Academy of Languages — Spanish Trial Lesson

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Welcome

1.1

How this trial lesson works

This is a taste of how we actually teach Spanish: you speak from the very first minute, mistakes are expected and completely fine, and we build fluency around one small, powerful "matrix" of grammar rather than long lists of rules. By the end of this lesson, your tutor will also have a clear sense of your starting level — so this doubles as your placement conversation.

1.2

The one rule for today

Don't wait for the "right" moment to speak. Say the sentence, even if it's wrong — your tutor will simply say it back to you correctly, and you'll say it again. That's the whole method.

1.3

Say hello

Have you studied any Spanish before — even a few words? → Tell your tutor now, in English or Spanish, whatever you've got.

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Greetings

2.1

The basics

¡Hola! — Hi! / Hello!

Buenos días — Good morning

Buenas tardes — Good afternoon

Buenas noches — Good evening / night

¿Cómo estás? — How are you?

Muy bien, gracias — Very well, thank you

2.2

A quirk of Spanish punctuation

Questions and exclamations get an upside-down mark at the START too: ¿Cómo estás? and ¡Hola! — this warns the reader before they even start the sentence.

2.3

Say it out loud, right now

Greet your tutor properly, using the time of day it actually is for you. → ¡Buenos días/tardes/noches! ¿Cómo estás?

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The SER matrix

3.1

Why we start here

The idea is simple: everything grows from ONE verb, drilled until it's automatic. In Spanish, that verb is ser ("to be" — for identity, origin, and permanent qualities). Learn this table by heart today, and you can already build hundreds of real sentences.

3.2

The full present tense of "ser"

Pronoun	Ser	Meaning
yo	soy	I am
tú	eres	you are (informal)
él / ella / usted	es	he/she is, you are (formal)
nosotros/as	somos	we are
vosotros/as	sois	you all are (Spain)
ellos/ellas/ustedes	son	they are, you all are

3.3

Three shapes of every sentence

Statement	Yo soy profesora. — I am a teacher.
Question	¿Tú eres estudiante? — Are you a student?
Negative	Él no es de España. — He is not from Spain.

Notice: no extra "do/does" like in English. You just move the words around, or add "no" before the verb.

3.4

Drill it out loud

Say every line below out loud, right now, before moving on — this repetition is what makes the matrix automatic:

Yo soy... (your name / your job)
¿Tú eres...? (ask your tutor something)
Él/Ella es... (describe someone you know)
Nosotros somos... (you + your tutor, or you + your family)
Ellos son... (describe two people you know)

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Build sentences

4.1

A few useful words to plug into the matrix

profesor/a	teacher
estudiante	student
de Ucrania	from Ukraine
simpático/a	nice, friendly
inteligente	intelligent

4.2

Say five sentences right now

Using only "ser" and the words above (plus any others your tutor gives you), say 5 different sentences about yourself, your tutor, or people you know — mix statements, one question, and one negative.

4.3

A method fact

Students often describe the first lesson as "uncomfortable but exciting" — because speaking immediately feels harder than memorising quietly, but it's what actually builds real fluency, fast.

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Conversation & level check

5.1

For your tutor

This part is the actual placement check. Start simple, and only go further if the student handles it easily — that tells you their real starting level for the course.

5.2

Level 1 — everyone can try this

¿Cómo te llamas? (What's your name?)
¿De dónde eres? (Where are you from?)
¿Eres profesor/a o estudiante? (Are you a teacher or a student?)

5.3

Level 2 — if that felt easy

¿Cómo es tu familia? (What's your family like?)
¿Por qué quieres aprender español? (Why do you want to learn Spanish?)

5.4

Wrap-up

CLOSING

Tell your tutor one thing: did today feel exciting, terrifying, or both? Both is the correct answer — that's exactly how it should feel on lesson one.