Subtle Path / Projects

Plática In Mexico, a plática is a chat.

Mexican Spanish, as it’s actually spoken.

An iPhone app for real situations with real people: meeting the neighbours, the market, the landlady, a Sunday with the family, a long sobremesa with friends. Natural, current and warm, not the textbook version.

See how it teaches Join the iPhone beta
Plática’s Today screen: 51 phrases ready to review, the next lesson in Carne asada y fiesta, today’s goal, and a conversation with Doña Mari to try. Plática’s Today screen: 51 phrases ready to review, the next lesson in Carne asada y fiesta, today’s goal, and a conversation with Doña Mari to try.

Thirty-six situations, three phrases at a time.

The packs run in order through six stages, from a first hello to keeping up with a table full of people, all set in and around Guadalajara. Each pack is a real situation. Its units teach six to nine useful phrases, with a dialogue among the people in the pack, culture notes, a listening passage and a voice role-play at the end.

Beginners start with Me presento. Already know some Spanish? Five checks with a tutor or conversation partner, taking listening and speaking separately, show where to start. Each stage ends in a checkpoint: a conversation you hold, not a quiz.

  1. First conversations A1

    Checkpoint: Introduce yourself, check a time or a price, and ask for something.

    • A young man with a backpack introduces himself to an older neighbour at a green doorway.

      Me presento

      Meet a neighbour and swap names, where you’re from and where you live.

    • Two friends on a plaza bench check a date in a pocket diary, a fountain behind them.

      Números, fechas y horarios

      Catch and check an appointment’s date, time, address and cost.

    • A young man asks a café owner for something as she holds out a glass of water.

      Lo que necesito

      Ask for something, and for an alternative when it isn’t there.

    • A man waters the plants while a woman with a coffee tells him about her day.

      Un día normal

      Describe a typical day and ask about someone else’s.

    • A woman points the way for a young man holding a map, the cathedral towers behind them.

      ¿Dónde está?

      Ask the way and check how to get there.

    • A baker hands a young man a paper bag of bread across the counter.

      Una compra sencilla

      Buy a snack or a drink, and sort out a simple mix-up.

  2. Everyday participation A2

    Checkpoint: A routine purchase and a five-minute chat, asking for clarification along the way.

    • Two people greeting an older neighbour at a green doorway under bougainvillea.

      Mexican Spanish Survival Kit

      Keep a short exchange going, and recover when a phrase is new to you.

    • A family of seven at a courtyard table under an arch, a dog asleep beneath it.

      Reunión familiar

      Join in a family visit and ask follow-up questions.

    • An older couple and their son-in-law over coffee in blue mugs.

      Un cafecito con los suegros

      Catch up with an older relative and arrange the next visit.

    • A young man holds up a cucumber at a market stall while the vendor bags his vegetables.

      El mercado y el súper

      Finish the shopping list when something’s out of stock.

    • A young man points down a cobbled street for a driver waiting in a green car.

      Moverme por la ciudad

      Arrange a ride, and adapt when the pickup or the route changes.

    • A young man points to a desk calendar at a reception counter.

      Citas, llamadas y mensajes

      Book an appointment, confirm it and move it.

  3. Settling into Mexico A2

    Checkpoint: A day on your own: an errand, a voice message, a problem with a service and an invitation.

    • Four friends laughing over tacos at a street café, a cathedral behind them.

      Con los primos y amigos

      Join an outing with friends and help make the plans.

    • A man waving at a laptop; on the screen, two grandparents and a boy wave back.

      Videollamada con la familia

      Share news, and keep a call going when part of it is unclear.

    • An uncle at the grill with the family around him, one of them holding out a plate.

      Carne asada y fiesta

      Take part in a gathering with lots of people talking.

    • An owner shows a couple around a bright apartment.

      Buscar dónde vivir

      Ask the essential questions at a viewing and say what you prefer.

    • A young man explains a problem with the router to a technician carrying a tool bag.

      La casa y los servicios

      Report a problem at home and arrange the repair visit.

    • A young man describes a pain in his arm to a doctor across her desk.

