy
from Iowa.
Who was teaching you, uh,Spanish and she's also not a
native speaker.
Not like Ola, not, you know,Maria from Salamanca in Spain or
something like that.
So that's another issue.
And from what I've been toldfrom our friends here.
In Mexico who are bilingual andlearned in the school system,
(12:20):
they start them very, and Iheard this from a lot of
Europeans too.
They start them very young,very, very young.
They're having classes everyday.
Uh, it's a lot moreconversational and they're being
taught by native speakers.
So that's how it's done in othercountries versus the US and in
other countries it works better.
(12:40):
Mm-hmm.
So I wanted to bring that pointup because, uh, before anybody
tries to go learn Spanishconjugation with tables, the
best way to learn Spanishconjugation is to just to go
immerse yourself and haveconversation.
It's a hundred percent.
Now moving on to another reallyvaluable resource for people to
learn Spanish, and it's a lotmore accessible than you may
(13:02):
think, which is private tutors.
Now, in the US if you're gonnahire a private tutor, you might
be paying 20, 30,$50 an hour oreven more depending on what the
going rates are and, and whereyou're located.
In Mexico, you can get privatetutors or in Columbia.
I mean, it doesn't reallymatter.
They don't have to necessarilybe.
Uh, they're in person with youstarting at around$5 an hour,
(13:25):
sometimes a little higher, maybe10,$15 max, but you're still
paying less than a third of whatyou would be paying for that
private language tutor in placeslike the us.
Um, obviously the rates vary alot depending on where you are,
but it's significantly moreaffordable and private tutors,
like I had a couple when I wasliving in Columbia, um, they
(13:47):
help you.
Get a grasp on the language alot quicker, um, correct errors
that you might be making ineither your speaking or your
conjugation, or your writing orwhatever it is.
And just generally like create aplan so that you've got a very
specific track to run on.
Um, one of the things thatAmanda and I have done for many,
many years is we've, we'vetaught business.
So we teach people, uh, thatmaybe have come from a corporate
(14:11):
job and want to become locationindependent and create their own
business that lets them live andwork anywhere.
We teach how to do that, andthere's a track to run on that
we give them.
It's not just like, okay.
Go and throw shit at the walland see what sticks and spend
six months developing a productor an idea, not knowing if
someone will buy it.
We would never tell anybody todo that.
(14:31):
There's a very specific process,a sequence that involves market
research.
It involves testing.
It involves actually validatingan offer because somebody gives
you their credit card and wantsto buy the thing.
Not just saying that theytheoretically might, in some
parallel universe, want to giveyou money for it, right?
There's a very.
Specific process to do that.
Just like there's a veryspecific process to learn a
(14:53):
language and I'll, I'll takethis.
Neat little segue to say that ifyou are interested in working
with us and learning about ourprocess for moving to Mexico,
our process for making sure thatyou are de domiciled from the
wrong state in the US for taxpurposes.
Obviously we're not attorneys oraccountants or anything like
that, um, but we have our ownexperience and also a lot of
(15:15):
professionals in our networkthat can help with things like
that.
Or if you're looking for adviceon how to build a location.
Independent business, um, sothat you can move to Mexico,
learn Spanish, live a totallydifferent kind of lifestyle.
Don't forget to book below thatconsultation.
Uh, the money that you invest,whether you work with us just on
(15:35):
that consultation or you wantadditional services or coaching
or anything like that, is gonnabe more than worth your while
because working with aprofessional is always the way
to do it.
So bookbelow@entrepreneurexpat.com
slash.
Consult.
Now you wanna talk about thefinal, uh, language learning
strategy, Amanda?
Yeah, so this is actuallysomething that we learned about
recently.
(15:56):
'cause they have them here inGuadalajara and we're thinking
when we have time to go check itout, to go learn a third or
fourth language.
Well fourth in your case, thirdlanguage in my case.
And that is language exchanges.
So here in Guadalajara.
And shout out to Heather.
Who was house sitting for uswhile we were vacationing and
getting married and honeymooningand all that stuff.
(16:16):
She discovered languageexchanges here in Guadalajara
and basically, from myunderstanding, they meet up
about once a week and there'sdifferent tables, um, and you go
to the table of the languagethat you want to learn and it's
conversational, right?
