Over and over again, I read about students who are immensely frustrated with the language learning classes in their schools. Why is it that classrooms seem to deaden the desire to learn among young people? Schools are meant to be the places we send our children to learn and grow into adults but often I find the reviews to be abysmal. Students are uninspired by the curriculum and become reticent, especially when it comes to learning a foreign language, leading to failure to learn more than some basic vocabulary and the very simplest ways to communicate. I find it hard to blame the students in this case, as I too as a student found my Spanish classes to be either boring or at times overwhelming with the various grammatical topics we covered. I was a good student, however if I was not inspired to learn, it was very easy to shut myself off and stubbornly refuse to learn. I couldn't find the right place for accent marks or often I conjugated the verbs incorrectly, making me feel foolish which pushed me further down into my shell. The more confused I became, the more I shut myself off from learning. So how is it that now, fifteen years later I am not only enamored with the language, but I find it easy to learn? It all has to do with inspiration, motivation, and the desire to learn.
I love learning, but that does not mean I loved my time in school. As I said, often school can be boring, methodical, and entirely uninspiring. My whole attitude towards learning Spanish changed when I found myself surrounded by native Spanish speakers who I desperately wanted or needed to communicate with. I learned how to talk, which goes well beyond memorizing vocabulary lists or learning how to conjugate verbs. Yes, those things are critical when it comes to learning a language, even in your own native tongue, but there has to be more to it than that if you want a student to retain the information. When I started learning why we said things in Spanish the way we did, it all started to click. When I heard native speakers talking, I started to understand where to place the accents.
Tell me something and I'll forget it. Show me something and I'll understand it. Practice it with me, and I'll be able to do it. Classrooms simply do not offer enough practical usage of the language to teach a student how to speak effectively with another person. Sure, after a few months, anyone can ask the basic survival questions we all learn when first taking on a new language, but how many students can actually talk to another person in that language? I'm not suggesting we can teach complete fluency in a matter of four or five school years, but if we start emphasizing communicating over rote memorization, I think we'll start to see a tremendous change, not only in the success rates of the students, but in the overall satisfaction the students get out of gaining a skill such as speaking a second language. Being able to conjugate verbs is boring, but being able to use a skill in my everyday life is fun, and when it becomes fun, it is not a chore to learn. Clearly not every student is going to fall in love with foreign languages, as I was never one to fall in love with, say, chemistry. We can, however, make learning more fun and find ways to encourage those who will fall in love with language learning. I wish I could find a way to work with public schools to improve foreign language classes. Should anyone have any suggestions, send them my way!
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Thursday, December 4, 2014
When Confidence Fails
OK, I see it's been a while since I last posted here, and abandoning this blog was never my intention. I just tend to get distracted with things and lose my focus now and again. Hopefully, with only 147 days until I leave for Spain, I can continue to post here the ways in which I find learning a language helpful to opening new doors in life. That being said, I want to talk a little about my moment of fear and doubt in myself and how it has affected me recently.
