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Acceptance, gratitude & learning Spanish!

Acceptance, gratitude & learning Spanish!

 

It’s very easy to get caught up in the “why” something is said a certain way when you’re learning a foreign language. It’s natural for us to question something we do not understand or agree with, but the reality is that it does not serve us well in the language learning process.

 

For example, when students are taught that in Spanish WE do not LIKE things, but THINGS are PLEASING to US, it tends to blow their minds, which often results in an almost angry “why???” or “that doesn’t make any sense!” When students are taught the subjunctive mood, many react in a very negative way, thinking they will never understand it and complaining that they don’t want to work on it.  

 

Maybe at one time or another you have wanted to rebel against the differences in the foreign language you are learning, but the reality is that it is what it is, and accepting it instead of fighting it will serve you much better. If you spend a lot of time complaining or questioning, you are wasting precious learning time. I suggest not only to accept, but to be grateful for those interesting nuances that make other languages and cultures so very different and interesting!  

 

This is not to say that you shouldn’t ask questions in class. This simply means that if you find yourself becoming negative, “complainy” or constantly asking “why,” you may consider turning that around by asking for more examples to better understand the topic. Becoming curious or even fascinated by the differences is also a positive approach to take. The language you are learning is not going to change; the only thing that will make it easier to learn it is a good attitude (like everything else in life).

 

Besos,
Caro

La tarea opcional para el 4 al 10 de junio del 2018

Esta semana, por favor, averigüen más acerca de los mandatos para “nosotros” + hagan una lista de 5 mandatos con esta conjugación que puedan usar en clase la semana que viene; 4 afirmativos y 1 negativo. Sean creativos si quieren, ya que van a hacer estas cosas como grupo la semana que viene.

Por ejemplo: Cantemos el primer verso del himno nacional; saltemos por 10 segundos; saquémosle la lengua al profe por 1 minuto

Busquen información acerca de este tema en YouTube, spanishdict.com o studyspanish.com, o donde quieran.  La próxima semana nos van a contar lo que aprendieron y van a usar sus ejemplos para dar órdenes a toda la clase.

Para los que les interese hacer más tarea, empiecen el capítulo 16 “The Commands” en  “Complete Spanish Grammar” de McGraw Hill, de la serie Practice Makes Perfect.  Por favor, lean las páginas 187 a 192 y hagan los ejercicios 16.6 a 16.14.  

Please Spanish students, make mistakes!

Please Spanish students, make mistakes!

 

As I mentioned last week, I started teaching a new conversation class for beginners to Spanish, which has inspired me to share a series of tips related to language learning.  These tips will be geared towards students that are new to the language learning process, but could also be beneficial to the veterans.

 

Tip #2 – Please, make mistakes!

Generally speaking, the last thing we want as human beings is to make mistakes.  We feel embarrassed, dumb, unprepared, etc. But when it comes to learning a language through conversation, mistakes are an important part of the process.  

If you’re putting yourself out there and trying to communicate, you’re going to make mistakes.  No one that is learning a language speaks it perfectly. No one. And if you actually want to learn to speak, you need to put yourself out there, therefore you will make mistakes.  

In addition to that, scientific research shows that we are more likely to learn from a previous mistake that we personally made, than from just being handed the correct information.  

So the next time that you think to yourself “I better not say anything because I’m not sure it’s right,” remember that perfection is not the goal in the language learning process; communication is.

Besos,
Caro

La tarea opcional para el 28 de mayo al 3 de junio del 2018

Esta semana, por favor, averigüen más acerca de los mandatos para “tú” + hagan una lista de 10 mandatos con esta conjugación que puedan usar con sus compañeros de clase la semana que viene; 5 afirmativos y 5 negativos.

Por ejemplo: Apaga la luz; Levántate; No contestes la pregunta

Busquen información acerca de este tema en YouTube, spanishdict.com o studyspanish.com, o donde quieran.  La próxima semana nos van a contar lo que aprendieron y van a usar sus ejemplos para dar órdenes o pedirle cosas a los otros alumnos y al profe.

Para los que les interesa hacer más tarea, empiecen el capítulo 16 “The Commands” en  “Complete Spanish Grammar” de McGraw Hill, de la serie Practice Makes Perfect.  Por favor lean las páginas 183 a 187 y hagan los ejercicios 16.1 a 16.5.  

Cognates are your friend!

Cognates are your friend!

Last night I started teaching a conversation class for beginners to Spanish, which has inspired me to share a series of tips related to language learning. These tips will be geared towards students that are new to the language learning process, but could also be beneficial to the veterans.

Tip #1 – Cognates are your friend!

Cognates are words that are similar in 2 languages, usually because they come from the same root or language (such as Greek or Latin).

For example:
Poem & poema
Climate & clima
Check & cheque
Salary & salario
Authentic & auténtico

When you are new to a language, cognates are your best friends. They’re easy to learn to use when you speak and to understand when you’re listening. Here is a list of 1000+ English/Spanish cognates: https://www.realfastspanish.com/vocabulary/spanish-cognates

One thing to be aware of is that there are false cognates (commonly referred to as “false friends”).

For example:
To be embarazada does not mean to be embarrassed, it means to be pregnant!
To molestar someone means to annoy them, not to molest them!
A fábrica is a factory, not fabric.
Recordar means to remember, not to record.
To be exitado means to be sexually aroused, not excited!

If you’re the type to study vocabulary, a list of cognates is an excellent place to start!

Besos,
Caro

La tarea opcional para el 21 al 27 de mayo del 2018

La tarea opcional de esta semana es averiguar más acerca de los mandatos para Ud. + hacer una lista de 10 posibles mandatos que usarían con esta conjugación; 5 afirmativos y 5 negativos.

