How a Dog Gave Me the Confidence to Learn Spanish

Perhaps this short, but true story will boost your confidence to learn Spanish too. 😊

I’ll never forget the day.

I was in Colombia talking with a friend of mine, an acquaintance I would run into from time to time. He was Colombian, so he spoke Spanish, but he also knew some English. And we were just talking one day, just shooting the breeze.

Follow along with the video for best results:

It was early along in my Spanish learning journey. And I was telling him about the challenges I was facing, trying to learn Spanish, how much harder it was than English and how hard it was to understand and blah, blah, blah. You know, just one of those Spanish venting days.

And then he said it. So he said something like, yeah, I know what you mean. I understand. Spanish can be a challenge. Even my dog has problems understanding Spanish. And when he said that my ears perked up! He was like, yeah, yeah. My dog has problems understanding Spanish. So I have to give him commands in English.

I was like, what??? And he was like, yeah, yeah. Because he understands the English better. It’s just easier for him. And when he said that, that really struck me. It just made something click inside because I’m thinking a dog, who has this superior sense of hearing, seeing, physical abilities and everything – if a dog is having trouble trying to understand Spanish, if they can’t even get it, then hey, I’m doing good!

I’m doing better than I thought I was at that point.

So that just gave me a little boost inside. Well, actually a BIG boost, because I finally beat my furry friend at something. The dog. I finally edged them out on something. They can jump higher than me, see better than me, hear better than me, smell better than me, and even play the piano better than me.😂

Plus they ain’t gotta work. They can get taken care of practically all day long. They ain’t gotta do nothing.

So, hey, that’s the quick story of how a dog gave me the confidence to learn Spanish. And since that day, I’ve been jumping high and running fast on my Spanish learning journey ever since.

So, one thing I have to say. I never met you in person, but I want to thank you for giving me the confidence to learn Spanish. Your inspiration has helped me to run faster, jump higher and have a keener sense of hearing in the Spanish-speaking world. So thanks dawg.👊🏽

So, the moral of the story is you never know where your motivation for learning Spanish, or anything else is gonna come from. Sometimes it could come from within. Sometimes from a family member, a friend, or associate. Or maybe even stranger places like outer space.🙃 Or from an animal like our beloved pet, the dog.

So keep on doing it. Keep at it and get good enough at Spanish so you can travel more, build more confidence, and get more out of life.

And remember…
You don’t have to be perfect, just be good enough.