Tag Archive for: learn spanish online

Student advancement – Sean to B3!

My name is:
Sean

My new level is:
B3

Approximately how much time do you dedicate to working on your Spanish outside of class?
3-5 horas

On average, how many times per week do you take classes @ Pura Buena Onda?
1 – 2 classes a la semana

What role has Pura Buena Onda played in helping you improve your Spanish & advance to the next level?
“PBO ha sido absolutamente fundamental  para mejorar mi español. Me da la oportunidad practicar hablando con otros hispanohablantes y la motivación continuar aprendiendo para que yo pueda expresarme mejor cada clase. No podría haberlo hecho sin la ayuda de PBO.
PBO has been absolutely fundamental en improving my spanish. It gives me the opportunity to practice speaking with other spanish speakers and the motivation to keep learning so that I can express myself better every class. I could not have done it with PBO’s help. ”

What are some of your favorite resources?
“Me encanta Twitter porque puedo encontrar un montón de hispanohablantes y leer muchos hilos en español. También sigo a noticieros en Twitter para mantenerme al día de las noticias en español. Llevo escuchando el podcast Conclusiones (de CNN) recietemente. Aún quiero mirar mas programas y leer más libros en español.
I love Twitter because i can find a bunch of spanish speakers and read many threads in spanish. I also follow the news on twitter to help keep myself up to date on spanish news. I’ve been listening to the podcast Conclusiones (by CNN). I still want to watch more shows and read more books in spanish.”

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
“Todo el mundo debería aprender otros idiomas, especialmente la gente en los estados unidos, en que mucha gente sólo habla su lengua nativa.
Everybody should learn other languages, especially people in the United States, where many people only speak their first language.”

¡Gracias Sean!

¡Felicidades a Sean por avanzar al nivel B3! ¡Bien hecho! We are so happy to have you in our online Spanish classes!

Student Advancement – Penny to C1!

My name is:

Penny
My new level is:
C1
Approximately how much time do you dedicate to working on your Spanish outside of class?
I try to practice or listen to some Spanish every day, but the bulk of it is on Sundays when I lead our Spanish-language worship service and preach every other week.
On average, how many times per week do you take classes @ Pura Buena Onda?
Once
What role has Pura Buena Onda played in helping you improve your Spanish & advance to the next level?
PBO has been everything! Having the weekly class and the homework keeps me moving forward.
What are some of your favorite resources?
I enjoy the daily Facebook question, even if I don’t always write a response. Adri is an incredibly gifted and creative teacher, and the conversations in her class are very enriching. I listen to the Hoy Hablamos podcast regularly and watch occasional TV shows and TED talks.
Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
I remember my first classes very clearly from 4 1/2 years ago: I was almost a total beginner and I was really scared to actually speak Spanish. Susana was my first teacher and she was very kind and patient. I am thrilled to have reached the advanced level. PBO offers exactly the kind of encouragement that adult learners need.

Thank you Penny!

¡Felicidades a Penny por avanzar al nivel C1! ¡Bien hecho! We are so happy to have you in our online Spanish classes!

Student Advancement: Cassandra to A3

My name is:

Cassandra

My new level is:

A3

Approximately how much time do you dedicate to working on your Spanish outside of class?

30 minutes every day

On average, how many times per week do you take classes @ Pura Buena Onda?

1-2 times

What role has Pura Buena Onda played in helping you improve your Spanish & advance to the next level?

It’s everything!! Nothing better than conversation. I love how interactive the teachers are.

What are some of your favorite resources?

Babbel, books

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

Thank you for everything!

¡Felicidades a Cassandra por avanzar al nivel A3! ¡Bien hecho! We are so happy to have you in our online Spanish classes!

What you need to work on to move up a level (A1 to A2)

¡Hola, alumnos fabulosos!

 

This week I’m going to start a series of mini-blogs. In these blogs, you’ll find out what you need to work on to move up a level.

 

In each one, I’ll tell you 3 things you need to do to achieve that. Today, we’ll look at how to move up from A1 to A2.

 

1 – To be in A2, you need to avoid using English at least 90% of the time.

How do you achieve this? There are a few ways:

a) Learn more vocabulary (by reading, writing, taking notes in class, etc.)

b) Become a master of description (“What do you call that thing that you use when,” etc.), and

c) Keep your sentences short and to the point. Do not attempt to tell complicated stories in level A1/A2.

