Roman Soto was born in southern Chile and has been living in the USA since 1981. He holds a Ph.D. in Spanish and has taught Spanish and Latin American Literature and Culture for over 25 years.

His approach to teaching is eclectic: "To test a particular theory of learning is not the issue", he says. "What's important is to create the right conditions so the students feel comfortable learning to read, write, listen and speak in Spanish".

Different people learn things in different ways and, conversely, we all learn different aspects of the same thing in different ways.

Grammar, vocabulary, practice, patience, eagerness and curiosity are all crucial. Sometimes we need memorization, sometimes we need drills, and sometimes we just need to let it go: to allow the language to grab us and just use it... and by using it, we really start learning it.

It's that simple.