Pura Buena Onda Blog

Weekly Tip – 10/19/17 – Bask in your accomplishments!

I had a conversation with a student this week that inspired this blog post.

This student just spent a year on and off in a Spanish-speaking country and has reached a C2 level.

My reaction was a very positive one, congratulating him for reaching fluency. His response was that on occasion he is still lost.

This is actually a very typical response. Most of the time when I congratulate students for their accomplishments they tell me everything that they don’t do well in Spanish or what they still need to work on. While it is important to know where your weaknesses are so that you can improve them, it is also incredibly important to take a moment and think about how far you have come with the language. This is not your native language, this is not a language that you speak and listen to 16 hours a day. This is a language that you have worked very hard to learn.

This week I recommend that you sit down and write a list of your accomplishments in Spanish and take a moment to bask in how far you have come.

Here is my list for Italian:

  • I am now able to greet people in Italian without stopping to think about it
  • I am able to understand the gist of what is being talked about in News in Slow Italian, rather than just understanding a word here and there
  • My reading comprehension has improved by about 20%
  • During my lessons I am able to express myself in a basic manner about 50% of the time (it was zero 6 months ago)
  • During my lessons I am able to understand what my teacher is saying about 75% of the time (it was about 10% 6 months ago)
  • I understand the past tense in Italian and use it fairly well
  • My vocabulary has grown from using about 20 words six months ago to maybe 300-400 now
  • Most importantly, I am not afraid to make mistakes. I put myself out there say some crazy things, laugh about them along with my teacher and then learn something new

What are your accomplishments in Spanish?

Besos,

Caro

La tarea opcional para 10/16 a 10/21/17

La tarea opcional de esta semana es grabarse hablando español.  Ya les hemos pedido 2 veces este año que escogieran un tema y que hablaran acerca de ello mientras se grababan.  Si no estaban aquí, lo van a hacer por primera vez.  Si ya lo hicieron hace unos meses, tendrán algo con que comparar la tercera grabación del año.

Entonces, escojan un tema y luego hablen por 3 a 10 minutos acerca del tema (les recomendamos unos 3 a 5 minutos en los niveles A1-A2, 5 a 7 minutos en los niveles B1-B2 y unos 7 a 10 minutos en los niveles B3-C1-C2) .  Traten de no usar nada de inglés y no usen un diccionario.  Si no saben cómo decir algo, descríbanlo.   

No van a compartir estas grabaciones, es para que tengan algo con que compararse en unos meses, pero sí les vamos a pedir que nos cuenten qué tema escogieron y cómo les fue.

 

La tarea extra de la semana * para los que quieran más tarea * es seguir con el capítulo 7, The future & the conditional, en la tercera edición de “Complete Spanish Grammar” de McGraw Hill, de la serie Practice Makes Perfect.  Les recomendamos leer las páginas 72 a 76  y hacer los ejercicios 7.6 a 7.11.

Weekly Tip 10/12/17 – Why accuracy plays a role in your level of Spanish

 

Hola chicos,

Buenos días :)

 

From time to time students ask why they are not moving up a level when they understand everything and feel comfortable in the next level.  It could be for a number of reasons, but today I want to address accuracy.

 

When you’re learning a language you will make a million mistakes…and that’s ok, we want you to, as it means that you are putting yourself out there and trying.  It is important however to try to learn from your mistakes.

It is one thing to be able to understand everything, but it is quite another for a native Spanish speaker who does not speak English to understand you.

If this may be what is keeping you from advancing a level, here are a few things you can do to improve your accuracy:

  • Actively listen.  This means that when your teacher & classmates are talking, you are paying attention to what they’re saying, not thinking about how you’re going to respond.  I would also recommend listening to podcasts or watching tv outside of class.
  • Read.  Reading can be a tremendous help because you can visually start to notice patterns and pick up complete phrases.
  • Work in a grammar workbook.  If grammar is what is killing you, try one of the books from the McGraw Hill “Practice Makes Perfect” series.  I recommend starting out with “Complete Spanish Grammar” and then trying out the others.
  • Speak.  The more practice you get speaking, the better you will get.  It’s that simple.
  • Last, but not least, when you are corrected in class, stop, repeat the correction and then continue.  If you have time, write it down.