 

2 – You should be able to have a short interaction with your teacher. You will know you are ready when the teacher asks you 2 or 3 things in Spanish to follow up on whatever you said, and you understand him/her, and can answer in Spanish without checking your notes. Basically, in level A2 you should be able to start having basic back and forth interactions without having to write it all out first.

How do you achieve this? Make sure that you’re participating in class, and not giving up when you’re not sure how to say something. Use the words you know, work around the ones you don’t, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes.

 

3 – Another thing you need to work on to move up a level is your present tense conjugations, and have the past tenses on your radar.

How do you achieve this?  You can do this organically by paying attention when your verb tenses are corrected in class, or you can do it by studying it (This is a good resource: Present Tense (Spanish Dict)

One more thing: the fastest way to move from level A1 to level A2 is simply to do your daily homework, that should take 10-15 minutes a day. If you do this every single day, you will move up a level in no time.

 

I hope this advice helps you in your first steps of the Spanish journey! A2 students, be ready for next week. I’ll be sharing with you how to move up to level A3 :).

 

Que pasen un buen fin de semana,

 

Carolina & Octavi

Reasons to continue to learn Spanish

Hola a todos mis queridos alumnos y alumnas:

Have you ever asked yourself why you continue to learn Spanish? I think everyone questions their motivation at some point; it’s pretty normal.

It’s personal

Today’s blog is about something special to me. When we learn a new language, and many times in life, we question why we are doing what we are doing. We falter, we lose direction, and we wonder if it’s worth it.

I’ve come across many students who tell me they feel discouraged in the process of learning Spanish. People who tell me that they feel as if they are not improving. Naturally, in those moments we might feel like giving up.

Don’t lose hope, my friends! Here are some reasons to remind you why you continue to learn Spanish:

Perspective

A new language is the door to a new world. You’re not only learning words. You learn a vision of the world. It gives you a new perspective. You learn terms that don’t exist in your own language, to describe things for which there might not be a word in English.

You get to understand the mentality of the native speakers of the language, that is reflected in and influenced by the language. By learning Spanish, you’re immersing yourself in multiple cultures across the world. Isn’t that fascinating?

Since we mentioned people and cultures, remember that Spanish allows you to communicate with around 500.000.000 people in the world. How awesome is that? Besides, don’t you love talking to people in their own language? I always thought it was very rewarding and consider it an excellent reason to continue to learn Spanish.

Encouragement

Spanish speakers tend to be encouraging by expressing how impressed they are when they hear you speak Spanish. Take it as a reason to keep learning.

Enjoy the journey

Remember it’s not about getting to the finish line. You will always learn Spanish, there’s no end to it. Even I keep learning new Spanish words every day! So, if a native speaker keeps learning Spanish, don’t feel like you need to know it all or that you’re lacking something.

The beauty of it is in the journey, the little victories and satisfactions. For example, when you learn a new word that becomes super useful, or when you realized that you have gone up a level or improved within your current level. That is a great reason to continue to learn Spanish!

Just enjoy being able to speak in another language every time you do it. Like the way people enjoy exercising because of how it makes them feel (and learning a language is very much like exercising; it’s something that will always be a part of your life).

Your brain

Another reason why to continue learning Spanish (any language really) is that it’s a fantastic method to keep your brain sharp and young. It helps prevent and delay Alzheimer’s and dementia. Spanish is good for your health too!

Your job

Apart from all of the reasons listed above, it’s being required more and more in the work place, especially in Southern California.

Impressive

Never forget how amazing it is that you can communicate in another language. I will share with you something that Carolina posted in PBO’s Instagram a few days ago. It is truly inspirational:

“Imagine if you decided you were going to pick up golf in your 30s, and you got to the point where you could keep up in a game with professional players. You’d think that’s actually really good. But for some reason, just being able to keep up in language feels not as impressive.”

It should be just as impressive to ourselves. We are learning an entire new language!!! That is impressive people!

 

Alright, everybody; this is it for today. I hope you found some motivation in the above lines to keep you excited about continuing to learn Spanish. Let us know what you think about it in the comments section, on Facebook’s PBO page.

 

¡Les deseo una buena semana!

Octavi