It’s taken me 54 years to decide what my second wish would be should I ever happen upon a genie.

The first one was easy — a perpetual trickle of money to fund a simple and a small charity.

I never thought to nail down a second one…until now.

After trying and failing to learn French and German, and now determined to learn Spanish, Wish #2 is a no brainer:

I wish to be instantaneously fluent in every language in existence. 

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this years ago!

Back in 1998, I enrolled in a French class in the hopes of speaking with everyone in my adopted French family.

This lofty goal was quickly squelched by a six year old, a two year old, and an inability to immerse myself.

Time and immersion are KEY to learning a second language.

Fast forward to 2011, when I started two years of online self study and flash cards in an attempt to learn German in preparation for moving there several years in the future.

Thank GOD that relationship ended…German is HARD!

But, I did learn that living in another country where English is not the primary language is a powerful motivator for learning a new language.

As my moving date quickly approaches, the time has finally come for me to learn Spanish.

As I’ve mentioned in my previous blogs, my goal is to adopt the language and culture of my new country as much as possible.

I’m really hoping this third time’s a charm.

I’ve got a few things going for me this time around—my kids are now 22 and 26, Spanish is NOT German, and I’ll have the benefit of immersion in several more months.

Learning a new language is HARD, but feels exponentially harder when you’re “old.”

We’ve heard it before, right? The best time to learn a new language is when you’re very young (preferably a baby).

Ah, well…too late for that. Youth left me long ago.

Apparently, when we try to learn a language when we’re “old,” science is working against us.

Studies have found that there’s a dramatic drop in one’s ability to learn a new language after the age of 18.

(It’s a little daunting that I remember Spanish 101 in my freshman year of high school being very hard. 😳)

One reason it’s harder for older people to learn a new language is that we’ve become accustomed to freedom from studying and being in charge of most of our time.

Elementary and secondary school students are used to the majority of their day being dedicated to learning and structured for them by their parents and teachers.

Another reason is that the greater the mastery of one language, the more interference there is with learning a second.

Finally, there are physical changes in our brains that begin occurring after the age of 18 that make learning a language much more challenging. (Ouch.)

These obstacles become increasingly more formidable with each passing birthday.

But, there’s at least one guy who begs to differ and he seems to know what he’s talking about.

Says Mr. Mahboob of the Department of Linguistics at the University of Sydney:

“People have this belief that it is challenging and daunting when you are an adult. What it comes down to is your level of investment in learning that language.”

Being that I’m very invested, this gives me hope!

I was determined to do things different with Spanish.

I learned a few lessons from my failed attempts at learning French and German.

Some things had to change if I was going to succeed at learning Spanish in my 50’s.

This third time around, I would:

• Embrace humility and humiliation
• Set the bar really, really low
• Raise the bar very, very slowly
• Try to have some fun
• Find a better way to learn a language

Thanks to Ken, I didn’t have to look far for a way!

In late 2018, he did some research and found a program that piqued his interest.

I’ll be honest. I wouldn’t have clicked on the website purely based on the name along—MasterofMemory.com

One month??? That’s just pure marketing BS playing into people’s fantastical hopes.

(Apparently, I’m not the only one who thought so, because they changed their name. 😂)

In January 2019, 53-year-old Ken plunked down a few grand, committed to their nine month (more like it!) intensive program, and kissed me goodbye.

I’m not kidding…I basically didn’t have a boyfriend for 9 months.

The man was hunkered down in his office for several hours a day. The room began to look like a serial killer’s with bizarre drawings of maps and bodies covering the walls.

It all seemed totally bizarre to me.

But, dang if the man didn’t start speaking some legit Spanish way faster than I had ever had with French or German!

Eventually, I stopped dragging my feet and, at 53 years old (the magic year, it seems), I started learning Spanish, too.

Now that I’ve been doing it for awhile, I truly think Ken found the best way to learn Spanish when you’re old!

It’s called Accelerated Spanish. And, here’s why I love it:

• It’s about as free as it gets. (Yes, Ken paid a wad, but you don’t have to…keep reading!)
• It’s about as fun as it gets. (“Fun” is kinda pushing it, but I definitely chuckle a lot while I’m studying.)
• It’s legitimately sinking into my “old” brain 🤓

Registering for an account cost nothing and they give away ALL of their materials — including their full courses AND ebooks — to ALL of their members (even the moochers!). It’s really unbelievable.

Each of the 12 totally free lessons are jammed with information and include the following:

• Multiple instructional videos
• Downloadable ebook chapters
• Downloadable audio lessons
• Vocabulary list
• Quiz
• Dialogue video with instruction
• Comprehensive writing assignment
• A podcast

After studying these 12 free lessons, you’ll definitely be able to speak a decent amount of Spanish!

