Everything moves too fast, and stress takes over the daily routine.
Many adults dream of speaking another language, but they're stuck.
Whether it's for work, leisure or wanting to talk to the German neighbour, the desire is there, but the path seems impossible.
When it comes to work, the pressure people put on themselves soars: «I must master the language perfectly, and preferably quickly».
That idea doesn't just demotivate people; it frustrates anyone facing endless vocabulary lists, grammar rules and a deadline not even the Swiss could keep.
The brain is built to learn naturally. Not to have a mind-numbing 300-page book crammed into it that it won't know how to use when it needs to.
But what if learning a language could be as entertaining as a game? There's a place where adults learn easily and enjoyably: Terra Lingüística.
Ana, a 32-year-old marketing executive, wanted to improve her English to boost her career. But after several attempts with traditional classes, the trendiest apps, books, circus jugglers and so on, she was convinced English wasn't for her.
She went to Dublin for an Ed Sheeran concert and nearly came to blows over a misunderstanding: while buying a souvenir, a 120-kilo brute called Cathy almost flattened her because they couldn't understand each other in the queue.
Her motivation was through the floor and her frustration through the roof. Speaking English was for special people, not for her.
But one day, her cousin told her about a fantastic place: Terra Learndix.
A place where people of all ages learn languages while having fun. At first, Ana was sceptical. «Learning through play… please, that's for children, I'm a renowned executive».
But since she'd already tried Duolingo, Vaughan and the language school in her neighbourhood that smelt funny, she decided to give it a chance.
When she got there, she discovered a whole world inside a huge warehouse on the outskirts of Madrid. Everything was divided into areas, and she had a citizen's card for Terra Learndix that she had to get stamped in each zone.
That day, only English was spoken.
There was everything you'd need for modern life: a bakery, a supermarket, a hardware shop, a driving area, a company like the one she worked for, and so on.
She went from area to area, practising while doing each activity, with a bit of theory and some tricks from the teachers to help her along.
Ana was exhausted. She'd been going for four hours non-stop and needed a coffee and a bit of a break.
Her eyes lit up when she saw a sign that read Relax Island.
The air smelt of freshly brewed coffee, people were chatting at wooden tables, and there were huge jugs of water with mint and lemon.
Feeling a mixture of curiosity and nerves, Ana decided to sit down.
Everyone carried on speaking English, and Ana plucked up the courage to say her first sentence in English:
«Well, I totally agree, this coffee really tastes good, but don’t you think olives and coffee are definitely not a good combination? 😊 By the way, my name is Ana.»
The whole table burst out laughing. Ana discovered they all had a profile similar to hers and weren't afraid to keep expressing themselves freely.
There was also a coach, who stepped in whenever someone got stuck or frustrated. The conversations moved from topic to topic in a relaxed, natural way.
Nobody corrected her harshly or interrupted with grammar rules.
Mike, the English coach, spoke up in Spanish with an exaggerated accent and said:
«If I speak to you, you know I'm American, but that doesn't matter now. What matters is that MI NO MI GUSTA EL CAFÉ, PERO PARA MÍ ES POSIBLE TOMAR UNA CAFÉ PARA DISFRUTAR DE GENTES TAN FABULOSAS COMO ESTÁN AQUÍ (roughly: «ME NO ME LIKE COFFEE, BUT FOR ME IS POSSIBLE TO TAKE A COFFEE FOR ENJOY PEOPLES SO FABULOUS LIKE ARE HERE»). Even coffee with olives, no problem.»
The laughter erupted again. Ana had never felt such a connection in another language.
Juan, another student, asked: «The most important thing is to practise, even if you make mistakes, right, Mike? Nobody's here to judge. We're here to enjoy the process and learn.» Mike nodded, proud of his student.
And that was when everything clicked for Ana: when you practise constantly, freely and confidently, without fear of mistakes, learning flows like water.
At the end of the day, Ana decided to go twice a week, because it was a fantastic, useful and fun way to learn.
Write to us about language coaching at arenas@learndix.com, and step into a new world of learning.