 

Where do you feel you are at with your accuracy?  Do native Spanish speakers (who do not speak English) understand you?

 

Besitos,

Caro

La tarea opcional de esta semana es escribir o grabar una lista de 10 cosas que harás antes del fin del año.

La tarea extra de la semana * para los que quieran más tarea * es empezar el capítulo 7, The future & the conditional, en la tercera edición de “Complete Spanish Grammar” de McGraw Hill, de la serie Practice Makes Perfect.  Les recomendamos leer las páginas 69 a 72  y hacer los ejercicios 7.1 a 7.5.

Besitos

Weekly Tip 10/5: Label your surroundings!

 

Hola chicos,

Buenos días :)  Espero que todos estén bien hoy.

 

Today I want to talk about things that you come into contact with all the time.

For example, for a teacher it could be desks, books, the principal, the cafeteria, etc.

For a lawyer it might be a jury, laws, billing, clients, contracts, felons, etc.

For anyone it might be a car, a bedroom, a hair brush, a blender, a cooking pan, etc.

 

Today I want you to pick 5 things that you come into contact with all the time that would be useful to know in Spanish.  This is an excellent way to learn new vocabulary without dedicating much time or effort.

Label them (maybe with a post-it) and look at it every day for a week to 2 weeks until you feel comfortable that you have learned it.

I understand that you can’t label your clients or a school principal, but maybe something that reminds you of them…

 

One rookie mistake: do NOT label too many things at once.  This can become overwhelming and annoying.  5 things at a time is a good number :)  Also, if you can, don’t write the word in English, only in Spanish.  

 

What will you be labeling?

 

Besos,

Caro

Week 10 has been completed and 7 fabulous ladies have made it this far!

Congratulations to:

A1: Jean E   –   B1.5: Melanie T   –   B2: Carol S and Stephanie C   –   B2.5: Roxie H   –   C1: Stephany F   –   Private Classes: Lisa O

When we asked these ladies if they thought they would complete the Bootcamp (only 17 more days!), this is what they said:

Espero que si! Creo que la parte más difícil esta detrás de nosotros. :)
¡Sí, por supuesto! Porque ¡no puedo fallar tan cerca del final!
Sí! Ahora yo tengo una rutina y es fácil a completar los objetivos cada día. Yo espero a continuar con esto después Bootcamp.
Bueno, definitivamente voy a terminar el Bootcamp por varias razones. He mejorado mi comprension y mi fluidez y he aprendido mucho por hacer la conversacion del día. Ha sido una experiencia positiva y buena. ¡Lo único que podría dejarme de completar este desafío sería un desastre natural como un terremoto o un huracán!
Es mi meta
Sí porque quiero lo terminar y porque esa es mi nueva rutina
Absolutamente! El trabajo para Bootcamp ahora es una parte de mi día y una costumbre nueva que disfruto.

 

If 7 students finish the Bootcamp this year, it will be a new record!  The most number of students who have ever completed the 90 Day Bootcamp is 5!

Congratulations ladies!

La tarea opcional de esta semana es leer un artículo y escribir un párrafo o hacer una grabación acerca del tema. Recomendamos que los que quieren practicar más la parte oral hagan una grabación.

La tarea extra de la semana * para los que quieran más tarea * es terminar el capítulo 18, Adjectives, en la tercera edición de “Complete Spanish Grammar” de McGraw Hill, de la serie Practice Makes Perfect.  Les recomendamos leer las páginas 234 a 236  y hacer los ejercicios 18.17 al 18.19

Weekly Tip 9/28: Are you working towards your language goal?

 

Let me ask you a question:

If you wanted to have “ripped” arms, do you think that you could achieve that goal by lifting 3 lb. weights?  No, you say?  

Ok, what about if you lifted 5 lb. weights?  Still don’t think so?

Well what if you lifted the 5 lb. weights for like 2 years?  Still no?  

