Calm and Confident CD

Who I Am

My name is John Del Gaudio.  I have been passionate about Spanish ever since my first high school Spanish class, many moons ago.  Since then I majored in Spanish, spent my junior year in Puerto Rico, and lived four years in Mexico and two in Colombia.  I have traveled a lot and spent a fair amount of time in Honduras, Panama, and Venezuela.  I was even married to a Honduran national for a while. I received the Basic and Advanced Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera (D.E.L.E.) I am a practicing lawyer in Chicago, Illinois, and have been a translator of Spanish legal documents from time to time.

My Books on How to Become Fluent

And again, in April 2014 I published .  Here, I have rewritten much of my first book specifically for those of you who are thinking about studying Spanish in a junior-year-abroad program.  I went to the University of Puerto Rico to study for my junior year in 1972; and life would have been a lot smoother and I would have really taken advantage of my time had I known beforehand what I have written in this book.

If you are willing to write a review in Amazon for any of these books, let me know, and I will get you a free copy.

This Blog – Tips

I put some tips on learning Spanish in the last section of the first book and study abroad book and I intend this blog to be a continuation of those practical tips to help move you towards fluency. 

My Readers Are Intermediate Students

Both the books and the blog are directed towards intermediate students, which means to me, four years of high school Spanish or two years of college Spanish.  You have gotten through the basics of grammar, have some conversational skills, and your reading is getting better and better.  You are a serious student, perhaps a Spanish major in college thinking about a junior-year-abroad program. Maybe you are a high school or community college teacher who would like to work on becoming more fluent.

Perhaps most importantly you realize that at your stage in the language, no one can teach you fluency.  You will have to teach yourself, as I did, by having an effective plan of study and by diligently working your plan. 

I Can Help You to Become Fluent

My books provide you with the plan and the blog gives you more and more ways to work the plan and modify it to your needs and tastes. 

I hope to have a core of readers who really want to become fluent and will work hard.  It will be a real pleasure helping you along. Please read my books and subscribe to my blog.

Uruguay Next Year

Finally, I hope to move to Uruguay next year and begin studying for a degree in translation.  It will be great fun to share you my experiences there with you as well as the new tips that will be sure to come from my studies.

Reviews

Here are some reviews of my  first book from Amazon.com:

“I have been using the techniques thoroughly described in this book for several months now and have found them to be extremely effective. It offers a well-organized method to increase fluency.”

“I really liked this resource. It is like a wake up call or reality check for people who think they should be fluent in Spanish without dedicating lots of time and effort to the process of getting there. Del Gaudio outlines a detailed plan for becoming fluent, only problem is that it takes a lot of energy. I tried to follow the instructions (adding new words to my vocabulary each day, reading and memorizing portions of a piece of Spanish literature, quizzing myself, etc.) and then I got lazy…However, the progress I made during this time was noticeable to me and other native speakers of Spanish.”

“The best guide to learn Spanish quickly and efficiently.  I will greatly recommend this book to anyone who wants to make Spanish their second language.”

“How To Become Fluent In Spanish is excellent. If you don’t have a plan for learning Spanish, this book will give you one. Don’t pass it by.”

“This is by far one of the most concise and accurate books I have ever read about how to make the leap from language “proficiency” in a high school or college setting to real world fluency. I know these methods work because they are very similar to how I learned two languages myself, French and Spanish. As the title indicates, the value of this book is in the effectiveness of the techniques. If your goal is to learn a few useful words and phrases before going on vacation, this is not what you are looking for. If on the other hand, your goal is the type of fluency where you could be dropped off somewhere on earth, where only this language is spoken, and be fine for the next 6 months, buy this book.”

“Great guidelines for going from good to awesome at Spanish. It reminds of a book that teaches you how to get rich slowly. This is not a “get Spanish quick” scam. This is simple, clear advice on how to go about becoming fluent–or a lot more fluent–by taking concrete steps that will incrementally improve your knowledge (fluidity, ease, all communication skills) of Spanish. Loving it.”

“I am currently studying Spanish on my own trying to become fluent but I found myself stuck. I had hit a mental block and almost gave up! This book has helped me find the passion I had when I began my journey and gave me a step by step technique to continue my studies! I believe I will be able to become fluent using this book for guidance! Great read!!”

“I like the fact that this book just gets down to it. It lets you know that this is not the easy way, but it is a very effective way.”