So from what she told me here inGuadalajara, they have the
Spanish table.
For all the foreigners who don'tspeak Spanish, they have the
English table.
(16:36):
Uh um, they have the Japanesetable, and I think they either
had Portuguese or Italian, Ican't remember.
But basically you go to thetable of the language.
That you wanna learn.
And it's an international crowdthat goes to these language
exchanges because it'sparticularly in, uh, more of the
bigger cities in Mexico, you'regonna find people from all over
(16:56):
the world.
Uh, so you'll get a prettyinternational in India, Korea,
so many different places.
So many different places.
I mean, we're, we're learningabout new ones all the time
while being here in Mexico.
And I was gonna propose this toyou.
Do you wanna go start theRussian table at the language
exchanges?
Maybe.
You wanna start teaching peopleRussian?
Well see, I think, I think Ineed to brush it up a little bit
(17:17):
more.
The reason I bring that up isbecause he was like, maybe you
should learn Russian.
And I was like, I know.
Which means like house slippersand I know net, which means No.
I was thinking maybe you couldstart the Russian table.
We'll see.
We'll see, I'll add it.
Um, I'll add it to the agendafor maybe Q4.
(17:39):
So language exchanges are areally fun way to not just learn
a language, but also meetpeople.
Because I think in some of theother, um, examples we gave,
like for example, totalimmersion might be terrifying
to, to some people, and that'sfair or absent.
It was the kick in the ass.
I needed to learn Spanish.
I mean, it's the best way, butI'm also crazy.
(18:00):
So I dunno, I dunno if I'mtypical, you're a.
I'm adventurous.
Yeah.
Um, so total immersion is thebest way.
And then apps absent, but itmight be, it might be
terrifying.
Right.
And then apps and private tutorsare also a really great way, but
maybe they feel a little bitmore isolating.
But language exchanges, uh,could be a really fun way to
learn the languages, but alsomake a lot of international
(18:23):
friends.
So we wanted to add that.
It's a list.
Exactly.
Well, that's our list of ways tolearn Spanish.
If you're moving to Mexico, likeI mentioned before, you can go
to entrepreneurexpat.com/consult.
If you need help with language,learning resources, immigration
resources, or just havequestions that you want
answered, we can actually workwith you one-on-one and also
(18:43):
talk about some of the otherthings that we offer in terms of
more extensive relocation.
Services, make sure you like andsubscribe, and we'll see you
again very soon on the nextvideo.
Bye for now.
If you're planning on making amove from the US or Canada to
Mexico or anywhere else in LatinAmerica for that matter, chances
are one of the first things onyour mind is, how do I learn
Spanish?
How do I learn the locallanguage so that I can
communicate, make friends, andget by a lot easier than I would
if I were just looking at myphone all the time?
(00:24):
On Google Translate.
Welcome to Entrepreneur Expat.
I'm Amanda.
This is Justin.
And on this channel we talk allabout doing business globally,
being digital nomads, living inother countries as American
expats.
We're currently spending most ofour time in Mexico, so you'll
see a lot of content about that.
And we also talk aboutinternational investment and
(00:44):
business opportunities.
So if that's something that youare interested in, make sure to
subscribe and hit thenotification bell so you don't
miss a single video that we havecoming out on this channel.
We're trying to do our best toanswer all the questions we are
getting in the dms about, uh,moving to Mexico because those
are probably the questions weget asked the most.
We're doing our best, so makesure to subscribe so you don't
(01:04):
miss any of these videos wherewe're answering your questions.
And if you have even.
Further questions, or you needhelp with the actual relocation
process, we can now help youwith our white glove relocation
services.
We can help you with everythingfrom the immigration process to
finding real estate, moving yourpets, everything in between.
And the first place you wannaget started with that is to book
(01:26):
a Moving to Mexico ConsultBelow.
All right, let's get into it.
How do you learn Spanish?
Or maybe the first thing weshould probably answer,'cause
this is a question we get askedall the time.
Can you get away with notspeaking Spanish, living in
Mexico?
Yeah.
I, I can attest to this myselfbecause when I, I.