 

Ok, so let me ask you a few questions about studying a language:

Do you think that doing DuoLingo at a high intermediate level will get you to an Advanced level?

Do you think that reading children’s books will help you reach fluency?

Do you think that spending 30 minutes a day on verb drills will help you improve your speaking skills?

 

It’s time to think about how you’re spending your time working on your Spanish and if it is actually helping you reach your goal.

 

First let me say that practically anything you do will get you to a low-mid intermediate level if you work at it long enough.  Getting to B1-B2 takes time, but what you’re doing to work on your Spanish is not nearly as important as it is when you reach B2 and want to get beyond that.

 

So if your goal is to get beyond B2 you may need to change those 5 lb. weights in for some 10 lb. weights.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to “work-out” any longer than you do now, but it may mean that you need to “work-out” harder or smarter.

This is the time when you need to start making the transition from things aimed at Spanish learners to things aimed at Spanish speakers.  This is the only thing that will help you get past B3 and for some, into B3.

 

This theory also works with any level.  If your goal is to improve your comprehension, you need to listen more than you speak.  If your goal is to speak better, you need to participate.  If your goal is to improve your grammar, you need to stop and repeat when you’ve been corrected.

 

What are your goals and what are you doing to work towards them?

 

Besos,

Caro

Congratulations to the 6 remaining 90-Day Spanish Bootcamp participants!

 

B1.5: Melanie T  –  B2: Carol S; Stephanie C  –  B2.5: Roxie H  –  C1: Stephany F  –  Private Classes: Lisa O

 

These 6 students have:

Participated in La conversación del día on Facebook every day for 63+ days

Come to class each and every week for 9+ weeks

Done both the optional and extra optional homework each and every week

Read the weekly blog and commented on it each and every week

Spoken or listened to Spanish for 20+ minutes each and every day

Have attended 1 or more of Buena Onda Social Club’s events

Congratulations ladies!

You have less than a month to go to complete the Bootcamp!

 

This week we asked them what they most wish to get out of this 90-Day Spanish Bootcamp and how they plan to accomplish that. Here is what they said:

Quiero aprender y hablar en español sin mucho esfuerzo. Voy a continuar con mi compromiso con los requisitos de Bootcamp cada día. Además espero que pueda continuar pasar por lo menos dos horas por día escuchar y hablar en español.
I want to see an improvement in my comprehension. That seems to be happening – slowly but surely. I think the listening 20-30 minutes a day is helping a lot so I going to keep doing what I’m doing.
Es desirable que una persona pueda usar mucho tiempos así trataré usar muchos en mis respuestas.
Improving my ability to speak and write with more fluidity. I am speaking my FB responses out loud when I initially read the question using only words and phrases I already know. Before posting my response I check anything I’m unsure of and lookup one or two new words that fit. This helps me not spend time composing my response and challenges my memory.
Quiero mejorar mis habilidades de conversación. Finalmente estoy determinado a hacer un intercambio de idiomas con alguien que habla español y quiere mejorar su ingles. Estaba asustada antes sobre tomar este paso, pero ahora me siento bastante cómoda para hacerlo.
Yo quiero mejorar mi habilidad a hablar mejor. Yo estoy tratando practicar más con personas desconocidas.
Ha estado una buena experiencia, y he aprendido mucho.

I’m really enjoying the challenge.

¡Muy bien chicas!

 

 

  • These 3 students have advanced a level during the Bootcamp!

 

 

 

 

La tarea opcional de esta semana es hacer una lista de 3 adjetivos que describan a 3 personas que conoces.  Por ejemplo: Mi hijo es travieso, guapo y juguetón; mi abuelo es desconfiado, amable y tímido; mi profe de español es estupendo, talentoso y apasionado, etc.

(La tarea extra de la semana * para los que quieran más tarea * es seguir con el capítulo 18, Adjectives, en la tercera edición de “Complete Spanish Grammar” de McGraw Hill, de la serie Practice Makes Perfect.  Les recomendamos leer las páginas 231 a 234  y hacer los ejercicios 18.13 al 18.16)