Ken wanted an old-fashioned textbook he could hold in his hands, so he bought Accelerated Spanish Volume I and Volume II on Amazon. Now that I’m doing the course, I’m very grateful to have them.

So, how is this program different from the others…and why does it work so well with older brains?

Instead of rote memorization, Accelerated Spanish uses mnemonics.

The founder, Timothy, says that the way most people learn is totally useless.

(That’s exactly how I felt with both French and German!)

He explains further…

“First, they might read any number of books on a subject…and promptly forget it all. Afterwards, maybe they’ll decide to try drilling facts into their heads, using rote, brute-force techniques that don’t work. This results in tons of frustration. Finally, they spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a course, just to help FORCE them to learn the information!”

Check, check and check.

The beauty of mnemonics is that it accelerates learning by helping it stick in your brain.

Even if our brains are older, they can still remember things that are memorable.

Timothy dives deep (in 8 free lessons 😵) into how mnemonics work HERE, so I’ll just touch on it briefly here.

If someone were to tell you a phone number, date, or name, it’s tough to remember it.

Our brains are not wired to remember boring information (whether it’s presented to us verbally or in writing).

BUT…if you attach a story to the info, it’s MUCH easier to remember.

Our brains are wired to remember interesting stories and images. So, the more visual the story, the more memorable the info.

So, in a nutshell, mnemonics is the process of turning non-memorable information into memorable information.

Based on this science, Timothy took the boring facts of Spanish and wove them into the goofiest story I’ve ever read—starring Joel the surly mammal-hating bee and his friends, a lizard of very few words and three stuffed pandas.

He has created a whole and very memorable world where all of the Spanish parts of speech live.

Accelerated Spanish doesn’t just teach you vocabulary and grammar—it makes learning Spanish as enjoyable as possible and trains you how to think in Spanish.

I’m constantly amazed when I sit down to study at just how much I’m retaining!

This is why I wholeheartedly believe that Accelerated Spanish is the BEST way to learn Spanish when you’re old. It’s working!

To pay or not to pay?

Ken purchased a 9 month small group program directed by a native Spanish teacher for about $3,000. As I mentioned, this was a HUGE commitment.

The reason he paid in full was to force himself to stay committed. He knew it was going to be painful, but he also knew that is he didn’t keep up with the group, he’s lose a painful amount of money.

It was structured, intense, and not easy for Ken, which is why I didn’t see much of him for 9 months, but it worked.

Now that I’m doing it myself, I have major respect that he completed it. I’m not so sure I would have. They cover a TON of info at a very accelerated pace!

This route is definitely a violation of Item #2 on my list of changes above! 👆

But, if you want to learn Spanish fast, a paid Accelerated Spanish plan is definitely worthy of consideration.

There have three paid plans:

• The Basic Plan—$87/month
  
  In addition to the 12 free Spanish lessons, you’ll get a personal Spanish coach, custom lessons (with vocabulary that fits your needs), weekly assignments and reminders to keep you on track, email correspondence from your coach, assignment corrections, and feedback on each voice recording you submit.
  
  
• The Standard Plan—$397/month
  
  Includes everything in the Basic Plan plus one weekly one-on-one conversation session with your personal Spanish coach, personalized curriculum, a customized learning timeline, and priority support from the Accelerated Spanish team. (This was Ken’s group program.)
  
  
• The Premier Plan—$597/month
  
  All of the above, plus an additional one-on-one session with your personal Spanish coach (for a total of two sessions per week) and unlimited custom materials.

These plans are on a flexible, work-at-your-own-pace schedule. (I’m not sure if they do the long-term structured programs any more.)

Unless you have a specific request, they teach neutral Latin American Spanish, but they’ll match you with a coach that best fits your dialect needs.

They also guarantee you’ll meet your fluency goal or they’ll refund your last payment.

Bill gives me hope!

This testimonial from Bill, an “older” Accelerated Spanish student fills me with optimism:

One big perk of being “old” is knowing better.

So, yeah…the intensive accelerated route is not for me. I know better than to turn this into a grueling chore that will fry my brain and burn me out.

My desire to learn Spanish is not born of obligation, but of a desire to create a solid bond with my new country.

Once I finish the 12 freebie lessons, I’ll be in Panamá (better late than never!) and will either learn by doing and continued self study or invest in a private Panamanian teacher.

What matters is that I’m trying my best given who I am, how I want to live the remainder of my life, and the other responsibilities I have in my life.

One of the reasons I’m going down to Panamá to relax and have more fun and beauty in my life and I’m committed to applying this intention to learning Spanish as well.