Kent Garner

Kent Garner’s journey to Spanish fluency began with a couple of years of high school Spanish, but he truly started to master the language during his two-year mission in Colorado Springs. This experience, along with his wife from Peru, played a significant role in his language development. At home, Spanish is often spoken, providing him with regular opportunities to practice. While his mission was a crucial turning point, he attributes much of his fluency to the daily conversations with his wife.

One of Kent’s beliefs about language learning is the acceptance—and even necessity—of making mistakes. He believes that making mistakes is an essential part of the process. In his view, the biggest obstacle to language acquisition is not making errors, but rather not attempting to speak at all. He stresses the importance of repetition, noting that repeated exposure to words and phrases helps with memorization, pronunciation, and fluency. Even activities like reading the scriptures aloud in Spanish—though initially challenging—contributed to his oral fluency. Above all, Kent stresses the importance of enjoying the language and using it as a tool to connect with others.

When it comes to building vocabulary, Kent advises focusing on words that are directly relevant to one’s personal interests and needs. He also suggests studying vocabulary in categories to make it easier to remember and using spaced repetition for less commonly used words to aid long-term retention. Kent is a strong proponent of the Spanish Dictionary app, which he used both in high school and on his mission. He further enhances his skills by watching Spanish-language movies and TV shows with his wife, particularly content that was originally made in Spanish. This consistent exposure has significantly improved his comprehension and vocabulary.

When preparing for the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), Kent used tips from a language course he’d taken. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the OPI’s structure, which moves through different proficiency levels—novice, intermediate, advanced, and superior—within a set time. Kent suggests focusing on vocabulary that’s relevant to your interests to make the conversation flow more naturally and show your higher proficiency. He also mentions that the interview is guided by what you say, so be ready to answer follow-up questions on any topics you bring up. Kent recommends using more complex language, as it can prompt the interviewer to ask more challenging questions. He believes that to reach a superior level of proficiency, you need to be able to express opinions, engage in discussions, and present counterarguments—not just tell stories. One of the main strategies he used for the OPI was talking as much as possible to really showcase his skills. If you forget a word, he points out that being able to describe it (circumlocution) is a great way to keep the conversation going and show you can still communicate effectively.

Reflecting on his success, Kent identifies several factors that contributed to his fluency. Living in the Southwest, where Spanish is widely spoken, provides an opportunity to engage with the language regularly. The constant exposure to Spanish speakers in his community serves as a strong motivator to continue learning. Ultimately, for Kent, the greatest reward of learning Spanish is the ability to communicate and form relationships with people he otherwise wouldn’t have been able to connect with.