Synergy Spanish Systems Blog

The key to dominating any Spanish verb in any tense.

I’m going to reveal one of my teaching secrets…

I almost wanted to keep it to myself because I have never seen a Spanish course that teaches this way. It’s one of the keys (I have six others) to why I get perhaps more praise than any Spanish teacher anywhere.

Yet, anyone can teach this way, there is nothing difficult about it…all you need to do is turn the approach to verbs sideways.

Then, instead of being a barrier to communicating in Spanish, the verbs become easy to use. You’ll find that they’re not so mysterious after all.

Unfortunately, the way most people learn Spanish is more likely to lead to failure than success. Most people study verbs vertically, for example a typical approach takes 3 model verbs and lists them like this…

Yes, it’s a good reference, (except for the overuse of pronouns).

However, as a foundation to speaking Spanish in real situations, making friends, doing business or pursuing a romance…

Forget it…

Here’s what’s wrong…

If you memorize the verbs that way, vertically, you then have to mentally go through the chart before you can speak.

Imagine if you had to stop and think about theory before you spoke with a verb in English.

…………..…Imagine if……………………………………………………….. you had………………to stop and………………………………….think about a bunch of theory before……………………………………………you spoke in English

That’s how most people train themselves to speak Spanish.

Instead, in Bola de Nieve, I teach you to approach Spanish verbs horizontally.

What that means is you start by focusing on the 1st person verbs, which mostly end in the letter O…

hablo, tengo, como, vivo, puedo, necesito, alquilo, visito, invito, quiero, veo

Once you know this single piece of theory you know enough to practice Spanish in context, just like you will in the real world.

After a short time, if you want to say I live, you don’t have to think, you just say - vivo…you already have the pattern in your mind.

No vivo en Canada, vivo en los Estados Unidos.

If you want to say I eat, the same thing applies… it’s instant - como

No como mucho chile

If you want to say I speak, you instantly know I speak- hablo

En casa siempre hablo español con mis hijos

To say, I see, again… with just a little practice, your mind knows instantly, without thinking – veo

No veo a mis hijos.

Here is an example of the first easy step with an audio lesson to show you what I mean, and here’s an action guide to get you started.

Here’s another audio example, this time the horizontal approach gets you using complex Spanish, reflexive verbs in the past, right away.

I hope you can see the uncommon sense in the horizontal approach to Spanish verbs…

It’s one of the most important things I can teach you about learning Spanish. It’s the key to dominating any Spanish verb in any tense and speaking with confidence, security and fluency.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think

Hola Amigos

After I created Synergy Spanish, I quickly realized I was onto something special with this new approach to learning Spanish.

So many people wrote to me about their success and told me they now realize they really can learn to speak Spanish. Even people who had tried for years without success were finding they could actually speak the language.

When I started creating Synergy Spanish I never expected it to make such an impact and even change people’s lives, especially those living in Spanish speaking countries.

Once people got a taste of success and the confidence that they finally could communicate in this beautiful language, they just couldn’t get enough.

The requests to make the next level of Synergy Spanish were overwhelming.

Frankly, I could easily have cashed in and thrown anything out there to make money, like so many publishers do. However, I believe I have a gift to share. I don’t know where it comes from but my way of teaching brings out the best in people’s minds.

So instead I spent a long time researching.

Then I took a small group and started developing a follow up course that would build on the momentum of Synergy Spanish and lead towards fluency in Spanish.

I’ve been with that group for the best part of a year now. We’ve been creating not just a new course but a complete system to develop fluency in Spanish.

The course is called Bola de Nieve, which means snowball in Spanish, Your Spanish grows and grows, getting bigger as easily as a cartoon snowball rolling downhill.

I’ll be sharing parts of Bola de Nieve with you soon. However, for now I wanted to get back in touch with you and give you the chance to add some new momentum to your Spanish.

That’s why I am giving Synergy Spanish graduates the Informal Dialogs course free.

It’s an extra piece of the puzzle that will improve the way you interact with your amigos de habla hispana (Spanish speaking friends).

So, why not get started right now, as the saying goes, “a journey of a thousand mile starts with a single step”…

One last thing before you log in, please leave a comment here on the blog, I’d be delighted to hear from you.

Muchos saludos

Just a short post today.

It’s been crazy here since we launched Bola de Nieve www.synergyspanishsystems.com.

Looks like it will sell out soon, 149 people joined in just the first 24 hours.

A few people complained that they couldn’t get the Bola de Nieve samples. Sorry, they we’re only available for a limited time. However, I do have some sample lessons available from Synergy Spanish Informal Dialogs.

http://www.synergyspanishsystems.com/dialog.html

And you can also access some audio lessons from my unfinished report.

http://www.synergyspanishsystems.com/getspanish.html

Saludos

Marcus Santamaria

You know it’s really hard to stay on a track when creating a Spanish course

There’s always a niggling little voice…

I remember when I created Synergy Spanish… I always heard the voice of a language coordinator that I worked with ringing in my head.

She was a grammar fanatic and as I was writing the course I would imagine her saying,

“But you haven’t taught the subjunctive yet.”

or

“What about the past perfect? You have to teach the past perfect.”