First moved to Columbia severalyears ago, and I ended up
(01:47):
spending about three and a halfyears there total, I barely,
barely, barely spoke a lick ofSpanish.
I mean, what they teach you inhigh school, Spanish in the US
was about what I knew.
Now, I did live in Tijuana a fewmonths out of the year when I
was a teenager, and I picked upa thing or two, but like my
Spanish, uh, put very lightlywas no bueno.
(02:12):
When, when I, uh, when I firstcame to Columbia and I was
basically walking into a store,I'd have to use Google
Translate.
Uh, I would not be able to havereally intelligent conversations
in Spanish at all, uh, versustoday.
Obviously I have a wife that isa Latina.
She speaks Spanish fluently.
I mean, we, we speak to eachother in English or Spanish,
(02:34):
depending on the, the contextand who else is in the room.
But, uh, I can get by much, muchbetter having learned the
language.
So to answer your question, likecan you get by with just English
in certain cities?
For sure.
Like here in Mexico, if you're,let's say in Cancun or play Del
Carmen or a lot of places inMexico City.
(02:55):
The menus are in English andSpanish in places that are
frequented by expats.
But even in places like that,it's gonna limit your experience
a lot because let's say you arein Mexico City and you want to
go out of the poka, uh,neighborhood, or you want to go
out of, of Essa Roman Norte, orone of the, one of the places,
uh, where there's a lot ofexpats, well, you're gonna have
(03:17):
to learn Spanish or it's justgonna be like.
An awkward, uncomfortableexperience for the most part.
Now, Mexicans, as most otherpeople in Latin America, are
very friendly to foreigners, andeven if you don't speak the
language, they're certainlygonna try to, to help however
they can.
But it is tough making friendswhen you, when you speak totally
different languages and itlimits your pool, uh, for sure,
(03:40):
for friendship, for dating, andalso in business.
Because even if the people that,let's say you're trying to do
business with, speak English.
You're not gonna be able tobuild the same rapport and
connection with them as if youunderstand their local language.
And then from there, build onthat, understand a lot of the
idiosyncrasies of the Spanishlanguage, uh, in Mexico and the,
(04:01):
the different slang andterminology and other cultural
references that you kind of needto get Spanish to understand.
Yeah, so you know, in urbanareas you are going to find more
Mexicans who speak both Englishand Spanish, but it is the case
with any country if you make aneffort.
To speak in their nativelanguage, then they're typically
(04:21):
going to be nicer, uh, to youand, you know, be more willing
to help and all those kinds ofthings.
Although I think Mexicans arewilling to help no matter what,
but obviously, uh, it's also, Ithink, respectful, you know, at
least to try and speak in thenative absolutely.
Language.
So, and Spanish is a lot easierto learn than like Russian or
Ukrainian, uh, which I wasspeaking when I, when I was in
(04:42):
Ukraine, uh, several times, manyyears ago.
And you don't have to learn awhole other alphabet, right?
It's, it's 95% the same.
So you should probably feellucky that you're, you're
considering Mexico and not likeChina or, or Russia.
Or Thailand.
Thailand or somewhere with atotally different alphabet.
(05:03):
Greece.
Exactly.
Um, and much more complicatedlanguage.
Spanish has a lot ofsimilarities to English, and
it's nowhere near as difficult.
To learn as a lot of otherlanguages are.
Yeah.
I would say as someone who usedto teach English and Spanish as
a second language, um, they'resimilar.
Or not similar, right?
So English is like a veryefficient.
(05:24):
Language, like you get thingsdone very quickly.
Spanish is not an efficientlanguage.
It's one of the romancelanguages.
So there's gonna be, uh, morewords to learn and the
conjugations and things likethat.
But to your point, uh, it's wayeasier to learn than like.
Thai or Russian or Greek orChinese or Japanese or any of
(05:46):
those things.
And then when you learn Spanish,it opens up all of Latin America
and parts of Europe to you.
Because here's a little pro oflearning Spanish that a lot of
people don't realize.
If you learn Spanish and youbecome very fluent, uh, you can
kind of, sort of get Portugueseand Italian too.
Maybe not when they're speakingit.
And maybe the accents will, um,throw you off.