Por ejemplo: Si eres profe y tienes una reunión con la madre de un niño quizás le dirías “siéntese donde quiera”, o si ves a tu abuela quizás le digas “no se pare, abuelita.”   Cuando hagan la lista, por favor incluyan el nombre de la persona con quien usarían ese mandato.

Pueden encontrar información acerca de este tema con el video del Professor Jason en YouTube, también en spanishdict.com o studyspanish.com, como quieran.  La próxima semana nos van a contar lo que aprendieron y van a compartir sus ejemplos.

Para los que les interesa hacer más tarea, pueden terminar el capítulo 25 “Interrogative & exclamatory words” en  “Complete Spanish Grammar” de McGraw Hill, de la serie Practice Makes Perfect.  Les recomendamos leer las páginas 323 a 325 y hacer los ejercicios 25.8 a 25.10.  La semana que viene empezaremos con el capítulo acerca de los mandatos.

Are you embarrassed to speak Spanish to native speakers?

Are you embarrassed to speak Spanish to native speakers?

 

Practically every day I talk to a student who tells me how embarrassed they are to speak Spanish in front of native speakers. They are afraid to make mistakes and “sound like a five-year-old.”

 

It’s very easy for me or someone else to tell you not to be embarrassed, but that doesn’t mean that the embarrassment will suddenly disappear. However, there are a few things you may want to consider.

 

You are learning an entire other language!

This is huge! How many people can say that? I am pretty sure that in the world the percentage of people who are learning a foreign language is much, much smaller than the percentage of people who are not.

 

It took you years to learn your native language!

After all of the years you have working on your native language, there are still many many things that you do not know. How could you possibly expect to speak a foreign language perfectly when you have probably put in 1% or less of the time that you put into learning your native language?

 

Native Spanish speakers are generally thrilled and flattered when you’re learning their language!

They don’t care if you make mistakes. And if they do care, why should you? Do they speak English perfectly?  Do most people who learn a foreign language speak it perfectly?  Um, no.

 

Who doesn’t love to be the expert?

People in general love to teach others something that they know how to do well. Tell a native Spanish speaker that you are learning their language and that you would love the opportunity to practice with them, and they will feel like they are on top of the world!

 

Remember why you’re doing this!

Most people learn a foreign language so that they can better communicate with others in the world. You do not need to do it perfectly, you just need to do it.

 

Letting go of the embarrassment is by far the most important thing you can do during this amazing journey. It will free you up to put yourself out there, make mistakes, and learn from them, which will actually help you to improve your Spanish!  It will give you the opportunity to meet others and to learn about their culture. Learning a new language truly opens up an entire other world. Allow yourself that extraordinary opportunity.

 

Besitos,
Caro

la tarea opcional para el 14 al 19 de mayo el 2018

La tarea opcional de esta semana es llevar 3 preguntas a clase que típicamente haría un niño.  

Por ejemplo: ¿Por qué no puedo comer chocolate para el desayuno?  ¿Qué pasa cuando nos morimos? ¿Cómo entra Santa Claus si no hay chimenea?

Ya sabemos que la tarea suena extraña, pero la próxima semana verán lo que haremos con ellas :)

Para los que les interesa hacer más tarea, pueden empezar el capítulo 25 “Interrogative & exclamatory words” en  “Complete Spanish Grammar” de McGraw Hill, de la serie Practice Makes Perfect.  Les recomendamos leer las páginas 321 a 323 y hacer los ejercicios 25.5 a 25.7.

Spanish language milestones

Spanish language milestones

 

Every day I listen to a chapter of an audiobook in Italian. The short stories that I read are usually 3 chapters, so it usually takes me 3 days to listen to an entire story. Then I usually listen to the story 2 to 5 times, before I completely understand it (and by “completely understanding it” I do not mean every word, I mean all of the important aspects of the story), so usually it takes me between 1 – 3 weeks to get through one short story.

A few days ago I listened to my first story all the way through. I was so captivated by the story from the first chapter that I had to listen to another one and then the third one. When I was finished I realized that I had listened to the entire story and understood everything (and again, with “everything” I don’t mean every single word, I mean all of the important concepts of the story) in just one shot! I was SO excited that I immediately shared my news with everyone I ran into that day!  

So why am I telling you this?  Because throughout my personal language learning journey I always think about our Spanish students and what they must go through. On this particular occasion I realized how important it is to celebrate the milestones. We often spend so much time worrying about vocabulary that we don’t know yet, mistakes that we make when we speak, tenses we don’t yet understand, etc., What we should be doing instead is celebrating the milestones, remembering how much joy learning a language can bring into our lives, thinking about the doors learning a language opens up for us, how much fun it is to learn a new funny or useful phrase, how interesting it is to learn the way another language expresses something, etc.

Today my request is that you take a moment to celebrate your Spanish language learning accomplishments. What have you experienced recently that made YOU giddy?

Besos,
Caro

La tarea opcional para el 7 al 13 de mayo del 2018

La tarea opcional de esta semana es leer un artículo en español.  La semana que viene nos van a contar de qué se trata, pero no van a leer el artículo en frente de la clase.  El punto de la tarea es practicar el español, no necesariamente entender todo-todito-todo.

Para los que les interesa hacer más tarea, pueden empezar el capítulo 25 “Interrogative & exclamatory words” en  “Complete Spanish Grammar” de McGraw Hill, de la serie Practice Makes Perfect.  Les recomendamos leer las páginas 318 a 321 y hacer los ejercicios 25.1 a 25.4.