I have been a follower of the website Fluent In Three Months since 2010 and the site's host, Benny, has been a great inspiration for me. I posted the following in his forums about my recent bout of terror regarding meeting him in person. Read on:
I have been a follower of the website Fluent In Three Months since 2010 and the site's host, Benny, has been a great inspiration for me. I posted the following in his forums about my recent bout of terror regarding meeting him in person. Read on:
This past Summer, while Benny was
touring the globe on his book tour, I was fortunate enough to be
presented the opportunity to meet him along one of his stops. He
made a stop in Connecticut, about 45 minutes from where I live and I
had planned on making the trip to the book store for some time, as
the stop had been announced months in advance. I had the day off
from work, his book in my hand, and a collection of anecdotes to
share with him, yet as the minutes ticked by that afternoon, suddenly
an unsettling anxiousness took me over. I was nervous about going to
meet him in person although I had been a follower of his site since
2010. His blog inspired my own Spanish language blog that now has
almost 900 entries. I've used his platform of making small, three
month goals to help me in my journey to speak Spanish and in May of
2015 I will be spending a month alone in Spain with the intention of
not
speaking a word of English. So what stopped me from making the short
drive to meet him? In short, I was afraid. Despite all of my hard
work and all of the conversation exchanges I have had through Skype,
I was nervous about meeting Benny in person. Why? I was certain he
would expect me to speak Spanish. In fact, I was planning on
speaking Spanish with him, so what was I afraid of? I was afraid I
would say the wrong thing. I was afraid I would conjugate a verb in
the present tense that should have been in the past or that I would
use a feminine article for a masculine noun. I was afraid that I
would tell him how long I had been studying the language and how
excited I was to be going to Spain and then I would be unable to say
even the most basic phrases. Worst of all, I was afraid that after
just one silly mistake, I would fall back into English, knowing full
well that Benny speaks English and I could just as easily talk to
him in English as I could in Spanish without actually showing that I
had learned any Spanish at all. Despite all the advice I have given
and received over the years, I suddenly lacked the confidence in
myself to use a skill I had been working on attaining for years. I
find myself more timid speaking Spanish to those who are fluent in
English as they can readily point out my mistakes and we can easily
fall into the trap of speaking English instead of our target
language. I'm using my trip to Spain as a way to force myself to get
over my timidness, as it is less likely I will find those willing to
use English in place of Spanish. With roughly 145 days until my
trip, I am more and more anxious, but the ticket is bought, the room
is reserved, and I can't back out now. I wish I hadn't chickened out
of my opportunity to talk with Benny in Spanish, but hopefully I can
use this as motivation to practice more and more before my trip. I'd
love to hear others thoughts about their experiences with complete
loss of confidence.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
A New Twist
Just this afternoon, I was reading something which got me thinking about ways in which I can further push myself to speak more, and speak more comfortably in Spanish. With less than eight months to go before my trip to Spain, I've been feeling a little lax in my progress and despite doing a lot of reading, I have not been writing, or more importantly, speaking, nearly as much as I should. I constantly tell myself that I should be speaking more, yet I rarely do it as much as I could and while I use writing as a source of practice, that too has suffered a little lately. One idea that had never really occurred to me was to actually use English as a way to stress my Spanish. I always thought using English was a crutch to fall back upon rather than something I could use to push me forward, however the suggestions I came across today have inspired me to at least give it a shot and see where it gets me. Ideally, I'm going to write this post in English and then link it to my Spanish blog and see how well I do translating it all over. Normally, when I write in Spanish, I do my best to simply write without thinking too much about the English equivalent. I've written quite a bit in Spanish, but I fear it is often too oversimplified to get my true point across. I wrote a little about finding your personality in a foreign language and perhaps this will be a way to start on that path. I'm going to write, in English, on a variety of topics that may come up in everyday conversation when meeting someone who speaks a foreign language and then I am going to try to translate it all into Spanish without dumbing it down too much. Let's see if this helps or hurts me. Feel free to comment with your thoughts.
My job: OK, to most, my job in not all that interesting, but here it is. I am a manger of a well known fast food restaurant. I have worked there since I was 16 years old and it's the only real job I have ever known. My responsibilities include running shifts of 10-15 people, handling hiring and training of new crew members, and making the weekly schedule for the employees. Of course there are plenty of other tasks I take on every day, but those are the basics. I enjoy the fast paced environment as well as the variety of people I come across everyday. I hope to someday be the owner of the franchise, but if I can't do that, there are quite a few of other positions for me outside of working in the restaurant day to day.
My interest in Spanish and Spain: I started learning Spanish on my own over the summer of 2008. I had learned a bit in school as a student but it wasn't until I spent my days with many Spanish speaking employees at my job that my desire to really speak the language came out. After years of being able to hold simplified, broken conversations with my employees, I decided I wanted to truly push myself forward to speak the language as fluently as I could. I decided to visit Spain for a number of reasons, but mainly because it is the birthplace of the language. I have never traveled abroad and felt that if I were going to go to a Spanish speaking country, it might as well be the farthest away. Although I have spoken to a few people through the internet from Spain, I don't actually know anyone there and this trip is definitely going to be a social challenge for me just as much as an educational one.
