{"id":5789,"date":"2025-01-05T00:43:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-04T21:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/?p=5789"},"modified":"2026-03-07T14:19:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T11:19:57","slug":"marla-sanchez-learning-languages-is-a-crucial-step-for-professional-and-academic-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/marla-sanchez-learning-languages-is-a-crucial-step-for-professional-and-academic-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"Marla Sanchez: Learning languages is a \u201ccrucial step for professional and academic growth\u00bb"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>By Gabriela Sarmiento&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marla, a student at the Faculty of Communication (FCOM) of the University of Havana, is a language student with experience in using the Internet for this purpose.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She shared with our Foundation the advantages and challenges of online language learning, as well as valuable tips for those interested in this teaching method.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She decided to learn English from scratch because it is <strong>\u00abextremely important in both professional and academic settings.\u00bb<\/strong> According to her, unlike traditional methods, <strong>\u00abonline courses are accessible to everyone, more affordable than in-person classes, and I feel more connected to the language.\u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgzflanguage%2Fposts%2F122166644006098237&#038;show_text=true&#038;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"250\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marla believes that a good online language course should be engaging, not just instructional, turning the learning process into an interactive experience.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During her English learning journey, she has used several platforms and apps. On this topic, Malra says, <strong>\u00abI think Duolingo is overrated. Todaii English is great for practicing listening and reading comprehension. Tandem, meanwhile, is a language exchange platform where I improve my speaking thanks to the native teachers who lead the classes.\u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She points out that online courses include modules, lessons and exercises with videos, audio, texts and interactive games, providing a relaxed and ideal environment to increase the learner&#8217;s confidence during the learning process. One of the main advantages of these courses is <strong>\u00abtime flexibility: not being tied to a fixed schedule.\u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She finds it very useful and interesting to <strong>\u00abexchange with people from different cultures and share knowledge. I teach you my language in exchange for you teaching me yours.\u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u00abTandem and HelloTalk are pioneering platforms in this regard,\u00bb<\/strong> she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During her journey, apps for learning English were essential because <strong>\u00abthey\u2019re more accessible and let you have fun while learning. You can use them anywhere, making learning constant.\u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgzflanguage%2Fposts%2F122165308472098237&#038;show_text=true&#038;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"680\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Marla noticed that many apps lack well-developed exercises for speaking practice. To address this, she often turned to additional materials like books and websites to supplement her learning.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On studying constantly from home, she says: <strong>\u00abMore is not always better. What works for me is to dedicate short periods of time so I don&#8217;t get tired or demotivated. I always study 30 minutes a day after class and 15 minutes on weekends in the morning.\u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this regard, she admits that the biggest challenge she faced was <strong>\u00abprocrastination: you need willpower not to switch from studying English to scrolling through IG.\u00bb<\/strong> Her strategy to overcome this was to block distracting apps to focus solely on studying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read more:<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/green-zone-foundation-to-launch-online-arabic-course-next-january\/\">Green Zone Foundation to launch online Arabic course by&nbsp;next&nbsp;January.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These strategies paid off, as she tells us: <strong>\u00abI love the language and I have never lost my motivation. My progress has been quite good: I would rate myself a 7 out of 10 because I am strict with myself. I&#8217;ve had the opportunity to travel abroad and use the language fluently in real-life situations.\u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For those interested in learning a language online, Marla recommends <strong>\u00abtrying it out: it&#8217;s a convenient and personalized method where you control your own schedule.\u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For those who already have experience with online courses, she advises not to focus on just one aspect of the language. Since many platforms focus on a single skill, it is best to use a variety of materials and resources.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Marla, learning this new language has had a significant impact on her personal and professional life: <strong>\u00abIt has allowed me to broaden my world view, meet new people, discuss with them and, above all, learn about their cultures,\u00bb<\/strong> she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, she acknowledges that <strong>\u00abnot everyone learns the same way. What is easy for me may not be for others, and some may need the structure and rigor of a language academy.\u00bb<\/strong> That&#8217;s why Marla believes that online courses will not completely replace face-to-face language training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Gabriela Sarmiento&nbsp; Marla, a student at the Faculty of Communication (FCOM) of the University of Havana, is a language [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[141],"tags":[334,339],"class_list":["post-5789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-information","tag-cuba-en","tag-la-habana-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5789"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5946,"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5789\/revisions\/5946"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}