Episode #24
Using AI to Learn Spanish: Coding, Curiosity, and the Long Game | Jennifer's Story
In this episode of Conquering Spanish, host Tania Roman sits down with Jennifer, a traveler, photographer, and former travel editor who spent close to two decades visiting Mexico before deciding it was time to actually learn Spanish. Jennifer studied French from childhood through a semester in Paris, and she describes how that history both supports and interferes with her Spanish today. She walks through her path from an app, to a tutor, to a work immersion program, and finally to Coach Ana at Spanish55, where she has been a student since 2020 and where a conversation-led approach has kept her going week after week. She also shares the most unexpected part of her routine: using AI as a study partner. She works through tricky phrasing with ChatGPT, and she built her own Spanish vocabulary app that turns the notes from her lessons into flashcards. Alongside that, she talks about the podcasts and shows she uses to hear how people really speak, and why cultural context matters as much as vocabulary. Jennifer is candid about the frustrations of learning part time with a full-time job, and about the moments when she has questioned where it is all leading. Her conclusion is one many adult learners will recognize, and it is a good reason to keep going even on the weeks when progress is hard to see. Start your own Spanish journey with a free trial lesson
