About us
Click on one of the sections below:
Our Goals
Practice
Learning to speak a foreign language is daunting for most people. We provide a low-pressure environment for you to practice with your peers.
Improve
Our meeting content is designed to challenge your skills and teach you how to use the language - without grading you on it.
Maintain
Between our meetings, Facebook group, and Whatsapp community, we offer a variety of outlets to practice your Spanish!
Our
Story
OKC Spanish was established in 2003.
The identity of the original organizer has been lost to time, but Maurice was the organizer from 2003 - 2014. The group offered one meeting a month, open to all fluency levels. In 2013, we began offering weekly meetings; fluency levels were introduced shortly after (just ask Addie about her pal Patsy!). Since then, we have also offered movie viewings, restaurant outings, and fluency workshops.
So... who's Addie? Swipe to find out
Who are the meetings for?
Our meetings are designed for adults who are learning or are already fluent in Spanish, and are capable of holding a typical conversation in English and/or Spanish. This group does not provide members with a traditional class experience; our meetings and meeting content are supplemental resources to your studying in a class, with a tutor, or on your own.
Our group is not a good fit for everyone, but I try to accommodate as many individuals as possible: posting the meeting content in advance, in written, audio, and video formats; having a repetitive meeting format; and encouraging members to read from written content responses, questions, summaries, etc.
Do I have to RSVP?
Nope!
However, RSVP's help make sure we have enough chairs at the meeting.
If you would like to attend a meeting before joining the group, please visit our Free Downloads page to get the PDF of our meeting content, then fill out the Contact form to tell me which meeting date you'd like to attend. That way, we can make sure we have a chair for you!
How much does it cost?
Nothing! OKC Spanish is free to join, our conversation meetings are free to attend, and our meeting content is free. We invite our members to donate for each meeting they attend, to cover the cost of running the community - but their primary contribution is their participation! When available, premium content (such as additional articles, study guides, pronunciation tracks, and video instruction) can be downloaded from the Shop.
Click here for more information on donating to OKC Spanish.
What are the meetings like?
Our meetings provide our members with the opportunity to improve their vocabulary, be exposed to how grammar is used, and practice spoken fluency as well as listening comprehension. Once a month, the Advanced members are invited to practice conversational Spanish, but the other three weeks of each month are Discussion Meetings.
For our Discussion Meetings, written content is provided ahead of time, allowing attendees to study and prepare for the meeting. At the meeting, we take turns reading aloud, with the opportunity to ask questions after each turn. Advanced and Intermediates summarize (in Spanish!) the section they read; Beginners translate the content into English. After that, we go around the room answering the Discussion Questions.
For more information on our meetings, check out our page on Fluency Levels.
Is this a class?
No. While we do occasionally offer workshops and you can ask Addie if she has tutoring availability, our group is designed to be a supplementary resource to improve your conversational fluency on your Spanish-language learning journey. You are expected to study the material on your own, but you can always get help from Addie and your peers through our Whatsapp community!
What is the Whatsapp Community?
This phone app allows our members to use their cell phone number to receive community announcements and it allows Addie to verify member identity. Phone numbers are visible only to admins of the group (Addie!), meaning that the other members will see only your name and your profile. For more information about Whatsapp, click here.
OKC Spanish is free to join and free to attend!
Use your camera phone on the Venmo or PayPal QR codes to donate, or just click on the QR code to visit the payment page.
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PayPal
Cash in person
However, managing the community takes time, money, and know-how.
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Full meeting content (document with notes, audio, and video) typically takes 5 - 10 hours to create per meeting.
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Video creation requires equipment.
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Running the group requires managing multiple platforms, administration skills, and engaging with members
I'm just one person with a kid and a job - buy me a coffee so I can keep this going!
Resources
Addie sources and creates content to help our members practice Spanish. Content creation requires time: researching and learning new platforms and equipment, content development, revision, and publication. Providing access to content made by others means the content must be sourced, reviewed, and posted.
Guidance
Every Tuesday, Addie offers corrections, suggestions, and insight while presenting meeting content. This kind of knowledge takes years to accumulate, and the delivery matters! Addie promotes confidence over perfection, but will also give specific guidance on what skills you might consider strengthening.
Costs
We want to create effective tools and well-produced content that support our mission to help you learn to speak Spanish. But website management, content distribution, and hosting meetings does carry a cost. A few dollars to cover the time, effort, and expense of running the group is genuinely appreciated.
Members can contact Addie via the the Whatsapp Community by selecting "Community Info" from the menu.
If you are not a member, please use the contact form below to contact Addie.*
*Sometimes Addie likes to use the royal "we", but it's really just me!
Click here to suggest a Workshop topic!
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