Hobbies: I don't have any specific hobbies, per say, except for the things I do to improve my Spanish. This includes reading books in Spanish, whether they are originally written in Spanish or were translated from another language, writing in Spanish, which can be found here, and watching movies and TV in Spanish.
My home: I live in Connecticut, a small state northeast of New York. I live in a small town sort of near the center of the state. I grew up in Connecticut and have never lived anywhere else. I like it here but lately have been thinking about trying to see more of the United States. This country has quite a bit to see and it would be a shame to spend my life only ever seeing this small part of it.
Travel: I have never traveled much in my life, which is why this trip to Spain is so important to me. It is my first chance to really see more of the world. I am hoping to have a great time and if I like it, maybe I will make plans to see more of the world after I get back.
Social issues: I don't have any one topic that stands out in my mind that I would want to discuss, but there are certainly plenty of things going on in the world that hold my interest and I am sure I could discuss with anyone I meet abroad.
OK, so that´s all I have for now. After reading this, head over to my Spanish blog and see if it all checks out. I´m not sure if this will be the secret to my success or not, but it´s worth a shot.
My job: OK, to most, my job in not all that interesting, but here it is. I am a manger of a well known fast food restaurant. I have worked there since I was 16 years old and it's the only real job I have ever known. My responsibilities include running shifts of 10-15 people, handling hiring and training of new crew members, and making the weekly schedule for the employees. Of course there are plenty of other tasks I take on every day, but those are the basics. I enjoy the fast paced environment as well as the variety of people I come across everyday. I hope to someday be the owner of the franchise, but if I can't do that, there are quite a few of other positions for me outside of working in the restaurant day to day.
My interest in Spanish and Spain: I started learning Spanish on my own over the summer of 2008. I had learned a bit in school as a student but it wasn't until I spent my days with many Spanish speaking employees at my job that my desire to really speak the language came out. After years of being able to hold simplified, broken conversations with my employees, I decided I wanted to truly push myself forward to speak the language as fluently as I could. I decided to visit Spain for a number of reasons, but mainly because it is the birthplace of the language. I have never traveled abroad and felt that if I were going to go to a Spanish speaking country, it might as well be the farthest away. Although I have spoken to a few people through the internet from Spain, I don't actually know anyone there and this trip is definitely going to be a social challenge for me just as much as an educational one.
Hobbies: I don't have any specific hobbies, per say, except for the things I do to improve my Spanish. This includes reading books in Spanish, whether they are originally written in Spanish or were translated from another language, writing in Spanish, which can be found here, and watching movies and TV in Spanish.
My home: I live in Connecticut, a small state northeast of New York. I live in a small town sort of near the center of the state. I grew up in Connecticut and have never lived anywhere else. I like it here but lately have been thinking about trying to see more of the United States. This country has quite a bit to see and it would be a shame to spend my life only ever seeing this small part of it.
Travel: I have never traveled much in my life, which is why this trip to Spain is so important to me. It is my first chance to really see more of the world. I am hoping to have a great time and if I like it, maybe I will make plans to see more of the world after I get back.
Social issues: I don't have any one topic that stands out in my mind that I would want to discuss, but there are certainly plenty of things going on in the world that hold my interest and I am sure I could discuss with anyone I meet abroad.
OK, so that´s all I have for now. After reading this, head over to my Spanish blog and see if it all checks out. I´m not sure if this will be the secret to my success or not, but it´s worth a shot.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Finding My Voice
Just the other night I tried, somewhat in vain, to explain through my Spanish blog my desire to develop a voice in my Spanish writing. No, I don't mean I want to sound like Cervantes, per say, rather I want to have a distinctive voice in my writing. I wouldn't go so far as to call myself a "true" writer, as I have never had anything published, but I would say that I enjoy writing quite a bit and I find I have a rather distinctive sound when I babble on in English. The question is, can I ever develop an equally distinctive voice when I write in Spanish or am I destined to always sound generic and flat?
