The "personal a" is what a Spanish teacher calls the preposition 'a' when it precedes a direct object that is a person (or a personified pet).
The preposition 'a' also accompanies the direct object when it needs to be distinguished from the subject, even if the direct object is not a person (or a personified pet). In this case, a Spanish teacher won't call it a "personal a."
In both of these cases, the Spanish just call it the preposition 'a'.
See
this post for an explanation of how the 'a' must be used to differentiate the subject from the direct object.