Learn Spanish your way with a TakeLessons expert

By Michelle N. - Spanish Teacher in Portland

Whether it be the drive to become a more marketable candidate in today’s workforce, the desire to cross one more item off a bucket list, or a simple love of the fiery romance of the language, people in Portland want to learn Spanish. Lucky for you, there is more than just an app for that – there are active communities of people who come together and make the Spanish language come alive.

So what are you waiting for? Check out these resources to get you started exploring Portland’s Spanish side as you begin taking Spanish lessons in Happy Valley, Portland. You’ll be rolling those Rs in no time.

1. Consider volunteering with Educate Ya’s language intercambio program. Educate Ya will match you with a native Spanish speaker wanting to learn English. You give a little English practice, they give a little Spanish, and everyone leaves feliz ☺. http://www.educateya.org/upcoming-events/

2. The Multnomah County Library also hosts an intercambio/language exchange forum. Dates, times and locations are posted daily. https://multcolib.org/events/intercambio-language-exchange

3. There are several meetup groups happening around town: The traditional meetup venue, which can be accessed here, and has over 2,000 members!!! (Might be a chance to practice the language’s more romantic side, for those of you who are looking ;) Just sayin’.) http://www.meetup.com/Portland-Spanish-Conversation

For those of you interested in exploring Portland’s food cart culture while simultaneously improving your Spanish, you’re in luck! “Duende,” a food cart on the corner of Hawthorne and 32nd, hosts a Spanish language/Andalusian culture group every Sunday at 3pm.

And, for the folks who subscribe to the equation that great beer + Spanish language practice = love, there’s a group for you too! Intermediate and advanced speakers can meet up for conversation and beer at the Green Dragon every Tuesday from 7-9:30 pm (http://www.meetup.com/Spanish-conversation-group-Tuesdays/).

4. Interested in testing your listening skills? The Miracle Theater group has been enhancing Portland’s theater scene since 1985 with bilingual and monolingual (English & Spanish) productions. The Miracle Theater is a truly remarkable experience – you cannot get more authentic, real and engaging Latino-based theater than this.

5. Language is not just about words, it’s about rhythm and beats and movement! Portland’s salsa scene is an incredible way to take your language skills to the next level. What teacher will refuse to let you pass the test when you are conjugating verbs while dancing a cha-cha? Check out Baila Cubana on Friday nights, (https://www.facebook.com/bailacubanotoday), or Aztec Willie’s on Friday and Saturday nights (http://www.aztecwillies.com).

Language apps can support your learning, but really, a language lives between you and me, in our communities and the human connections we create with our words. Spanish lessons in Happy Valley, Portland are here, why not get out and be a part of it?

Qué vivas y seas feliz . . . Live and be happy