I've held this debate with myself several times, both when it comes to writing as well as speaking. We all have personalities, both on paper and in person when we speak in our native tongue, but what happens when we try to converse in a foreign language, one where perhaps we are unfamiliar with the colloquialisms and subtle nuances of the language we are practicing? On occasion I have managed to raise a few eyebrows when I do in fact use some sort of common phrase only heard in, say, Mexico, but for the most part, despite my familiarity with Spanish, I still find myself only scratching the surface when it comes to expressing myself in more vivid detail, a must for any novice writer.
One of my goals in my Spanish endeavors has always been to write a short story in Spanish, or at the very least, translate one of my English language stories over to Spanish. I have struggled with this only because I find myself constantly searching for a way to say something in Spanish that sounds equivalent to me in English. I find that in order for me to be able to write a short story in Spanish, I first need to be able to express myself freely in the language without constantly falling back on a sloppy English translation.
So my question is this. Have you manged to insert your personality into your foreign language learning, and if so, how did it come about? Or perhaps you've managed to create an entirely unique personality that only suits your second language. How is it different from your native personality? Even after several years of studying Spanish, I still find myself seeking my true voice. I'd be curious to hear anyone else's thoughts on this. Let me know and we'll talk again soon.
I've held this debate with myself several times, both when it comes to writing as well as speaking. We all have personalities, both on paper and in person when we speak in our native tongue, but what happens when we try to converse in a foreign language, one where perhaps we are unfamiliar with the colloquialisms and subtle nuances of the language we are practicing? On occasion I have managed to raise a few eyebrows when I do in fact use some sort of common phrase only heard in, say, Mexico, but for the most part, despite my familiarity with Spanish, I still find myself only scratching the surface when it comes to expressing myself in more vivid detail, a must for any novice writer.
One of my goals in my Spanish endeavors has always been to write a short story in Spanish, or at the very least, translate one of my English language stories over to Spanish. I have struggled with this only because I find myself constantly searching for a way to say something in Spanish that sounds equivalent to me in English. I find that in order for me to be able to write a short story in Spanish, I first need to be able to express myself freely in the language without constantly falling back on a sloppy English translation.
So my question is this. Have you manged to insert your personality into your foreign language learning, and if so, how did it come about? Or perhaps you've managed to create an entirely unique personality that only suits your second language. How is it different from your native personality? Even after several years of studying Spanish, I still find myself seeking my true voice. I'd be curious to hear anyone else's thoughts on this. Let me know and we'll talk again soon.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
What's There To Be Afraid Of?
I went to dinner with two of my best friends the other night and was introduced for the first time to one of their girlfriends. Normally, this isn't much of a big deal to me, but it just so happened that this young woman was originally from Ecuador, recently spent two months in Madrid, and obviously spoke fluent Spanish in a way that would have made me sound like a four year old boy trying to form complete sentences.
Initially, I saw this as an opportunity to really practice my Spanish conversational skills, but with each passing minute in which I spoke English, the idea of switching to Spanish drifted farther and farther from my mind. When we all parted ways that evening I offered to spend the next time we got together speaking in Spanish, but once I got home I realized how much of an opportunity I had just wasted. Why was I so shy about speaking to a native Spanish speaker? Was it because I was surrounded by two English speaking friends? Did I think she would laugh at me or was I worried that I would say something completely ridiculous, or worse, offensive? Honestly, I think it was all of the above. I have always had a difficult time using Spanish with someone I know speaks English as well. In addition, since none of my friends speak anything but English, I feel silly offering to say things in Spanish when they won't understand anyway. Sure, it might have made for a good laugh to carry on a faux conversation with her for a few moments while my friends listened in, but would it have served me well or just been a silly party trick? I guess I can't really answer that as I didn't even take the shot.