(06:08):
Like they do with me, but if Ihave like Portuguese or Italian,
like written in front of me, Iget 90, 95% of it just because
I, I'm fluent in, in Spanish.
So I think a lot of people don'teven realize that, that you kind
of more easily understand allthe romance languages.
Well, and not to mentionlearning one language is also
going to help you understand.
(06:28):
How to more quickly learn otherlanguages.
So by learning a single, asingle language, in addition to
simply knowing that language,you're gonna understand the
patterns and the differencesbetween that language and the
language you natively speak.
Which, if you're watching thischannel, I'm assuming is
probably English.
And so you're gonna start to seehow conjugations are constructed
and, and, uh, learn.
(06:50):
Different ways of, of how wordsin the vocabulary relate to
others.
And so it makes learning, let'ssay a third or fourth language a
lot easier.
And like Amanda said, it opensyou up to the Spanish speaking
world, but then also starts toopen you up to a lot more
countries as well.
Because I think once you'vetaken the leap from, let's say
English to Spanish, going fromSpanish to so many other
(07:10):
different languages.
Uh, especially very common onesis a lot easier.
Yeah.
And I would say another benefit,and this is something that we
both have experienced'cause uh,we've been taking holistic
healing classes and meditationclasses here in Mexico and now
we're assisting and facilitatinga lot of those classes.
And, uh, one thing that wasreally interesting was when we
started taking a lot of theseclasses, I mean, we spent a
(07:33):
decade taking these kinds ofclasses in English.
Uh, so we weren't like new tothe content, but I will say.
Say that taking it in anotherlanguage kind of opens you up to
things that maybe you didn'tpick up on on the original
language.
And that's actually somethingpretty cool that's, that's
happened to us as well.
So, I mean, there's no harm inknowing multiple languages.
(07:57):
It can only open up your world,not make it smaller.
Exactly.
So let's dive into some of theways that.
We have learned other languages.
I mean, specifically me and alot of my friends, because
Amanda here is a pretty nativeSpanish speaker.
But one of the best things in myexperience for, for learning
Spanish was really just thisidea of total immersion.
(08:18):
It, it was the same thing, uh,as well when I was brushing up
on my Russian after not havingspoken it for many, many years
and being in Ukraine where a lotof the people, uh, spoke
Russian, especially in, in someof those.
Central and Eastern, um, partsof the country where just like
in Columbia, just like inMexico, when you're in that
area, that is completelyspeaking another language and
(08:40):
they're not all speaking inEnglish, which is why, guys, if
you're gonna go to Mexico, don'tjust go to the resort.
Like, don't just hang out in thetourist areas and all the expat
neighborhoods.
Get out there and actuallyimmerse yourself in the
language, in the culture.
Start speaking Spanish withnative Spanish speakers.
You can always use your iPhoneas a crutch and look at Google
Translate if you don'tunderstand a word.
(09:01):
But the best thing to learn alanguage the fastest is being
completely immersed in thatlanguage.
And, and, and I'll, I'll hint atsomething else that we see on
the horizon, which is like a lotof these.
These interactive, uh, languagelearning apps that use virtual
reality to actually put you intoan area.
So you've got, you know, your VRglasses or even just your
computer screen and you're in a,maybe a, almost like a role
(09:25):
playing game, but you'respeaking the language and you're
only that language.
That's one of the tools thatthey're working on in the next,
uh, tip here, which is appswhere they're immersing you.
In that language.
And so, I mean, granted, there'snothing, nothing that comes
close to actually being in thatcountry to learn another
language.
But some of the apps and things,especially the vir virtual
reality ones, do begin to comeclose.
(09:47):
Yeah, I mean there's Duolingo,everybody knows that one.
There's Italkie, which is an appwhich is hooks you up with
private teachers with all kindsof languages, uh, all over the
world.
But I'm glad that you brought upthe immersion because I.
My first job outta college wasteaching English and Spanish as
a second language, uh, in aprivate language school.
And that was the, that was thekey, was like the total
(10:09):
immersion of it.
So, like for example, if I wasteaching Spanish as a second
language, I was not allowed tospeak in English as the teacher.
