How Do You Turn Years of Spanish Classes into Real Conversations?

Amanda DiMartino’s Unscripted Leap into Spanish

Amanda DiMartino had years of classroom Spanish under her belt, but still struggled to hold a real conversation. Like many adult learners, she found that vocabulary lists and group lessons weren’t enough. It wasn’t until she started one-on-one Spanish coaching with Spanish55 that her confidence and fluency began to grow. In this article, discover how Amanda transformed her Spanish through personalized Spanish lessons, cultural immersion, and the motivation to connect more deeply with her Colombian family.

Amanda DiMartino grew up in New York, then moved to Los Angeles for her work in video content, where creativity and busy schedules are the norm. On the surface, she seems focused on directing, producing, and training for her fourth marathon, but she’s also spent years dedicating part of her day to studying Spanish. “I took it for maybe about seven years in school,” she says. “I had this base-level Spanish but could barely speak it.” That mismatch between knowledge and real conversation became her motivation to keep looking for a better way to learn.

In 2018, she enrolled in a weekly class with around 15 other people. These lessons, along with free tutoring sessions she found through various organizations, gave her practice, though they still left her feeling stuck. “I lived in New York at the time, so I had multiple opportunities a day to try my Spanish in real life,” she recalls. “But I was nervous whenever someone would come up to me on the subway and ask for directions in Spanish. I wanted to help, but I couldn’t respond.” The frustration lingered, and she admits typing frantically into her phone more than once, wishing she could stand on her own two feet without an app.

Eager to break out of this rut, she searched online for private tutors, like Spanish55, who could match her specific needs. “I knew a lot of vocabulary, but actually speaking was really difficult,” she explains. By 2020, she was taking tailored sessions that forced her to focus on conversation. “The way it’s structured, it’s like chatting with a friend. I do two classes a week for an hour each, and we review my day, talk about what’s going on in my life, and then jump into the lesson.” This transition from big, meandering classes, to one-on-one attention, became a turning point.

Switching coaches over the years turned out to be surprisingly helpful. Her first coach slowed everything down so she could iron out the basics, while a second coach spoke at a faster pace. “I remember saying, ‘I want the challenge, so don’t slow down!’ Admittedly, I asked her to repeat things multiple times… but I liked that she pushed me.” She also realized that each coach brought a different accent or perspective. After a break to handle a move across the country, Amanda found someone from Venezuela but living in the neighboring country of Colombia: our very own Coach, Jessica, also featured in this issue, who helped her focus on, among other things, Colombian slang.

“My wife is Colombian, and I wanted to understand her family better. So now my lessons are geared toward their vocabulary and phrases.”

All that study paid off when Amanda traveled to Mexico in 2021. She ended up on a tour that stretched from a planned three hours into six. “It was all in Spanish, covering local history, plus I got to ride a horse and do the lasso. I left thinking, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I just did all that in Spanish.’” That wasn’t the only time she discovered a real-life chance to step up.

“I went to Thailand for a trip, and I saw a woman who only spoke Spanish struggling to communicate with the staff at a tour desk. I ended up translating for the entire eight-hour tour.”

Moments like these proved to Amanda that her work was paying off, especially since she could see the difference in her own enthusiasm. Sometimes, she was shy about practicing with close friends, fearing they’d remember every little mistake. Strangers, however, felt at least less intimidating. “If I mess up with somebody I don't know, I’m never going to see them again,” she confesses, laughing at the memory. “Meanwhile, with friends or family, I put this pressure on myself.”

As her conversations improved, she found ways to keep Spanish alive in her daily routine. She set her TikTok feed to Spanish and English and watched “Love is Blind” versions from Mexico and Argentina [ed. note: that makes two of us], and read headlines on BBC World News in Spanish. “I try to integrate Spanish into my day, so it’s not another chore,” she says. “Plus, my coach always challenged me to speak it at least once each week outside of class. If I didn’t have a story about using Spanish, I felt like I missed my homework.”

She also recognizes that sometimes life gets overwhelming. Fitting Spanish in can be a struggle between her career, marathon training, and personal responsibilities. “There have been times when I needed a break,” she says. “But I’ve never said, ‘I’m done with this forever.’” She credits her family, especially her wife’s Colombian relatives, as a big reason to keep going.

“I want to be able to make jokes in Spanish, to have that natural back-and-forth.”

Amanda doesn’t think anyone ever fully masters a language, but she’s happy with the level she’s reached and plans to keep going. “Learning another language opens doors,” she says. “You can talk to more people, experience more things, and help someone when needed.” Her next race may be in London, but her ongoing project is staying ready for the unexpected Spanish chats that keep her curious and energized.

Want to hear Amanda’s story in her own words?
Tune in to her interview on Conquering Spanish: Interviews with Learners, where she shares how private Spanish tutoring, cultural connection, and real-life moments helped her go from hesitant speaker to confident communicator.