Learning Spanish with La Profesora

Learning a second language as an adult can involve many feelings: nervousness, excitement, anxiety, anticipation. I guess tackling something new and challenging at any age results in the same emotions. But as adults, no matter what skills we have or don’t have, at least know we can speak like intelligent beings. Suddenly that confidence is threatened when we attempt a new a language. We know immediately that we aren’t speaking like adults anymore; our simple sentences can make us feel like child-like. We stumble over new pronunciations, hesitate before continuing, and stop frequently to find the words. So why do so many people do it? Why put yourself through all that, when you’re not really sure how successful you’ll be? Because learning a second language is fun, a little exciting, and opens up new possibilities.

 As a teacher, I’ve found some strategies that can be helpful in learning Spanish:

 1)      Write. Keep a journal. You don’t have to do it every day, and you don’t have to show it to anyone. Just write about the simple things happening in your life. Or make things up! The whole point is to prompt you to use language that is meaningful to you, much as you would in conversation. A journal is also a great way to chart your progress. You’ll actually be able to see how your language skills improve.

2)      Read. The internet is full of resources in Spanish: CNN en Español, ESPN en Español, even People en Español. No, you may not understand a lot of it, but you don’t have to. If you get two or three words, that’s two or three words you are ahead.

3)      Listen. If you have TV stations in Spanish, pay attention to the commercials. They are short, have familiar products, use simple language, and often use written words. There are also a number of radio stations you can access on your computer that come directly from Spanish speaking countries. Yes, many Latin Americans speak fast, but listening will help you get used to this rate of speech.

4)       Be realistic. You will not become bilingual over night. Any word or phrase you learn today is one more than you knew when you woke up this morning. Focus on what you can say, instead of what you can’t. Before you know it, those single words add up.

 In addition to the above strategies, I recommend learning as many ready-to-use phrases as possible; I call them "chunks” of language. By learning these “chunks”, you won’t have to stop and think, “What verb do I use? How do I conjugate it?”, etc. They’ll be at your disposal, ready when you need them. Here a few to start you off:

 Es un placer (ace oon plah-sare): “It’s a pleasure”, used when you meet someone.

 Fue un placer (fway oon plah-sare): “It was a pleasure”, used when saying good-bye to someone you’ve just met.

 Nos vemos (nohs vay-mohs):  a very common way native speakers say “we’ll see each other” instead of "adios".

 And one of my personal favorites, because I use it so much:

 Me muero de hambre (may mwear-o day am-bray): I’m dying of hunger.

 I’ll write weekly to give you more phrases, useful websites, and other helpful strategies.

 ¡Nos vemos!