So what's the solution? I am leaving for Madrid in 250 days with the intention of spending every waking moment using Spanish, or at the very least, avoiding English at all costs. Will being surrounded by only Spanish speaking people finally push me to the point that I am not afraid to speak? More importantly, even if all goes well in Spain, will I have the confidence to continue using it when I return home? I would hate to spend a month in a foreign country only to lose my skills upon returning home.
I know I really should just get over it. No one is going to laugh at me, and honestly, they should be impressed, even if they don't know what I'm saying. Going to Spain surely is a way to force myself to use the language but perhaps it's time to find other ways to force myself into using it. I think the most important part in speaking successfully in a foreign language is simply having the confidence to do it. For me, confidence comes and goes in waves. Hopefully I can find a solution that brings me to the crest of one of those waves and keeps me there for at least a little while.
Thoughts and suggestions are always appreciated! Good luck!
Initially, I saw this as an opportunity to really practice my Spanish conversational skills, but with each passing minute in which I spoke English, the idea of switching to Spanish drifted farther and farther from my mind. When we all parted ways that evening I offered to spend the next time we got together speaking in Spanish, but once I got home I realized how much of an opportunity I had just wasted. Why was I so shy about speaking to a native Spanish speaker? Was it because I was surrounded by two English speaking friends? Did I think she would laugh at me or was I worried that I would say something completely ridiculous, or worse, offensive? Honestly, I think it was all of the above. I have always had a difficult time using Spanish with someone I know speaks English as well. In addition, since none of my friends speak anything but English, I feel silly offering to say things in Spanish when they won't understand anyway. Sure, it might have made for a good laugh to carry on a faux conversation with her for a few moments while my friends listened in, but would it have served me well or just been a silly party trick? I guess I can't really answer that as I didn't even take the shot.
So what's the solution? I am leaving for Madrid in 250 days with the intention of spending every waking moment using Spanish, or at the very least, avoiding English at all costs. Will being surrounded by only Spanish speaking people finally push me to the point that I am not afraid to speak? More importantly, even if all goes well in Spain, will I have the confidence to continue using it when I return home? I would hate to spend a month in a foreign country only to lose my skills upon returning home.
I know I really should just get over it. No one is going to laugh at me, and honestly, they should be impressed, even if they don't know what I'm saying. Going to Spain surely is a way to force myself to use the language but perhaps it's time to find other ways to force myself into using it. I think the most important part in speaking successfully in a foreign language is simply having the confidence to do it. For me, confidence comes and goes in waves. Hopefully I can find a solution that brings me to the crest of one of those waves and keeps me there for at least a little while.
Thoughts and suggestions are always appreciated! Good luck!
Friday, August 8, 2014
Buying The Ticket
I have officially purchased all of the major items I need in order to take my trip to Spain. I have my passport, I rented a room, and just this week, I bought my ticket. Now I just have to wait the eight months before I can fly out.
Just like learning Spanish, planning for this trip was a step by step process, and I think without the experience I have had with learning Spanish, I may have never made it this far. I think we all have dreams and fantasies of the life experiences we want to have, but few of us manage to fulfill all of these dreams simply because we lack planning. Now, to be fair, I have always been keen on making lists and setting dates for when I want to accomplish my goals, but one thing I have learned is that a list alone won't do it. Sure, it's helpful to have a guide, but it's only as effective as the person who carries out the steps. All too often I have become impatient and wanted to move forward too quickly and I think this was the cause of many of my early failures. I have found that there needs to be a balance between giving yourself adequate time to progress versus simply waiting too long and letting opportunities pass you by. Planning out my trip to Spain has been a learning process, and thankfully I have had help along the way in planning it all out. Without some assistance, I think it would have fallen apart just like many of my other ideas.
