We say YES! to:
Enjoying the process of learning a language. We acknowledge that learning is a PROCESS that can’t happen overnight. It requires time, dedication and a different pace for each person.
Some DIVERSITY please! Spanish is the official language to 22 countries, unofficially spoken in other 7, and well-known in the rest of the world. That’s why at Short Stories in Spanish we don’t marry to any flag or particular looks or way of speaking. The fun is in the real variety that exists. We CELEBRATE the Spanish speaking world’s diversity and we’re on a permanent learning journey about it.
READING! We’ve always been bookworms in our native languages (or have recently discovered this passion).
Having fun! Why so serious? There’s no need for so much solemnity just because you’re learning. Your learning material can and should include jokes and funny situations.
We say NO! to:
Dull, boring material. We’re suckers for good stories! Yes, even if we’re still learning a language.
Waiting until “we’re ready” to read in Spanish without translations. We want to start today with what we have. YES, even if we have just taken ONE single course in Spanish.
Fake promises of learning Spanish in 3 days or 1 month. We simply know that’s not the way learning happens.
Old stereotyped Spanish-speaking characters (Flamenco dancers and bullfighters do exist, but they’re just a minimum, tiny-itsy-bitsy part of the Spanish-speaking population). Over 400 million people around the world speak this beautiful language. We’re a wide spectrum of speakers coming from sooo many different cultural backgrounds, nationalities, ethnicities and varieties. I want you to get to know the whole real thing!
but who are you anyway?
Soy Estefanía,
The mastermind behind Short Stories in Spanish: A writer, translator and Spanish teacher who has been here, there and everywhere.
Originally from Argentina, I’ve lived in Spain for 7 years and I’m now based in Denmark. I studied Letras as a major (Philology), a Master degree in Creative translation and sooo many courses and programs on how to teach Spanish for foreigners. And also a couple of courses on scriptwriting and film. I started my Spanish teaching journey almost by casualty in Alvesta, Sweden when invited to teach a lesson in a gymnasium (that’s Swedish for “secondary school”).
I haven’t stopped teaching ever since! I’ve worked as a Spanish teacher in several schools and companies in Buenos Aires and Spain, both in-presence and online and as a pedagogic content writer for Spanish courses on languages learning websites. I’ve worked for firms like Expanish and Berlitz, among many others. For this last one, I’ve also worked as a teachers recruiter and trainer.
I've also been around:
I decided to create Short Stories in Spanish because, after almost ten years of working with different books and material to learn Spanish, I’m on a mission to create more authentic, relatable and engaging material for people who take their learning seriously, but still want to have a good time, and don’t fall for any dishonest, delirious promise of learning within a certain timeframe.
A few things you should know about me:
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I live in a multilingual household: My husband and I speak Spanish, but two different varieties of it, as we come from two different countries (Argentina and Spain), my daughter adds Danish to the mix, because of school; and we all speak English for social events and fun (books, songs and movies are enjoyed mostly in this language at home).
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I also come from a multi-Spanish variety household. As I grew up, I listened to Uruguayan Spanish (my mum), and Peruvian Spanish (my dad). And we all lived in Argentina.
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My favorite food ever is an indian dish called Palak Paneer. But not too spicy, though!
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Reading and writing fiction (duh!). My favorite books are Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and all of Raymond Carver’s short stories.
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I strongly stand up for causes that I believe in: feminism, childhood rights, anti racism, anti xenophobia and cruelty against animals, among others. That’s why I love to dedicate part of my time and income to organizations that work towards making the world a better place. That’s right! A portion of what you pay for the stories sold on this website goes to organizations like: Save the Children, Felinos lo Morant, Chivilcotas Creo en tu voz. I’ve also worked as a volunteer Spanish teacher for immigrants in risk of social exclusion at YMCA, Valencia Spain, while I was living there. Inclusion is a fundamental value to me and I write my short stories to reflect this. Do you belong to an NGO that helps socially vulnerable immigrants to learn Spanish for free? I want to help you! Click here to see how it works.
Learn Spanish with Short Stories
These are the 8 reasons why you should start learning and/or improving your Spanish with short stories. Download this easy-to-follow guide to discover why you need short stories in your life and how you can get the most out of them!