Fortunately, I fought off those imaginary voices, and was able to follow my instincts and create the course that I knew was the best path.

The feedback has been beyond my wildest dreams.

You know… I’ve been delighted to notice something in common with many of the success stories. They come from people living in, traveling to or interacting frequently in Spanish speaking communities.

http://www.synergyspanish.com/newsuccessstories.html

Many others come from people using their new found skills with Spanish speaking friends, workers or relatives.

http://www.synergyspanish.com/successstories.html

You’d think after all those great comments, I’d be more confident and just go full blast ahead…

But the doubts creep in and I hear voices… (Should I really admit that?)

Again, with the follow up to Synergy Spanish I have the similar voices…

This time they arrive in emails…

Will you be teaching the subjunctive?

What about por vs para ser vs estar?

Then I start second guessing myself, “well maybe I could sneak a lesson on subjunctive in here, or a por vs para there.”

But it just doesn’t feel right…

That’s because the timing isn’t right for you.

You see the way Spanish is usually taught is really well…STUPID

The sequence of learning has nothing to do with how your mind actually works.

Just because a student is in second year Spanish, she’s supposed to learn the subjunctive and the imperfect tense or some other grammatical label. It doesn’t matter that the student can’t string a simple sentence together. Let alone have anything resembling a conversation.

What’s the point of learning these new LABELS, if you haven’t mastered the structures that allow you to communicate?

Fortunately, in Bola de Nieve we are not bound by constraints of a curriculum that mostly fails in teaching anything useful…

We are free to beat a new path.

And the mandate for that path is a very simple one…

Teach in the order that allows you to communicate the most.

That way, you’ll make more friends, do more business, and communicate better with workers, patients and clients…

If you like, you can travel in a completely different and much more enriching way. You’ll go places others don’t (dare) go and meet the people where they really live and experience the true culture.

And best off all, you’ll mix even more freely with Spanish speakers.

So, if you are looking for the typical grammatical sequence…Bola de Nieve may not be for you.

That’s ok,

We only have limited positions.

All the better if those positions go to the people who resonate most with this style of learning.

For those of you who do find this style of learning is for you… I can’t wait to hear what you do, once you roll this Bola de Nieve.

By the way, I’m still not sure of the new release date… I apologize for the delay, it won’t be much longer.

Marcus Santamaria

One concerned student wrote to tell me she was horrified that Elena’s voice wasn’t on the sample lessons.

I showed Elena the email, finding out she was missed so much brought a big smile to her face.

Even though she is my wife, sometimes, it’s a bit of a juggling act to enlist her for recording sessions. You see, we have two small children and… well you parents know what that’s about.

You know in the first recordings we ever did for Shortcut to Spanish, some of them were recorded at 4:00am.

At that time we had a 6 month old daughter, after she had waken us up in the middle of the night we used to say, “well we’re awake now, let’s finish that recording”.

I never could have imagined from those humble beginnings, we would reach thousands of people all over the world, and have such an impact on they way they learned Spanish.

http://www.synergyspanish.com/successstories

http://www.synergyspanish.com/newsuccessstories.html

On these new Bola de Nieve recordings the kids are with babysitters and we are bright, alert and having a great time…

José Luis likes to laugh, he’s always making jokes, which slows us down but keeps the energy high.

You know in the first sample lesson the only Spanish speaking voice is José Luis.

In fact the entire recording is all in the first person…

There’s a very specific reason for starting in the first person… You’ll find the sequencing makes it very easy for you to slide into Spanish conversation.

It also sets up your mind for Spanish verbs and then easily using advanced concepts like, reflexive verbs, ser vs. estar, verb tenses etc.

I’ll explain the teaching theory in another post.

You’ll hear Elena again before the end of the first month’s lessons… at the end of the first module.

That’s when I start to introduce you to a new concepts, which you won’t have seen anywhere else… I call it Synergy Verb Patterns and they’ll add a lot more fluency to your communications

Just like Synergy Verbs, they can be used with Brick Verbs and Mortar Words to make a phenomenal amount of conversation from just a small amount of words.

In many of these new patterns, a woman will answer differently to a man.

So, you’ll hear José Luis answer as a man…

No estoy listo para ir a casa. - I am not ready to go home

Estoy contento. - I am content/happy.

Estoy cansado de trabajar tanto. - I am tired of working so much.

No estoy acostumbrado a pagar para ir al baño. - I am not used to paying to go to the bathroom.

And you’ll also hear Elena saying the same phrase, in the way a woman needs to answer

Estoy lista para ir a casa.

Estoy contenta.

Estoy cansada de trabajar tanto.

Estoy acostumbrada a pagar para ir al baño.

So for fans of Elena’s dulcet tones… don’t worry

As the Governator used to say, “I’ll be back” - and Elena will be back before the end of the first module.

Hasta la vista

Marcus Santamaria

I’ll be releasing the much-anticipated follow-up to Synergy Spanish on Tuesday November 20.

Before the release I’m making available, for just a few days, some sample lessons.

You get to look “under the hood” and go inside the new Synergy Spanish - Bola de Nieve member’s area. Where you can download the first lesson and its two audio tracks.