I had set a goal of purchasing the plane ticket in October. I was hoping by then the prices would be low and I would have saved ample cash to go ahead and buy it. Of course, October was still months away when I set that goal and I watched as the prices fluctuated up and down. Sure, I was hoping to find a great deal, but from the very beginning of planning this trip I had an idea in mind of what the ticket was going to cost me. Well, just this week the prices went up and down like crazy and I finally decided I had to jump at the opportunity. The price was actually a bit lower than I had planned on spending, but slightly higher than I had seen it previously. Well, I couldn't make any more excuses. Waiting until October was just another chance to fail in my trip. Buying the ticket this week would solidify my trip and finally make this dream of mine reality. And a reality it now is.
Originally, the trip was planned for May of 2016, not 2015. In my mind, I needed two years to prepare myself both psychologically and financially to go across the sea, when in truth, two years simply gave me enough time to find excuses not to take the trip. A lot can happen in two years and it would have been very easy to use any little event to discourage me from going. A year of planning is a safe goal. It makes saving enough money a realistic possibility while at the same time keeping the idea fresh in your mind so you don't lose your motivation to go. Now that it's official, I am aching to set sail! Buying the ticket was another part of the process that took careful planning and making the right choice as to when to buy.
Balancing our steps isn't always easy, but it's necessary in order to succeed. I think I found the right balance of being patient and still moving forward and thanks to my discovery, my dream of traveling to Spain is now going to be a reality!
Just like learning Spanish, planning for this trip was a step by step process, and I think without the experience I have had with learning Spanish, I may have never made it this far. I think we all have dreams and fantasies of the life experiences we want to have, but few of us manage to fulfill all of these dreams simply because we lack planning. Now, to be fair, I have always been keen on making lists and setting dates for when I want to accomplish my goals, but one thing I have learned is that a list alone won't do it. Sure, it's helpful to have a guide, but it's only as effective as the person who carries out the steps. All too often I have become impatient and wanted to move forward too quickly and I think this was the cause of many of my early failures. I have found that there needs to be a balance between giving yourself adequate time to progress versus simply waiting too long and letting opportunities pass you by. Planning out my trip to Spain has been a learning process, and thankfully I have had help along the way in planning it all out. Without some assistance, I think it would have fallen apart just like many of my other ideas.
I had set a goal of purchasing the plane ticket in October. I was hoping by then the prices would be low and I would have saved ample cash to go ahead and buy it. Of course, October was still months away when I set that goal and I watched as the prices fluctuated up and down. Sure, I was hoping to find a great deal, but from the very beginning of planning this trip I had an idea in mind of what the ticket was going to cost me. Well, just this week the prices went up and down like crazy and I finally decided I had to jump at the opportunity. The price was actually a bit lower than I had planned on spending, but slightly higher than I had seen it previously. Well, I couldn't make any more excuses. Waiting until October was just another chance to fail in my trip. Buying the ticket this week would solidify my trip and finally make this dream of mine reality. And a reality it now is.
Originally, the trip was planned for May of 2016, not 2015. In my mind, I needed two years to prepare myself both psychologically and financially to go across the sea, when in truth, two years simply gave me enough time to find excuses not to take the trip. A lot can happen in two years and it would have been very easy to use any little event to discourage me from going. A year of planning is a safe goal. It makes saving enough money a realistic possibility while at the same time keeping the idea fresh in your mind so you don't lose your motivation to go. Now that it's official, I am aching to set sail! Buying the ticket was another part of the process that took careful planning and making the right choice as to when to buy.
Balancing our steps isn't always easy, but it's necessary in order to succeed. I think I found the right balance of being patient and still moving forward and thanks to my discovery, my dream of traveling to Spain is now going to be a reality!
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Overcoming It
Despite my recently discovered courage to try new things and take on new adventures, I still have plenty of moments of doubt and fear. Just yesterday, for reasons unknown, I started to panic and think about all the negative things that could happen to me during my trip to Spain. Thoughts of being robbed, getting lost, or simply being absolutely miserable crept into my mind and I started asking myself why I was planning this trip in the first place. It's going to cost me a lot of money. It could even potentially cost me my job if I am not careful. What if I come back and have no job, no money left over, and suddenly no place to live? All of these thoughts were charging through my brain and I began to wonder if it was all worthwhile. I have lived comfortably and safely for thirty-three years. I wake up in a safe bed every morning, I drive my little car to my simple job, and I earn a paycheck that lets me spend lazy Saturdays at Starbucks or occasionally see a Thursday night movie with friends. That's not so bad, right? That's a pretty calm and comfortable life, free of worry or panic. No reason to complain, right? WRONG.
