Live The Language

Specialties

Live the Language Spanish classes are thoroughly interactive, personalized, and customized to match your needs, interests, and proficiency. Our classes are designed for you to speak and attain fluency in Spanish within a cultural context.

In our Spanish classes we make the language accessible, relevant, and memorable. Because as adults we rely on logic and memory to learn a new language, it makes sense to be introduced to a new rule or new concept of Spanish in a frame of reference we understand. In Live the Language classes we teach Spanish from the English perspective. We look at Spanish and English grammar side by side. This method of learning gives you confidence and a solid base to apply and implement your Spanish when you have the opportunity to immerse in the language whether through one of our interactive dialogues, your own life situations, or our journeys to Latin America.

In addition to our adult classes, every summer Live the Language offers a variety of Spanish immersion camps for ages 5 to 13, at introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels. Give your children the opportunity to immerse themselves in the Spanish language by living the language. Each camp is offered to a maximum of 8 students, so please register as far in advance as possible. Registration opens on February 15.

History

Established in 2005.

Deidre and Kateri Aragon, a mother-​daughter team, conceived Live the Language (LTL) in 2005 to offer a Spanish program to the Austin community to not only speak and attain fluency in Spanish, but also learn Spanish within a cultural context. Deidre and Kateri were inspired by their love for languages and Mexican culture as well as by the legacy of their ancestors, especially Mayan Princess Nicte-​há Che Xiu de Aragón, a polyglot educator and Mexico’s cultural ambassador in the mid-​twentieth century, and Agustín Aragón Leiva, a polyglot educator, composer, writer, gastronome, and founder of La Academia Mexicana de Gastronomía y Bromatología, Mexico’s first academy of gastronomy. Since the inception of Live the Language, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Deidre’s husband, has played a key role in the creative aspects of LTL’s programs, ranging from catered classes and culinary retreats to bilingual plays for children.

Meet the Business Owner

Deidre A.

Business Owner

Deidre Kateri Aragon was born in Philadelphia, PA, and grew up in Mexico City. In Mexico City she attended French bilingual school from Kindergarten through 12^th grade. She is fluent in five languages (Spanish, English, French, Italian, and Portuguese), holds a B.A. in French from the University of Texas at Austin and completed teaching certification courses at Le Tourneau University for secondary foreign language education. Deidre has taught Spanish to children and adults since 1997. Deidre has also worked with children as a social researcher, volunteer caregiver, and French/​Spanish instructor. Besides devoting her time to teaching languages and her family, Deidre loves practicing yoga, taking nature hikes, and learning new languages.