They are a warm up, so even if you are not an advanced student, you’ll still find the lessons very helpful.

In fact, there is a big learning secret at work in those lessons.

It’s so simple that every Spanish course, actually every English course…

Make that, every language course, should be created this way.

It lays a foundation that holds the key to you using Spanish verbs freely, and communicating naturally, without having to think about what you say before you say it.

In fact, the same foundation will allow you to learn to speak in the past, just as easily.

It allows you to seamlessly transition between using formal and informal Spanish so you can speak with your friends casually but with you business associates with the respect they expect.

Making head or tail of ser and estar will become natural to you. It makes for a very smooth path to USING these parts of Spanish to express yourself in a natural and free flowing manner.

Other tricky aspects of Spanish, which people often ask me about such as, reflexive verbs, object pronouns, different tenses, simply become just another way to express yourself more clearly as you use the language.

It can all happen, just as easily and naturally as learning the Synergy verbs, brick and mortar words of the original Synergy Spanish course.
http://www.synergyspanish.com

You see, this one little twist on how you learn Spanish works with your mind, getting it re-wired for Spanish.

Like the Wright brothers, who found that they could get their plane to fly by working on the wings, while everyone else was working on the engine.

You’ll find the approach in Bola de Nieve works not by trying to add more power in areas that can’t take you anywhere or even make you shut down mentally and just crash…

Instead, it removes the resistance, barriers, and blockages to learning and works on making your Spanish glide more easily.

That way, your Spanish can really take off.

Hang on to your seat because, we’re going to demystify Spanish even more in this follow up to Synergy Spanish than in the original course.

In fact, if you take a look at the comments from my recent survey of students of the original Synergy Spanish course.

http://www.synergyspanishsystems.com/studentscomments.html

You’ll see common after comment from people who were able to put all the pieces together and finally communicate in Spanish for the first time. Some after many years of trying and a lot of money wasted, had finally found the missing ingredients that got them speaking Spanish for the first time.

By the way, the comments are unedited, so you can see the exact comments as they were written… even the negative ones.

If you haven’t yet decided on Synergy Spanish you can make an informed decision. (This transparency, honesty, and openness is rare these days, the internet is full of fake reviews from people trying to earn commissions)

Here’s the address again to check out those comments, warts, and all.

http://www.synergyspanishsystems.com/studentscomments.html

Go grab the first warmer upper lesson now, while it’s still available, and feel your Spanish start to glide.

http://www.synergyspanishsystems.com

You know the learning secret that I’ve been talking about is actually very simple.

Any teacher can use it to improve their classes greatly.

It’s so simple it’s ridiculous.

Simple yes! Yet, you rarely find it in any language course…

Perhaps, you’ll never find it in a course… I’ve never seen a language course use it…

Actually, as I write that last line, I’m almost tempted to keep it secret… as it something that gives real power to Synergy Spanish and one of the ingredients that makes my approach so unique.

But keeping it secret would be selfish and counter productive… I’ve always believed the more I give in helping you learn Spanish, the more I receive… And this is an important learning principle that can unlock a lot of Spanish communication for you.

By sharing this principle, I can save you a lot of wasted effort and help you stay on the path of least resistance, so your Spanish can really take off.

Give me a day or two to find the way to articulate to you the power of this small change in approach. Then keep an eye out for a blog post called - The little hinge (that swings a big door)… If you think you already know what this secret is… why not leave a comment?

Muchos Saludos

Marcus Santamaria

P.S. The positive comments about Synergy Spanish keep rolling in. Muchisimas Gracias to everyone you has sent them, you can’t imagine how much they elevate my spirit. Here’s the latest ones

http://www.synergyspanish.com/newsuccessstories.html

If you are among the many people who are looking to take your Spanish even further, I have some good news for you. I am very close to making available the follow up to Synergy Spanish.

It’s called Synergy Spanish Bola de Nieve (Synergy Spanish snowball).

Why a snowball?

There are many images that come up when we think of Spanish speaking countries. For some it’s a combination of cactus, donkey and sombreros…

For those of us who know better, it might be beaches, exotic food, vibrant culture, colorful history, and best of all, some of the friendliest people on earth with an unstoppable passion and zest for life.

Of all the things that Spanish brings to mind…snow is probably not one off them.

Here’s the idea behind such a rare mental connection…

If you completed all your Synergy Spanish lessons, then speaking Spanish more freely will be like rolling a snowball downhill.

Like the cartoon cliché of a snowball getting bigger and bigger, your Spanish already has enough momentum to almost grow by itself.

All you need is someone to push you in the right direction, and you’ll be speaking in more ways than you could have ever imagined possible.

You see, everyone has natural talent for language but it is often extinguished in classes through over analysis, theory and dogma.

If you don’t think you have a talent for language, or you think you are too old, then I’m out to prove you wrong.

After almost 3 years of research, investigation and testing I’ve created a unique approach that makes a high level of communication in Spanish attainable for everyone.

I am confident that you’ll be delighted with what’s coming, and I’ll let you know more details of the release date within the next few days.

Muchos saludos

Marcus Santamaria