Learning Spanish the Easy and Fun Way with La Casita de Laura

Ever wanted to learn a new language as an adult but deemed it too difficult? We chatted with Laura León, whose work at La Casita de Laura is combatting just that.

After teaching English and Spanish for several years, Laura realized the secret to her successful method was making her students feel comfortable and as if they were learning alongside their best friend. One thing led to another, and La Casita de Laura was born.

Today, the team has grown and Laura has a few collaborators who all teach Spanish under the same brand name with the goal of making Spanish easier for everyone to learn. We caught up with Laura, La Casita de Laura’s Project Director to learn how her teaching method is unique, her advice for digital nomads, and why community is an important aspect of the learning experience.

Hi Laura! We’d love to learn a bit about your background and how your journey led you to where you are today. What is “La Casita de Laura – Learn Spanish” and when was created?

“La Casita de Laura” or “La Casita” is me (Laura), Niti, and Dina, three freelance native Spanish teachers with tons of experience teaching languages in the Canary Islands and abroad. It all started in my “casita”, one fresh Sunday in December many years ago. I had already been teaching English and Spanish for several years (in Canada and Spain) but the name was actually my boyfriend’s idea. He said: “As you teach here at home, why don’t you call it “La Casita de Laura”?” At first it sounded a bit like for children, but then I thought it had a ring to it, and couldn’t get it out of my head. It is easy to pronounce and it sounds welcoming. And in the end, that’s exactly what I wanted to do: welcome people to my home and share with them my language and my culture. “Mi casita es tu casita”.

What makes your teaching approach unique from other methods you’ve seen?

Imagine learning Spanish with your best friend. Well, that’s exactly what we offer—a comfortable and safe space with a friendly face who is going to be with you throughout the whole process of learning Spanish and beyond. We naturally become friends with those who study with us for some time, and we are proud to say we have an amazing community (both offline in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and online). We have students who have been taking Spanish lessons with us for a year, or intermittently for even two or three years. We adapt our Spanish programs as much as possible to our students’ level, needs, and goals, and we provide just that. We try to understand every student individually and we try to offer what’s best for everyone. We have tons of resources and materials of our own and we try to simplify all the grammar so it feels more intuitive and natural to learn and utilize the language. By having many years of experience, we always know beforehand what kind of mistakes are more common depending on our students’ nationality and we try to help them avoid them.

What is the biggest piece of advice you'd give to digital nomads who want to visit the Canary Islands?

That they learn Spanish (at least a bit) beforehand, so when they come they can start using it and making their experience here even better right from the start. To make that possible (and easier), at La Casita de Laura we have put together the “Spanish Essentials Kit for Digital Nomads” guide and we offer it for free to anyone interested in learning the basics to manage a simple conversation, find accommodations, and socialize. Learning the language of a place you are going to be living at or visiting shows respect and wanting to know more about their culture. All my students who didn’t study before coming wish they had done so. To get the free Spanish guide you can simply contact us via Instagram or Facebook, or send us an email at lacasitadelaura@yahoo.es.

Tell us a little bit about your community events and why they are an important part of the experience you offer.

Well, I have always been very social and outgoing, and most of my friends are international people. At University, they used to call me “EVERY”, cause I knew “EVERYbody, EVERYwhere”, no matter their nationality. The events I organize for my community started naturally—our students would ask if they could join me and my friends on our hiking day trips over the weekends or our fun meetups and, of course, I always said yes! Now I do organize events mainly with the digital nomad community, or anyone at “La Casita” community organizes a meetup and other members can join. These events are mainly online and offline for those who are in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and they are mainly free. It’s so nice to see how people connect and create synergies and even relationships. To date, nine couples have originated at our lessons or meetups, and two of them are planning on getting married soon!

Finally, where can everyone find you and learn more about the incredible work you’re doing?

The best thing would be to use our website or any social media platform to reach out (I am the one behind all of them). But to really know what we can offer you, make sure you drop us a message and explain what you need and what does your availability look like. I am sure we will be able to arrange some Spanish program which is perfect just for you. Can’t wait to welcome you to our great community! ¡Hasta pronto!