Connor Grooms, CEO of BaseLang
Connor Grooms, CEO of BaseLang, first learned Spanish fast by filming a documentary about his experience!
In this episode we’ll get into not only language speed learning tips and trips, we’ll also dive into how BaseLang came to be and what has evolved since inception.
Free guide to learning Spanish fast
A few of the richest nuggets are available in BaseLang's free 120+ page Ultimate Guide to Spanish.
There’s some deep Spanish learning in there, folks. If you fancy long form content, this is form you.
Free shortcut to conversational Spanish course
Get the Shortcut to Conversational Spanish email course for free and find out exactly how all this works.
$129/month for unlimited Spanish tutoring sessions
BaseLang is ideal for the serious fast learner! If you want to get talking Spanish straight away, this is for you.
It's also for everyone else learning Spanish as the technique can be applied to meet each individual's needs.
Spanish in a Month documentary film
Connor simultaneously maintained his job while self-producing a documentary film about learning Spanish in a month. He then went on to form BaseLang.
Conversational Spanish is not difficult
Connor maintains that Spanish is actually not a difficult language to learn for speakers of English.
Also true for other Romanic languages!
He found he was able to have conversations a lot faster than he thought, albeit limited.
An avid speed learner
He acquired performance-level DJ skills in a month in Prague.
Applied his filmmaking skills to Spanish learning.
He now applies them to BaseLang's speed Spanish learning curriculum.
Took naps almost daily
Turned out that the most difficult thing of all was how physically demanding it was to maintain normal work life while diving deep into Spanish.
Curriculum changes in the mix
After two weeks, Connor pivoted to focusing on vocabulary as the most effective way forward rather than pronunciation.
A good teacher
Having a teacher who knows you and your level beats a language exchange partner any day.
A good teacher adjusts her approach and the level at which they speak in order to meet you where you are.
A good teacher also knows your specific needs and can cater your language learning sessions for maximum results.
Not every teacher is best for every student
Match your Spanish learning style with the right teaching style for your needs.
Adrian matched needs perfectly and that was key
He's helped Connor target what trouble points to review and introduce new concepts at the appropriate time.
This approach became the basis for BaseLang
BaseLang was born when Connor and Adrian began collaborating on a project to get this fast learning method out to people effectively.
Know technicals yet can't speak?
For minimal effort and maximum gain, the focus boils down to becoming familiar with high frequency sound patterns.
Spent months or years studying Spanish to no avail?
You can learn more in a shorter amount of time by applying the proper use of time studying and exchanging with a professional language coach or teacher.
Wished he’d done more speaking time
Rather than time spent studying the books at certain points, he'd have not switched back to English and gone out into the streets and gotten more reps and conversations with people.
And easy feat in Medellin, Colombia!
Deep learning with $500/day on the line
If he didn’t meet his Mimic Method pronunciation goals, he had to pay $500 to Add1Challenge language accountability.
And a heck of a will, $500 a day on the line in accountability, a targeted list of priorities and direct advice from a pair of online language learning gurus - Connor takes us behind the scenes of his 2016 documentary.
Business wise
BaseLang is a fast-paced Spanish language tutoring service - what sets this business apart is their exceptional quality tutors, unfiltered feedback (1000s) and unique pricing model.
BaseLang's approach is based on frequency and usefulness
BaseLang teachers harder concepts earlier if they are used often, saving easier things for later if not high-frequency.
Their focus is on getting students to be conversational as quickly as possible.
Tried and true teachers with open transparency via student feedback to allow the perfect match.
Goal is to be the best at fast Spanish education
By focusing exclusively on Spanish, this team wants to make the best Spanish speed learning experience possible for those with a need to achieve.
Creates accountability
Not just a custom-catered approach for you, BaseLang creates a necessary accountability mechanism for learners.
Learning to speak Spanish is not synonymous with big bucks
When you want to do a lot of tutoring in a short period of time, perhaps to advance a whole lot in a short amount of time, it can get expensive very fast.
BaseLang changes this and makes a new possibility for self-motivated learners who want to get way ahead fast.
We take something that’s been around for a very long time... do it very very well and... put a unique pricing model on it"
- Connor Grooms
A fellow fan of Tim Ferriss
Connor provides insight into breaking down the process of learning Spanish fast, covering such areas as the 80/20 Rule (Pareto Principle) to the importance of pronunciation and vocabulary.
He expresses a few of the richest nuggets available in his free 120+ page Spanish fast guide.
80/20 Spanish
From Wikipedia: “The Pareto principle (also known as the 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few, or the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.”
Applying this principle in Spanish learning shifts focus to what is both appropriate for you personally as well as what is most common and useful.
Based on what will quickly become your first words
BaseLang has chosen to focus on Spanish in order to assure the best possible fast learning experience.
Episode links
BaseLang
Shortcut to Conversational Spanish
Mimic Method
Connor Grooms
Tim Ferriss Show
Add1Challenge
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