Spanish with Nate’s Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy is an online Spanish course designed for people who want to learn to speak Spanish. It is created by Nate, an American self-taught Spanish teacher, and it offers lifetime access to video lessons and audio exercises.
In this Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy review, I’ll take you through the main features of the course, and the benefits that come with it. I’ll also compare how Nate’s Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy course compares to other online courses on the market that I have tried.
By the end of this review, you’ll know:
👍 How effective Nate’s teaching approach is.
👍 What to expect from the course and who would benefit most from it.
👍 How effective the course will be for anyone who wants to learn Spanish grammar and vocabulary.
My ratings for the course
Spanish with Nate |
|
|---|---|
Effectiveness | Value for Money |
| 4.5 out of 5.0 stars | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| An excellent resource for improving overall Spanish comprehension | Good value but requires one-time payment or split payment. |
Ease of Use | Languages |
| 5.0 out of 5.0 stars | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| New, modern dashboard with access to a lot of learning material | Potential for more languages in this format |
✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
| 👍 Personal tutor style 👍 Free Trial Available 👍 Great for Spanish Beginners | 👎 Not Cheap 👎 Additional speaking resource may be useful |
| Spanish with Nate’s Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy provides you with an effective way to learn Spanish. It differs from popular online courses made for the masses. Instead, Nate provides a personal touch. Michael is an enthusiastic teacher who has created a series of enjoyable, comprehensive courses. |
|
About me and how I did this review
My name is James. I am a language lover, a fluent speaker and teacher of English, Spanish and French, and the founder of this language and travel blog.
This post is an unbiased review of the Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy online Spanish course. I’ll take you through my personal experience of the course and whether I think it’s worth your time.
The opinions expressed in the post are mine and are unbiased. I’ll be discussing my experience with three key factors in mind.
These are as follows:
Effectiveness – I’ll discuss the progress I’d expect Spanish beginners to make in this course, as well as the projected progress one would be able to make when learning Spanish over a prolonged period.
Value for money – I’ll compare the Spanish with Nate course cost with other Spanish courses.
Ease of use – As language learners, user experience plays a large part in whether we keep coming back, resulting in progress. A poor user experience usually leads to a lack of progress.
About Nate – The Course Creator Teaching Spanish
Nate is a self-taught American Spanish teacher, who first learned Spanish while he was at high school.
He then spent time in Mexico and Spain, mastering his level of Spanish in the process.
He started to teach online via Skype in 2013 and his students today come from all over the world.
Nate is known by many for his Youtube channel, Nate’s Adventures, which has already surpassed 100,000 subscribers.
He has now opened a second Youtube channel dedicated specifically to Spanish language learning.
Having watched Nate’s Youtube videos and been through the course, it’s clear that Nate’s Spanish is amazing. He speaks Spanish from Latin America (I assume due to high school and his time in Mexico).
Spanish speakers will know this differs from Castilian Spanish in Spain.
My initial thoughts on the course
I got a good feeling about this course as soon as I received access to it.
Before delving into the actual lessons, Nate takes you through the fundamental aspects of language learning and provides tips to help you learn Spanish faster.
He provides you with advice about a number of aspects that are key to learning Spanish, including:
👍 How to learn Spanish grammar effectively, and the best way to learn new vocabulary using flashcards
👍 How and where to find a language partner
👍 Where and how to find books, videos and maintain consistency in your learning
Nate also discusses the importance of your mindset when learning a language, which I agree is key.
I like language courses that are led by somebody who is able to share their own experiences and struggles while learning the language. It makes me feel like I am being taught by a private tutor, as opposed to an algorithm.
The layout and user experience are simple and visually appealing.
I’m not sure which technology the Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy course is built upon. However, I don’t think it’s teachable or Thinkific, two popular choices for language course providers.
Who is Spanish with Nate’s Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy for?
The Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy course is for beginner to intermediate learners of Spanish.
If you’re a complete beginner, I advise that you check out some of Nate’s Youtube videos on the basics of Spanish grammar and pronunciation.
The course is designed for people who want to learn Spanish in order to travel, work or socialize with Spanish speakers.
If you are an advanced learner and looking to practice then this course is not suitable for you.
However, if you are not yet at an advanced Spanish level then the course will be suitable.