If I was teaching English as asecond, second language, I was
mostly, they were Venezuelan.
I was not allowed to speak inSpanish, so everything had to
be.
In the language that they werelearning, and it was total
immersion.
And I'll add something to that,which is learning the, uh,
(10:32):
language in terms of how you'relearning it.
What they have discovered, and Isay this as a former language
teacher, um, is if you'relearning it conversationally.
That's how it actually sticks.
So part of the issue that wehave in the United States, for
those of us who are American,um, when it comes to teaching
second languages, that perhapsis a little bit different in
(10:54):
other countries that are morewell known for teaching multiple
languages is like.
I don't know, maybe it was alittle bit different for me
because I was in specificlanguage programs.
You'll have to tell me, but fromwhat I'm being told, it's like
the Spanish classes, it's likeboards and here are all the
conjugations Montana.
Right.
It, it's not, it's notconversational.
(11:14):
Mm-hmm.
Right.
It's just like memorize a bunchof stuff, but it's not actually,
and that's also a flaw of the USschool system as well, because
it's so based on like thewritten, standardized tests and.
Everybody knows that when youtake a class and you learn
whether it's a language or someengineering concept or some.
Some way of solving a mathproblem.
You're learning it so that youcan get the answer right on the
(11:35):
standardized tests and get intoa, you know, university, uh,
based on those test scores orpass the grade or whatever it is
that you're trying to do.
It's not meant for real worldexperience, unfortunately.
Yeah.
And then the other thing, thewhole No Child Left Behind
right.
Irony.
Um, we were both from that era.
Um, so the other thing, um, notonly is it, uh, should it be
(11:57):
conversational, but in theUnited States, it's like Stacy
from Iowa.
Who was teaching you, uh,Spanish and she's also not a
native speaker.
Not like Ola, not, you know,Maria from Salamanca in Spain or
something like that.
So that's another issue.
And from what I've been toldfrom our friends here.
In Mexico who are bilingual andlearned in the school system,
(12:20):
they start them very, and Iheard this from a lot of
Europeans too.
They start them very young,very, very young.
They're having classes everyday.
Uh, it's a lot moreconversational and they're being
taught by native speakers.
So that's how it's done in othercountries versus the US and in
other countries it works better.
(12:40):
Mm-hmm.
So I wanted to bring that pointup because, uh, before anybody
tries to go learn Spanishconjugation with tables, the
best way to learn Spanishconjugation is to just to go
immerse yourself and haveconversation.
It's a hundred percent.
Now moving on to another reallyvaluable resource for people to
learn Spanish, and it's a lotmore accessible than you may
(13:02):
think, which is private tutors.
Now, in the US if you're gonnahire a private tutor, you might
be paying 20, 30,$50 an hour oreven more depending on what the
going rates are and, and whereyou're located.
In Mexico, you can get privatetutors or in Columbia.
I mean, it doesn't reallymatter.
They don't have to necessarilybe.
Uh, they're in person with youstarting at around$5 an hour,
(13:25):
sometimes a little higher, maybe10,$15 max, but you're still
paying less than a third of whatyou would be paying for that
private language tutor in placeslike the us.
Um, obviously the rates vary alot depending on where you are,
but it's significantly moreaffordable and private tutors,
like I had a couple when I wasliving in Columbia, um, they
(13:47):
help you.
Get a grasp on the language alot quicker, um, correct errors
that you might be making ineither your speaking or your
conjugation, or your writing orwhatever it is.
And just generally like create aplan so that you've got a very
specific track to run on.
Um, one of the things thatAmanda and I have done for many,
many years is we've, we'vetaught business.
So we teach people, uh, thatmaybe have come from a corporate
(14:11):
job and want to become locationindependent and create their own
business that lets them live andwork anywhere.
We teach how to do that, andthere's a track to run on that
we give them.
It's not just like, okay.
Go and throw shit at the walland see what sticks and spend
six months developing a productor an idea, not knowing if
someone will buy it.
We would never tell anybody todo that.
(14:31):
There's a very specific process,a sequence that involves market
research.
It involves testing.
It involves actually validatingan offer because somebody gives
you their credit card and wantsto buy the thing.