      Salud y pedir ayuda

      Explain a basic health concern and confirm what happens next.

  4. Independent conversation B1

    Checkpoint: A 10–15 minute conversation with a story from your past, an opinion and a question you didn’t prepare for.

    • Three friends over coffee at a café table, one telling a story with his hands.

      Te cuento lo que pasó

      Tell a three-minute story and answer questions about it.

    • A young man and an older man look through an old photo album on a patio bench.

      Antes y ahora

      Explain what’s changed in your life, and why.

    • Three people on a plaza bench, one showing the others a book of botanical drawings.

      Hacer amigos

      Build a conversation around a shared interest and arrange to meet again.

    • Three friends plan a weekend over a map on a terrace table.

      Ponernos de acuerdo

      Plan a weekend with people who want different things.

    • Three colleagues around a table of papers and a laptop, one holding up a page layout.

      Trabajo y colaboración

      Explain a task, clear up a misunderstanding and agree who does what.

    • A young man brings a mug back to the counter of a pottery shop.

      Cuando algo sale mal

      Explain a problem clearly and get a practical fix.

  5. Handling complexity B1

    Checkpoint: An unfamiliar problem over several exchanges, then an accurate summary of what was agreed.

    • A young man and his landlady go over a floor plan at a kitchen table.

      Acuerdos con el arrendador

      Talk through a disagreement with a landlady and settle the next steps.

    • A young man hands a folder of papers to an official at a desk.

      Trámites y atención al público

      Find out what a process needs, and handle an incomplete application.

    • A young man shows a doctor a timeline he has drawn in a notebook.

      Explicar bien mi salud

      Give a clear health history and say back what you understood.

    • A young man on the phone at his desk, taking notes.

      Resolver un problema por teléfono

      Fix a service problem by phone, with no script and no screen to point at.

    • Three neighbours on a plaza bench talk over the newspaper.

      Opiniones y noticias

      Discuss a local issue and respond to a different view.

    • Two friends in a quiet conversation on a patio, one listening closely.

      Relaciones y conversaciones difíciles

      Raise a concern and reach an understanding without straining the relationship.

  6. Comfortable everyday fluency B2

    Checkpoint: Two sessions a week apart: a 20–30 minute conversation and a practical problem, then a phone call and a group discussion with three other people.

    • Four people of different ages talking over coffee after a meal.

      Una sobremesa con varios

      Hold your own in a conversation with three other people.

    • Three travellers plan the day over a map at a courtyard table.

      Un fin de semana fuera

      Get through a trip with people from beyond Guadalajara.

    • Four people compare two garden plans on a round patio table.

      Negociar una solución

      Reach a workable compromise after the first offer is turned down.

    • Four friends on a patio, one of them in the middle of a story.

      Historias, humor y matices

      Tell a good story and catch the tone and what’s left unsaid.

    • A young man with his phone and a woman talk with a courier holding a parcel.

      Un día de imprevistos

      Coordinate several people when a day goes wrong in unexpected ways.

    • Four people around a courtyard table with a notebook and a map, a dog asleep beside them.

      Mi vida en México

      Bring it all together in five new situations.

How a lesson works.

Short sessions that pick up where you left off, reviews that come back right before you’d forget, speaking out loud from the first phrase, and then the situation itself, for real.

  1. Three phrases at a time

    Each phrase is introduced, recognized, then said out loud or typed. With “Try before you’re shown”, you’re asked for it first. Beginners get the translation and any new words up front. Progress is saved phrase by phrase, so a closed lesson picks up where it left off.

    A lesson introducing “¡Está riquísimo!” (It’s delicious!), with Listen and Slow buttons, the phrase word by word, how to say it, and a note on the local way. A lesson introducing “¡Está riquísimo!” (It’s delicious!), with Listen and Slow buttons, the phrase word by word, how to say it, and a note on the local way.

  2. Then the dialogue

    Once a unit’s phrases are covered, you listen to the people in the pack talk, answer questions about what they said with no English shown, and choose your own lines. Then comes a listening passage, which by B1 and B2 grows into a longer conversation among several people.