What is the Spanish Speaker Academy online Spanish Course?
The Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy is an online Spanish course created by a self-taught American teacher called Nate, from Spanish with Nate.
You may well have seen videos of Nate and his teaching style on his Youtube channel, Nate’s adventures.
A one-time payment of $399 provides lifetime access to a personal, user-friendly account to use when studying Spanish.
The course comprises lessons, listening exercises, and transcripts of Spanish, all packaged inside one course and taught by one person.
What’s Included in this Spanish course?
Included within this Spanish course you’ll receive:
👍 Access to 50+ Spanish lessons
👍 Lifetime access to a Spanish-learning community
👍 Virtual mentorship from Nate to help you learn Spanish
Basic features: How does it work?
The Spanish with Nate course is delivered in video format. The teacher, Nathan, speaks directly to the learner and lessons are generally around 15 minutes long.
Each lesson comes with a transcription of the dialogue, vocabulary lists, audio exercises (that you can download as MP files), and grammar explanations.
In addition to the video lessons, there are also audio exercises (with transcriptions). These are similar to the video lessons, except they focus on specific language points.
Plans & Pricing
The Spanish Speaker Academy is available with two main payment plans, which are as follows.
👍 One-time payment of $399: You receive access to the course and all features
👍 Payment Instalments of $199/2 months: You receive access to the course and all features but stagger payment across 2 months.
Payment to either option provides access to all of the course materials, including video lessons, audio files, quizzes, and worksheets.
Does Spanish with Nate offer a free trial?
Yes, a free trial is available through the Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy by Spanish with Nate. Nate provides access to a 7-Day free trial, with 4 video lessons and 4 custom worksheets.Whilst this isn’t a great amount of content, it’s definitely enough to get a feeling for the course format and Nate’s teaching style.
The Spanish topics covered within the course
Nate’s Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy is segmented into 10 sections, each with 5-10 classes which comprise:
👍 Important grammar explanations
Nate takes you through important aspects of Spanish grammar such as the formal and informal ‘you’, when to use ‘por’ and ‘para’ and how to use the verb ‘gustar.’
👍 Vital Vocabulary
👍 Real-World Spanish Conversation
The Spanish Starter Pack
As mentioned above, Nate segments the course into 10 main sections. I’m not going to go through all of them individually now (you can find them on the website).
However, I want to talk specifically about Section 2, which is the Spanish Starter Pack.
I like this section a lot and it’s worth discussing in this review. It covers a lot of interesting Spanish topics that are necessary to learn at an early stage.
These topics include:
– How to have a native accent: The Alphabet (check out the Youtube video below for a flavor of this).
– Basic Greetings in Spanish
– Vital Vocab: Food
– Masculine & Feminine Nouns (by the way, this is an essential part of learning Spanish, Italian, or any other Latin language)
– Singular & Plural Definite Articles
– Vital Vocab: Family
– Singular & Plural Adjectives
– Learning Checkpoint 1
As a student, it’s helpful that Nate segments each section into essential grammar and vital vocabulary.
Too much grammar can be draining, and I feel like there is a good mix of grammar and content to watch that is not grammar-specific.
My thoughts on the course contents
The topics mentioned above, as per Section 2, provide a flavor of the sort of content you can expect from Nate’s Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy.
As a Spanish speaker and teacher myself, I am pleased to see the topics Nate has chosen to help people when speaking Spanish.
He clearly understands the importance of grammar. In his own words “it’s not sexy, but it’s necessary.” And I couldn’t agree more.
You cannot learn Spanish without learning grammar. The sooner you learn masculine and feminine rules, for example, the quicker you can advance your learning.
But it’s not all grammar, and that’s important too. I like that Nate doesn’t shy away from giving you vital vocab and Spanish phrases you’ll need to survive while traveling in a Spanish-speaking country. As I mentioned, it’s a good blend.
The course is very well-rounded and I like how Nate takes you through real-world scenarios which require using the Spanish language.
Price point & Comparison with other courses
Whilst $399 is not a small sum of money, it is competitive when compared to similar Spanish courses online.
For example, the popular Rosetta Stone Spanish course retails at up to $479 if you want to opt out of a subscription model.
