Pura Buena Onda Blog

La tarea opcional para el 20 al 26 de agosto del 2018

La tarea opcional de la semana es escribir 5 frases que contengan ¿sabías que…?
Por ejemplo:
¿Sabías que los ratones pueden llegar a tener 105 crías al año?
¿Sabías que 150.000 cabellos están creciendo en tu cabeza en este momento?
¿Sabías que 50 de las montañas más altas de nuestro planeta se encuentran en Asia?
*Estas son de la revista National Geographic

Para los que les interese hacer más tarea, empiecen el capítulo 19 “Personal Pronouns” en “Complete Spanish Grammar” de McGraw Hill, de la serie Practice Makes Perfect. Por favor, lean las páginas 237 a 240 y hagan los ejercicios 19.1 a 19.4.

Weekly tip: Help! My partner feels like a Spanish widow/er!

Language learning weekly tip: Help! My partner feels like a Spanish widow/widower!

I spoke to a student this week who has a Spanish immersion trip coming up. She told me that she was excited about improving her Spanish, but not looking forward to the trip as much as she would like. When I asked why, she said it was because her husband was not taking it very well that she would be gone for three weeks without him, as they usually do everything together. Since she wanted her entire focus to be on Spanish, she prefers to do this trip on her own.

I decided to blog about this, not because I have all of the answers, but because this is not the first time I have heard this exact same story, and I thought that you, the readers, may have some suggestions. I don’t know how many students have told me that their partners refer to themselves as “Spanish widows/widowers” because their spouse dedicates so much time to their hobby!

I have not experienced this myself. My ex-husband had so many of his own hobbies and passions, that me having one that did not include him, was not an issue.

The only suggestions I have are the following:
  • Find a shared hobby. If you already have one, I would recommend doing it more often during the time leading up to the trip and when you return from the trip.
  • Make sure you are spending some quality time together leading up to the trip and after. Potentially take a trip together right before or after your solo trip.
  • Let him know why this is important to you, and the benefits of you going out of town for a few weeks. Maybe he has a hobby that he doesn’t dedicate as much time to as he would like? This would be an excellent opportunity for him to spend some time on it.
OK readers, please give us your suggestions on either Facebook or by taking our survey.
I will report back next week!

Besos,
Caro

La tarea opcional para el 13 al 19 de agosto del 2018

La tarea opcional de la semana es escuchar estas 4 canciones y escoger su favorita. La próxima semana vamos a votar:

Caro recomienda: La Bicicleta, de Carlos Vives y Shakira

Daniela recomienda: La que me gusta, de Los amigos invisibles

Lorena recomienda: Échame la culpa, de Luis Fonsi y Demi Lovato

Vanessa recomienda: Nuquí (Te quiero para mi), de ChocQuip Town

Para los que les interese hacer más tarea, terminen el capítulo 22 “Adverbs” en  “Complete Spanish Grammar” de McGraw Hill, de la serie Practice Makes Perfect.  Por favor, lean las páginas 289 a 291 y hagan los ejercicios 22.11 a 22.12.  

Language learning weekly tip: The Buddy System

Language learning weekly tip: The Buddy System

 

If you are an extrovert like me, you probably find doing just about anything with a buddy, more fun than without a buddy.

If you’re an obliger (Four tendencies quiz) you would probably do well having someone else holding you accountable for tasks you would like to accomplish.

If either of these sound like you, you would probably find it a lot more fun to practice Spanish with a partner than on your own.

This week why not ask someone if they would want to practice with you once a week?

Everyone is busy these days, so it’s not like it has to be a 2 hour dinner, but you could get together for a cup of coffee, or even practice on the phone or via Skype. It doesn’t have to be for an hour, it could be for 30 minutes or even 15 minutes.

It could be a classmate or maybe someone you know at work who speaks Spanish.

If it’s a significant other, start small. Don’t expect Saturday to be “let’s speak Spanish all day” day, but maybe start speaking Spanish over breakfast, or for 10 minutes when you see each other.

Life is simply more fun with a buddy. And so is learning a language :) Who will you ask?

Besos,
Caro

La tarea opcional para el 6 al 12 de agosto del 2018

La tarea opcional de la semana es usar la expresión del día de Twitter en una frase cada día de la semana, por una semana. La semana que viene les pediremos que nos cuenten cuál fue su expresión favorita.

Para los que les interese hacer más tarea, sigan con el capítulo 22 “Adverbs” en  “Complete Spanish Grammar” de McGraw Hill, de la serie Practice Makes Perfect.  Por favor, lean las páginas 287 a 289 y hagan los ejercicios 22.7 a 22.10.  

How do YOU stay motivated?

How do YOU stay motivated?

 

It’s been established that learning a language takes a tremendous amount of time and effort, just like any other big goal in life. So how do you stay motivated?

I think we can all agree that if we don’t enjoy doing something, the majority of us procrastinate or don’t do it all. I think we can also agree that we seek out things that we do enjoy, right?

Well, this theory can easily be applied to learning a language.