    From Un cafecito con los suegros: coffee and pan dulce at the in-laws’ kitchen table.
    1. Doña Carmen

      Ay, mijo, ¡qué gusto que vinieron! Siéntate, ahorita te sirvo un cafecito.

      Oh, dear, so glad you came! Sit down, I’ll pour you a coffee right now.

    2. You

      Gracias, suegra. ¿Cómo se han sentido?

      Thank you. How have you both been feeling?

      usted · respectful
    3. Doña Carmen

      Pues yo bien, pero Ramón anduvo malo de la rodilla.

      Well, I’m fine, but Ramón had trouble with his knee.

    4. You

      ¿Cómo sigue de la rodilla, suegro? ¿Ya fue al doctor?

      How’s your knee doing? Have you been to the doctor?

      usted · respectful

  3. Reviews you never grade

    FSRS-6 spaced repetition schedules every review, and every review asks you to produce the phrase: said, typed or written from dictation. Your rating is inferred from the answer, never “easy”, and any help caps it at “hard”.

    A review asking you to say “How’s your knee doing?” in Spanish, out loud, with the respectful usted. A review asking you to say “What’s new, dude?” in Spanish, out loud, with the informal tú.

  4. Then have the conversation

    Each unit ends in a live voice role-play, with an AI playing a suegra, a landlady or a seven-year-old with a question about dinosaurs. Practise with phrase hints, try a new situation, or check yourself with no hints at all. Afterwards you get a summary, what went well, corrections, and phrases to add to your lessons. Talk to the same person a few days later and the scene has a twist.

    A role-play from Videollamada con la familia: Santi takes over the family video call to show you things.

    ¡Tío! ¡Hola! ¿Sabes cuál es el dinosaurio más grande?

    Uncle! Hi! Do you know which dinosaur is the biggest?

    Your goals

    • Ask what he’s doing or drawing
    • Ask about school or his age
    • Say goodbye with a hug

    Next time: he lost a tooth today, and keeps pushing his face up to the camera to show you the gap.

  5. Then do it for real

    Each pack ends with a mission: the same situation, out in the world. Away from Mexico, a tutor or a language-exchange partner plays the other side, choosing the prices, the details and a complication you don’t know about. Afterwards you go over it together on five points, from getting it done to recovering when you missed something, and Plática suggests earlier packs for anything that slipped. About a week later, you try a new version with a different partner.

    It shows what you can do; it isn’t a certificate.

    The mission from El mercado y el súper.

    Your practical mission

    At a market stall or the supermarket in Guadalajara, when the staff have a moment, ask about a product and its price, buy a sensible amount, and check one detail you didn’t catch the first time.

    Practice from anywhere

    Your partner plays Doña Rosa at her stall or Diego at the supermarket, and picks the prices and stock in secret. The milk you need is out, and one price at the checkout doesn’t match.

    Review the conversation together

    • Task completion
    • Listening and response
    • Intelligibility
    • Interaction and repair
    • Range and control

Works without a key

Lessons, reviews, missions and all 36 packs work without an API key, with the Spanish voices on your iPhone and on-device speech recognition. With an ElevenLabs key you get voices with word-by-word highlighting, a voice you choose for each person in a pack, speech recognition that shows the words it heard, and the live role-plays.

Reviews fitted to you

After 400 reviews, the scheduler’s weights are fitted to your own history, monthly. Set the recall you’re aiming for, and an upcoming visit: reviews aim higher in the month before it.

Written for how people talk

Regionalisms where they’re common, never caricature, and both registers: say it to a suegra with usted, then to a cousin with tú.

In beta for iPhone.

Plática is in beta on TestFlight: install TestFlight on your iPhone, then open the invite link. All 36 packs are written. Next, Mexican Spanish speakers and language teachers review them, the longer listening passages get recordings of real speakers, and learners at each level try the pathway. Join the beta to be one of those learners, or get in touch to talk about it.

Join the iPhone beta Book a 15-minute call Other ways to reach me