I had the wonderful opportunity of going to Toronto this week to attend the "Toronto's Spanish Group" September meet-up. I have been learning with Bilingual America's SpanishPower™ Course here at SpeakSpanish.com and am in the Expert Level. I have always been the shy type of person who enjoyed listening to others speak but was too embarrassed to actually "show off" what I had learned.This was the first opportunity which actually forced me to put what I had learned to use with a group of individuals.

In this meet-up group, there were native Spanish speakers from Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico. There were also people who had learned how to speak Spanish as a second language. I was able to carry on conversations about politics in Canada and the US, traveling around the world, why i decided to choose the career I chose and so forth. I did this for over 3 hours!

I was a little hesitant at first because I was afraid to make mistakes. And to be honest, I did make a few mistakes, but I was able to COMMUNICATE well with others as an adult about issues that were pertinent in my life and in theirs and get my point across effectively. When I did make mistakes or if I didn't know a particular word or phrase, they helped me out. Everyone was very supportive. Just hearing stories about how they learned Spanish or English has encouraged me even more to continue with my journey of learning Spanish.

A lot of times, people are not sure how to practice Spanish outside of tutoring and course materials.  Joining a Spanish conversation club/group with a mix of natives, once you've reached a higher level of Spanish, might be the boost that you need to keep you motivated.

If you cannot find a group or club in your town/city on your own, try Meetup.com and type in Spanish language in the search engine. If that fails and if you have the time, start your own conversation club. Maybe there are other members here who might enjoy starting a conversation group? Learning another language is a life-long journey and journeys are always best with someone by your side to support and encourage you.

Keep the faith!