And that’s without any payment installments. That said, I should mention that other big players in the language learning market like Rosetta Stone, Rocket Languages, and Pimsleur offer significant discounts on a regular basis.
By contrast, I am yet to see Nate offer a discount on his course or any form of a promotional offer.
However, research shows me that the Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy also offers more content and features than some of its competitors.
For these reasons, I believe it is great value for money. This price point is reasonable when compared with other Spanish courses on the market.
I also prefer one-time payment models to subscription models, providing you are able to trial the course first.
After all, subscription models pressurize you to learn Spanish within a fixed time frame, which is not a healthy way to learn.
You can access Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy on any desktop or iOS device.
My thoughts on Native Speakers vs Non-Native Speakers when you learn Spanish
I often hear people wanting to learn to speak Spanish as a second language say they are looking to do so with native speakers from Spain or Latin America.
As an English speaker who learned Spanish in school, I can never really understand this viewpoint.
Nate’s Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy is proof that you don’t need to be a native Speaker to understand Spanish grammar and teach Spanish effectively.
In fact, I would argue that a non-native Spanish speaker has an advantage over a native speaker when it comes to teaching somebody to speak Spanish.
This is because, as Nate himself says, “non-native speakers know where English speakers make mistakes.”
This gives them a distinct advantage when it comes to understanding how Spanish learners make mistakes too.
From experience, I find that non-native Spanish speakers often have a more in-depth understanding of grammar and Spanish sentence structure than native Spanish speakers.
My Experience using Spanish with Nate’s Course
Overall, I believe that Nate’s Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy is a great online course for those looking to speak Spanish as a second language.
The content is well-rounded and the price point is reasonable when compared with other courses on the market.
As I stated, I believe that non-native Spanish speakers often have an advantage over native speakers when it comes to teaching languages.
This is because they are able to understand the difficulties that English speakers face when learning Spanish.
For these reasons, as well as the fact that Nate’s grasp of Spanish is amazing, I would highly recommend using Nate’s course if you’re interested in learning Spanish to an advanced level.
I hope you’ll give Nate’s creation a try in your quest to learn Spanish. His enthusiasm is refreshing, his Spanish is excellent and I am sure you’ll become a more comfortable person speaking Spanish as a result.
Summary: Spanish with Nate Course Review
I have provided a lot of info in this post relating to Spanish with Nate. I’ve covered the key components of the course and what you can expect from Nate’s approach to learning Spanish.
Let’s recap below on the main points.
Spanish with Nate’s course is comprehensive, well-structured, and provides good value for money. I am already a Spanish speaker so did not ‘learn’ as such. However, I like Nate’s teaching methods and style.
There are no hidden costs. The course requires a one-time payment which provides access to all materials.
A little more speaking practice would be great.
Spanish with Nate’s Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy provides you with an effective way to learn Spanish. Furthermore, it differs from popular online courses made for the masses. Instead, Nate provides a personal touch.
Overall, I rate Spanish with Nate highly.
I hope you found this review helpful! If you’re considering learning Spanish, sign up for Spanish with Nate and make the most of the free trial.
Spanish with Nate |
|
|---|---|
Effectiveness | Value for Money |
| 4.5 out of 5.0 stars | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| An excellent resource for improving overall Spanish comprehension | Good value but requires one-time payment or split payment. |
Ease of Use | Languages |
| 5.0 out of 5.0 stars | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| New, modern dashboard with access to a lot of learning material | Potential for more languages in this format |
✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
| 👍 Personal tutor style 👍 Free Trial Available 👍 Great for Spanish Beginners | 👎 Not Cheap 👎 Additional speaking resource may be useful |
| Spanish with Nate’s Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy provides you with an effective way to learn Spanish. It differs from popular online courses made for the masses. Instead, Nate provides a personal touch. Michael is an enthusiastic teacher who has created a series of enjoyable, comprehensive courses. |
|
_______________________________________________________________________________
Author bio:
James is the founder of travel-lingual.com, this online travel, and language blog. He is a tutor of English, Spanish and French. Furthermore, he has visited 35 countries and has tried dozens of language courses to date, including Spanish with Nate’s Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy.
He has worked as a language teacher in France, Spain, Argentina, and Costa Rica. His love of languages led him to create this blog, to share best practices in language learning and inspire others to learn!