A middle-aged guy named Steve walks into an intermediate-Spanish class for Harvard undergrads, and does a quick assessment of their advantages versus his.

Theirs: They’re smarter. They take tests really well. They’ve had more Spanish. They can hear perfectly fine. They’re highly motivated to get good grades. They seem to relish the mental struggle.

Steve’s: He shows up on time.

And it gets better. Like when Steve teams up with one of the students, Josh Robinson, to do an oral presentation in Spanish on Reggaeton. Steve’s first question to his teammate: “What’s Reggaeton?”

The power of perseverance is on humorous display in Episode 51.

Enjoy this fifth free audiobook chapter of America’s Bilingual Century by Steve Leveen. You’re listening to Chapter 27, narrated by Sean Pratt.

The music is “Quasi Motion” by Kevin Macleod at the start of the episode, followed by “West in Africa”

by John Bartmann.