Joseph Cantrell

Joseph began studying Spanish in high school, where he learned the basics of grammar and theory. During his first year and a half of college, he strengthened this foundation, but he says he truly learned to speak on his mission.

He first served in Georgia, where time in a Spanish ward gave him early immersion, and later spent 18 months in Panama. A transfer with a native Spanish-speaking companion marked a turning point, as living fully in Spanish helped him acquire new vocabulary and confidence. From then on, he committed to speaking only Spanish. His learning continued beyond his mission—his wife is Mexican, giving him daily opportunities to practice across a wide range of topics, and his professors have helped refine his skills.

Joseph’s motivation comes from a love of Spanish itself, which sustains him through challenges and plateaus. Though he dislikes making mistakes and sometimes fears sounding “incompetent,” he embraces humility, asking his wife to correct him and viewing errors as essential for growth. He believes patience and intentionality are the keys to pushing past stagnant periods.

To develop his skills, Joseph relies most on speaking. Daily conversations with his wife and friends often extend into deeper subjects like politics and culture. His coursework as a Spanish major has strengthened his reading and writing through essays and research projects, while listening remains his greatest challenge due to diverse accents. He addresses this by listening to podcasts and interacting with friends from across Latin America. Vocabulary comes through reading, context clues, and daily exposure, which he finds increasingly easy to retain.

For the OPI, Joseph advises learners to manage nerves with deep breathing, focus on what they already know, and embrace humility. He stresses that patience, perseverance, and trust are essential, describing his approach as being “always content but never satisfied.” That mindset, along with consistent effort, has allowed him to continue growing in both fluency and confidence.