 

Suggestion: Make a list of 10 things you enjoy doing (they do not need to have anything to do with learning a language)

 

My list could look something like this:

1 – Spending time with friends

2 – Taking Lola (my dog) to the park or on a hike

3 – Going to restaurants

4 – Singing

5 – Listening to Podcasts

6 – Listening to Audiobooks

7 – Running

8 – Meaningful conversation

9 – Learning Italian

10 – Teaching

 

Now take this list and see what you may be able to apply to learning Spanish (in my case Italian).

 

My list could look something like this:

1 – Spending time with friends – spend more time with Brigitte, since we’re both learning Italian & practice for a few minutes each time we see each other + take conversation classes so you get to speak – check

2 – Taking Lola (my dog) to the park or on a hike – learn a new park/hike related word every time we go 

3 – Going to restaurants – go to more Italian restaurants and chat with the waiters

4 – Singing – set a few Pandora stations that will play music in Italian, write the names of some songs that I like, look up the lyrics & learn how to sing along – check

5 – Listening to Podcasts – listen to a few podcasts about Italian or in Italian – check

6 – Listening to Audiobooks – listen to short stories in Italian for beginners – check

7 – Running – listen to music in Italian while running

8 – Meaningful conversation – not there yet (my level is around A1-A2), but I could start learning how to express some meaningful phrases in Italian

9 – Learning Italian – this one speaks for itself

10 – Teaching – I am currently teaching Lola some Italian – Vieni qui Lola!

 

There is nothing fast or easy about learning a foreign language; that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be fun! Now all you need to do is figure out what that looks like for you.

Please share a few ideas you have with us!

 

I hope you have enjoyed the final of 10 tips for new language learners!

 

Besos,

Caro

La tarea para la semana del 30 de julio al 5 de agosto del 2018

La tarea opcional de la semana es 1) leer un artículo, 2) encontrar 3 palabras nuevas que van a compartir con la clase la semana que viene, y 3) estar listos para hacerle un resumen a la clase. El resumen no lo van a leer, será una breve presentación oral.

Para los que les interese hacer más tarea, sigan con el capítulo 22 “Adverbs” en  “Complete Spanish Grammar” de McGraw Hill, de la serie Practice Makes Perfect.  Por favor, lean las páginas 285 y 286 y hagan los ejercicios 22.4 a 22.6.  

Why oh why am I learning a foreign language?

Why oh why am I learning a foreign language?

Do you ever ask yourself why in the world you are learning a foreign language?
I hope that you have asked yourself this question and that the answer is clear to you.

Learning a foreign language takes a tremendous amount of time, commitment, effort and eventually a lifestyle change if fluency is your goal. Since it’s a marathon and not a sprint, it’s important to remind yourself why you’re doing it, to keep up the momentum.

I suggest that you take a moment to make a list of reasons, and keep it somewhere that you can look at it on occasion. I keep mine in my phone.

Here is my list for why I am learning Italian:
– Because I love the sound of it
– Because I’ve always wanted to learn it, since I was a kid (lifelong dream)
– Because I love all things Italian
– So that I can communicate when I travel to Italy
– So that I can communicate with more people on this earth
– So that I can go through what my students go through: learning a language as an adult and using PBO’s conversational method
– So that I can sing in Italian (especially Andrea Bocelli)
– Because I think that being trilingual is pretty cool
– Because it’s fun (I still get giddy when I learn new words or recognize a word in a song/book/movie)

So why are you learning Spanish? Please share your list with us!

I hope you have enjoyed the 9th of 10 tips for new language learners!

Besos,
Caro

La tarea opcional para el 23 al 29 de julio del 2018

La tarea opcional de la semana es escribir una lista de 5 preguntas siguiendo el estilo de nuestro juego de esta semana ¿Qué prefieres? Traíganlas a clase la semana que viene, ¡y las podemos corregir y usar para nuestras conversaciones!

Por ejemplo:

¿Qué preferirías?

¿Viajar a 1950 o a 2050?

¿Poder teletransportarte o la capacidad de hablar con los animales?

¿Comunicarte con los muertos o leer las mentes de los vivos?

 

Para los que les interese hacer más tarea, empiecen el capítulo 22 “Adverbs” en  “Complete Spanish Grammar” de McGraw Hill, de la serie Practice Makes Perfect.  Por favor, lean las páginas 282 a 284 y hagan los ejercicios 22.1 a 22.3.  

Take advantage of us!

Take advantage of us!

Today we’re on to the 8th of 10 tips for new language learners!

With today’s tip I would like to encourage you to take advantage of us.

What do I mean by that?
Well, Pura Buena Onda continually makes an effort to create a community where you can practice Spanish, not just a class that you go to once a week.
So take advantage of everything we have to offer, such as:
– Our daily interactive conversations on Facebook
– Our daily saying on Twitter
– Our monthly social club events BOSC events
– This blog with the weekly tip
– Our weekly newsletter that among other things features informative stories by our students who have advanced a level
– Our Instagram page with pics of our students, teachers, outings, etc.
– Our Pinterest page with resources, grammar lessons, jokes, etc.
– Of course there’s our annual 90-Day Spanish Bootcamp, the weekly optional homework, the trips abroad, etc. The point is that PBO is so much more than a once a week language class, and we want you to enjoy and take advantage of all of it!

Besitos,
Caro