Life & Work with Amy Conroy of Los Feliz

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Conroy

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
It all started almost 20 years ago! I was obsessed with the experiences that life afforded me as a Central American archaeologist but really wanted to start my family in Los Angeles. I didn’t want to leave that rich world behind but couldn’t juggle life in both places, let alone archaeological digs. When I had my first child in 2003, I was determined to give him the gift that seemed to open everything up for me – the gift of a second language, the perspective of life through another lens. At that time, nobody else was really teaching Spanish to little ones. My favorite children’s music was by Jose Luiz Orozco, but I needed something simpler, something for non-native little ears to scaffold them up, so I made up songs to sing to my kids, songs that would get stuck in your head filled with earworms.

Habla Blah Blah was officially founded in 2006 but has grown to encompass Spanish, English, and French music for children and toddler classes, but it has grown exponentially. We are so excited for our first children’s book, Cómo Te Sientes (forthcoming in 2026 from Histria Books), specially curated global parenting trips abroad, and now a lifestyle line of tees and totes to promote biliteracy. The concept is endless, so it is a pure joy to grow – I just want more people to learn a second language and see where that leads them!

For myself and my family, it has led to new relationships, new adventures, and even a third language for my daughter! There is nothing richer than being able to communicate and connect with others. It’s been said that “you can never know your own language until you know at least two” (Geoffrey Willans), so learning another language is not only learning about the culture of that new target language, but also more deeply engaging with your own. It’s seriously win-win.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
NO! I wish I could recount all of the “No”‘s, “No, thank you’s”, “Not necessary”, and simple dismissals of bilingualism. People have even said to me, “Aw, I just use ‘google translate’.” “Why would I need a second language? Everyone knows English.” For the record, those are not my people. hahah…

Truly, the biggest struggle has been to convince people the value of a second language. This is a laughable statement in most other countries, but the U.S. in general has really denigrated the value of a second language in the name of assimilation and through cultural bias’. Framed in a twisted form of nationalistic patriotism, many Americans argue for ‘English only’ to which I counter that there is nothing more truly American than embracing the multitude of languages and cultures from our rich collective heritage. That is what actually gives us depth and breadth. It is what sets our country apart and gives us the creative edge of innovation – the diversity of thought. So that is what I want to cultivate: diversity of thought through diverse languages and lens.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I think what sets me apart is my energy and whimsy. My Grandpa always counseled the importance of being able to laugh at yourself, and maybe I took that too seriously. I’m definitely not afraid to laugh at myself, try new things, or make mistakes. But in my mind, that’s being a good language learner – take risks, make mistakes, accept corrections, and move on.

I love teaching, and I love teaching kids. The energy that kids have and the perspective that they carry is so fresh – it reminds me to treasure the brilliance that they see in the world – like the phenomenon of a construction site, or the beauty of shining dew on a leaf at sunrise. It’s the little and big moments that they see clearly, unjaded by adult concerns or world politics. They are the future change makers of our world, so I feel it’s important to put my energy with them.

But you have to be silly to engage kids, and I guess that’s my signature. I’ll be trying to convey a feeling or a circumstance in Spanish to 4th graders and they’ll just start laughing. “What?” I say, or “Qué?”, and they’re always like, “Your face.” My face? Whatever faces I make that I can’t replicate, nor would I ever WANT to with friends, keep them laughing and engaged. So maybe it’s my weird faces or overly animated attempts to engage them with song that is my specialty?

What makes you happy?
My children, my family, make me happy, but probably I’m happiest when we are exploring a new place in a foreign country, trying to speak the local language, and all together! When my kids were young, I’d truck them to a new archaeological site in Central America every summer. That was a dream. That was when they’d all do whatever I wanted! Now, they are grown up and I appreciate our time all together even more even though it is not as frequent. Whenever they are home, however, you can find us in the ocean ~ perhaps my favorite location in LA. It recharges my creative juices, so if I’m lucky, you’ll find me paddleboarding beyond the waves up and down the coast off Santa Monica or Malibu where I can watch my fam catching waves and we are all immersed in the water.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hablablahblah.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hablablahblah/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-conroy-53107592/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HablaBlahBlahKids
• Other: https://hablablahblah.myshopify.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaa2RdkOwT1auu7OupAv-cGieSzX6SLu1YOdcZCo4L_RSx3ym_Uq4nRMHTI_aem_J8ggXXBf6QMzqieeE6LMHg

Image Credits
All images provided by HablaBlahBlah