Language Exchange User Posts

Mississauga: originally a beautiful suburb of Toronto, now Canada’s 6th largest city. But you are not here to here learn about Mississauga (“DON’T DOUBT THE TROUT!”). You are here to solve a specific problem. What follows are my suggestions to finding good resources for your Mississauga Spanish learning needs.

General Tips

• Before you do anything else, contact your friends and ask for suggestions. Trust me; It will save you a ton of time and worry if you are able to get referred to a highly recommended tutor.


• Contact local public schools: John Fraser Secondary Elementary School; Lincoln M. Alexander Secondary School; Lorne Park Secondary School; etc. Often times these institutions will have lists of approved tutors that will allow you to see even if you or your child does not attend these institutions.


• I read another post on this site that recommended you become highly attuned to flyers. That’s great advice. Scour the downtown area for any and all flyers. Pay attention to the ads on your mailbox. There is a very specific reason why I recommend this. From my experience, the majority of the people who post ads around the city are just starting out as tutors. In other words, they need to advertise their services to be able to create a large enough client base. I have also found that these newer tutors generally have the most enthusiasm and passion for teaching. Of course, this is just in my experience, so it obviously won’t hold true for all cases. There is certainly something to be said for an experienced tutor who has been offering Spanish lessons for the past thirty years. All I am saying is that you should not write off the lesser known tutors just because they don’t have the same impressive credentials. I personally believe the most important thing you can do in helping your child (or yourself) become a successful Spanish speaker is become excited and enthusiastic about the subject. Bold, high minded newbies are perfect for that.

Sites to Check Out:

• www.Lrngo.com: Of course, I first recommend you checking out the rest of Lrngo site. Lrngo has the option to search for tutors and language exchange partners by zip code.


• https://www.spanishto.com/corporate-services/business-spanish.php: A Spanish school that is located in Toronto, about 30 minutes away from Downtown Mississauga. They cater to all age levels, from children to business clients.


• https://www.listenandlearnusa.com/spanish/mississauga/: This is one of the few Mississauga-centric sites that can help you get in contact with tutors.


• https://www.findatutor.ca/tutor/list/0/11: Another list of tutors that reside in Mississauga. This site also has lists of tutors for other subjects besides Spanish, if you’re interested.

Photo Credit: Joe deSousa

If you have never heard of Esperanto before, it is a constructed language, an artificial language. L. L. Zamenhof, its creator, literally sat down and created it; created its rules, created its vocabulary. Instantly you will shy away from Esperanto because of this fact. However, I think there are convincing reasons to consider learning Esperanto.

Reason to Learn Esperanto

1. To say that Esperanto is easy to learn is an understatement. Leo Tolstoy, an Esperanto advocate, once said that he learned the basics of Esperanto in four hours. Let me say that again: four hours. Whether this is true or not is debatable, but regardless you can get a firm handle on Esperanto in a far shorter amount of time than would take to learn other languages.


2. In addition to Esperanto being ridiculously easy to learn, it also has its fair share of speakers, an estimated two million people worldwide. It is by far the most successful artificial language ever created. This may not seem like a significant number of speakers, but this is enough speakers to where you can still happen upon speakers in your travels or online. For example, if you are traveling to another country, look up the local Esperanto speakers. You can then use them as a resource to be able to navigate the country you are visiting. Because Esperanto learners must choose to learn it, they likely share a similar mindset, an open-mindedness, a willingness to communicate with strangers, etc.


3. I have heard it said that learning Esperanto can actually help you learn other languages you are struggling to understand. The argument goes something like this. By learning Esperanto, you have familiarized yourself with the process of learning a new language and now are better equipped to learn a second foreign language. This argument is also substantiated by research. Studies have shown that students who first spent time learning Esperanto actually were able to get a handle on other languages faster than their peers who spent the same amount of time only learning other languages. This is an incredibly important find because it shows that spending a few months learning Esperanto will actually make you learn your target language must faster in the long run.


4. Esperanto can also give you access to untranslated texts. Let me explain what I mean. Some Esperanto speakers are also active translators. Interested in reading Spanish literature? There is likely Esperanto speakers who have translated texts from Spanish into Esperanto, giving you access to these otherwise inaccessible works.

Free Esperanto Resources

• https://en.lernu.net/ - Lernu is a fantastic resource. Available in almost any language you want, it includes a variety of comprehensive courses that will help you master the basics of Esperanto.


• https://learn.esperanto.com/en/ - learn the most important 500 words and the basics in just 12 days.


• https://www.fluentin3months.com/forum/resources-2/esperanto/ - this comment thread has a variety of wonderful suggestions as well as short descriptions of the various sites. Definitely worth checking out. I would personally recommend Pasporta a la Tuta Mondo, which one of the users suggests. It is a show shot in Esperanto that is available on youtube. It is a great resource to use to acclimate yourself to hearing Esperanto spoken out loud.


• http://esperantofre.com/eroj/ilo01a.htm - another site that I checked out in detail as I was learning Esperanto. Gerda Malaperis is one of my favorites. It is an entertaining course you can really make use of once you are ready for more intermediate level material.

Photo Credit: Martin Schmitt

Did you know that approximately 96% of the Philippine population can understand Tagalog? This makes the language an ideal one to learn for those who work, travel, or plan on moving to the Philippines, etc. Because the language is so widely used in this area, those who already know the language have an advantage and have the ability to teach newcomers the ins and outs of it.

There are interesting opportunities for a Tagalog tutor. Speaking this language well is important to the Filipino community, no matter which country they reside in. Our world has very mixed cultures due to all the immigrations that have taken and continue to take place, yet the need for national integrity, or a strong sense of one’s personal history, is still important, so when newcomers find themselves in a Filipino community, it is important that they work on their language skills to become part of the culture and community.

This opens up a spot for Tagalog tutors to work. If you feel that you have the language skills necessary to sufficiently teach Tagalog and have decided that becoming a tutor is the right move for you, there are a variety of paths you can take to fortify your place in the tutoring world and make yourself known to interested learners.

If you’re looking to work locally face-to-face with your pupils, the best place to start is by posting ads in the classifieds or on Craigslist and by talking to local schools and colleges about spreading the word of your availability or even the possibility of working with the schools themselves. Students looking to study abroad in the Philippines would likely be eager to learn Tagalog before they travel, so make them your target market when working with colleges.

You can also take a look at online tutoring sites where you can post your information, experience, and any qualifications you may have so that interested pupils can easily come to you. As you probably know, LRNGO allows you to post your information for tutoring as well as opens up the possibility of teaching an online classroom.

You can also combine your skills as a Tagalog tutor with other skills; for example, you can work as an au pair, in a community center, or at a Filipino church. Being creative with your job can lead to a unique and fulfilling career that you have created for yourself by using the Tagalog skills you already have!


Photo Credit: bengot