Question: Kate from Oklahoma writes: “I took Spanish in high school and my mother is fluent. On the job site, I can get by, but as a woman I’m already feeling cautious. Other than completing your Construction Spanish course, are there things I can do to improve my Spanish? And second, how do I get over the fear of saying something dumb?”
Answer: Kate, the fact that you’re asking these questions already puts you ahead of 90 percent of leaders on-site.
Let’s break this down into two parts.
1. How can you build your Spanish skills beyond our Construction Spanish program?
Given your current vocabulary, you want to think like an athlete and practice. You need more reps.
I’ve got a pair of recommendations.
First is Duolingo.
It’s a great tool for daily practice.
Just five minutes a day can make an impact.
Think of it like stretching before you take the field.
It’ll keep your muscles from tightening up.
Second, listen to slow Spanish news podcasts. Again, just 5-10 minutes per day on your daily commute can make a meaningful impact.
There are several (like this one HERE) designed specifically for learners. The hosts intentionally slow their speech.
Two relevant reminders here:
One: The content isn’t as important as the cadence. Don’t stress yourself out by feeling you need to understand every word. The goal here is training your ear to feel the tempo.
Two: When it comes to building confidence in speaking Construction Spanish, ignore the idea of quality time—you’re going for quantity here. Stacking 5-10 minutes of listening time every day compounds over time.
Once your ear gets comfortable with the slower pace, switch over to regular Spanish radio or podcasts. As a sports fan, I listen to ESPN Deportes. Find a topic you’re interested in and listen to that—in Spanish.
The goal isn’t perfection; it’s pattern recognition.
Your brain will start predicting word chunks.
That’s when confidence builds.
Which brings us to your second question.
2. How do you get over the fear of saying something dumb?
Well, let me tell you about Johan Cruyff (KROYF).
Cruyff is one of the greatest footballers you’ve never heard of. After his legendary playing days were over, he became the legendary coach of FC Barcelona.
Dutch by birth, he coached in Spain and gave interviews in Spanish and Catalan. Like all of us trying to learn additional languages in order to lead better, he struggled with it.
One day, trying to communicate the “goosebumps” he felt during a match—piel de gallina (pee-AYL day gy-YEE-nah)—he flipped the phrase and said:
gallina de piel (gy-YEE-nah day pee-AYL)
skin chicken
And because skin chickens are funny—and because every reporter knew what the Dutchman meant—everyone laughed.
Including Cruyff.
It was human.
It was memorable.
It was endearing.
So much so, the phrase stuck.
Barça fans embraced it.
How much so?
Well, FC Barcelona, one of the most famous football clubs in the world, created their own line of merch off his mistake.
For real.
I own this shirt.
A small linguistic mistake became part of his legacy.
Skin chicken.
Think about that, Kate.
On the job site, effort equals respect.
When you speak Spanish, people will nod.
They’ll offer suggestions for improvement.
Now, will you say something incorrectly?
Yep.
Will someone smile?
Yep.
But what they’ll remember isn’t the mistake.
They’ll remember that you cared enough to try.
And here’s the upside nobody talks about: When you’re willing to be imperfect, you accelerate learning while you build trust as a leader on the job.
So keep studying your Construction Spanish.
Download Duolingo.
Listen to the slow Spanish news podcast.
Keep practicing just a few minutes per day.
Any skin chicken errors you make along the way won’t be proof you failed.
It’ll be proof you’re trying to be a better leader.
Thanks for reading.
We’ll see you back here in two weeks.
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Bradley Hartmann & Co.
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Contact Bradley Hartmann:
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