Not just saying that theytheoretically might, in some
parallel universe, want to giveyou money for it, right?
There's a very.
Specific process to do that.
Just like there's a veryspecific process to learn a
(14:53):
language and I'll, I'll takethis.
Neat little segue to say that ifyou are interested in working
with us and learning about ourprocess for moving to Mexico,
our process for making sure thatyou are de domiciled from the
wrong state in the US for taxpurposes.
Obviously we're not attorneys oraccountants or anything like
that, um, but we have our ownexperience and also a lot of
(15:15):
professionals in our networkthat can help with things like
that.
Or if you're looking for adviceon how to build a location.
Independent business, um, sothat you can move to Mexico,
learn Spanish, live a totallydifferent kind of lifestyle.
Don't forget to book below thatconsultation.
Uh, the money that you invest,whether you work with us just on
(15:35):
that consultation or you wantadditional services or coaching
or anything like that, is gonnabe more than worth your while
because working with aprofessional is always the way
to do it.
So bookbelow@entrepreneurexpat.com
slash.
Consult.
Now you wanna talk about thefinal, uh, language learning
strategy, Amanda?
Yeah, so this is actuallysomething that we learned about
recently.
(15:56):
'cause they have them here inGuadalajara and we're thinking
when we have time to go check itout, to go learn a third or
fourth language.
Well fourth in your case, thirdlanguage in my case.
And that is language exchanges.
So here in Guadalajara.
And shout out to Heather.
Who was house sitting for uswhile we were vacationing and
getting married and honeymooningand all that stuff.
(16:16):
She discovered languageexchanges here in Guadalajara
and basically, from myunderstanding, they meet up
about once a week and there'sdifferent tables, um, and you go
to the table of the languagethat you want to learn and it's
conversational, right?
So from what she told me here inGuadalajara, they have the
Spanish table.
For all the foreigners who don'tspeak Spanish, they have the
English table.
(16:36):
Uh um, they have the Japanesetable, and I think they either
had Portuguese or Italian, Ican't remember.
But basically you go to thetable of the language.
That you wanna learn.
And it's an international crowdthat goes to these language
exchanges because it'sparticularly in, uh, more of the
bigger cities in Mexico, you'regonna find people from all over
(16:56):
the world.
Uh, so you'll get a prettyinternational in India, Korea,
so many different places.
So many different places.
I mean, we're, we're learningabout new ones all the time
while being here in Mexico.
And I was gonna propose this toyou.
Do you wanna go start theRussian table at the language
exchanges?
Maybe.
You wanna start teaching peopleRussian?
Well see, I think, I think Ineed to brush it up a little bit
(17:17):
more.
The reason I bring that up isbecause he was like, maybe you
should learn Russian.
And I was like, I know.
Which means like house slippersand I know net, which means No.
I was thinking maybe you couldstart the Russian table.
We'll see.
We'll see, I'll add it.
Um, I'll add it to the agendafor maybe Q4.
(17:39):
So language exchanges are areally fun way to not just learn
a language, but also meetpeople.
Because I think in some of theother, um, examples we gave,
like for example, totalimmersion might be terrifying
to, to some people, and that'sfair or absent.
It was the kick in the ass.
I needed to learn Spanish.
I mean, it's the best way, butI'm also crazy.
(18:00):
So I dunno, I dunno if I'mtypical, you're a.
I'm adventurous.
Yeah.
Um, so total immersion is thebest way.
And then apps absent, but itmight be, it might be
terrifying.
Right.
And then apps and private tutorsare also a really great way, but
maybe they feel a little bitmore isolating.
But language exchanges, uh,could be a really fun way to
learn the languages, but alsomake a lot of international
(18:23):
friends.
So we wanted to add that.
It's a list.
Exactly.
Well, that's our list of ways tolearn Spanish.
If you're moving to Mexico, likeI mentioned before, you can go
to entrepreneurexpat.com/consult.
If you need help with language,learning resources, immigration
resources, or just havequestions that you want
answered, we can actually workwith you one-on-one and also
(18:43):
talk about some of the otherthings that we offer in terms of
more extensive relocation.
Services, make sure you like andsubscribe, and we'll see you
again very soon on the nextvideo.
Bye for now.
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