For far too long I have convinced myself that safer is better and I allowed my fear of the world to keep me locked away in my tight little bubble. Sure, I had my friends and family to keep me company but even my friends have traveled a bit, even if only within the confines of The United States. Two of my siblings have traveled abroad and my youngest brother has been to the West Coast. I have only traveled as far as Florida and to be honest, I didn't really take advantage of my time there. Spending a month in Spain is going to be incredible. Even if it rains every day, I will find new things, new places, new opportunities to be an entirely different person and see the world from an entirely new angle. If I continue to allow my subconscious to control my actions, I will never experience life. I want to live, not just be alive!
Were it not for speaking Spanish I probably would have allowed my brain to prevent me from ever traveling anywhere in the world. I am thankful that my obsession for speaking a second language has granted me the confidence to take chances in my life. Sure, there is still that fear that I will get to Spain and my brain will freeze and suddenly all that vocabulary I have studied will be for nothing, but I have to overcome this ridiculous notion and have confidence in my abilities. I have to have confidence in myself! We all have fears but we all have the ability to conquer our fears as well. What fears are you overcoming to better your life? Is language learning a part of that? Let me know and we can talk soon!
Also, if you like my blog, maybe you could check this out!
For far too long I have convinced myself that safer is better and I allowed my fear of the world to keep me locked away in my tight little bubble. Sure, I had my friends and family to keep me company but even my friends have traveled a bit, even if only within the confines of The United States. Two of my siblings have traveled abroad and my youngest brother has been to the West Coast. I have only traveled as far as Florida and to be honest, I didn't really take advantage of my time there. Spending a month in Spain is going to be incredible. Even if it rains every day, I will find new things, new places, new opportunities to be an entirely different person and see the world from an entirely new angle. If I continue to allow my subconscious to control my actions, I will never experience life. I want to live, not just be alive!
Were it not for speaking Spanish I probably would have allowed my brain to prevent me from ever traveling anywhere in the world. I am thankful that my obsession for speaking a second language has granted me the confidence to take chances in my life. Sure, there is still that fear that I will get to Spain and my brain will freeze and suddenly all that vocabulary I have studied will be for nothing, but I have to overcome this ridiculous notion and have confidence in my abilities. I have to have confidence in myself! We all have fears but we all have the ability to conquer our fears as well. What fears are you overcoming to better your life? Is language learning a part of that? Let me know and we can talk soon!
Also, if you like my blog, maybe you could check this out!
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Jumping In The Deep End
Officially, I've been studying Spanish since the Summer of 2008, but I have been surrounded by the language nearly my whole life. I took classes in high school and even before that I always had access to Spanish television on cable. I worked with Spanish speakers in my very first job and it was here that my passion for the language developed but when I look back on my early days of working, I see how many opportunities I really missed because I was too timid to talk.
Even to this day, confidence plays a huge role in being able to speak Spanish. I often realize, sometimes too late, that I actually know more than I give myself credit for and will many times shy away from speaking not because I don't know how to say something, but because there is that lingering doubt that maybe, just maybe, I'm not going to say the right thing. Fear in language learning is a silly thing and I attribute a great deal of the fear we feel to the way we are taught languages in school. Like every other subject we face, our language classes are based on a pass/fail grading system. I may very well have been able to carry on a conversation with ease even as far back as my days in high school, but because I was constantly being graded on using the correct verb tense or placing the accent mark over the proper vowel, my overall score wasn't nearly as high as I would have liked and it made me feel as if I wasn't successful in learning. This "failure" at learning left me feeling like I didn't really know the language and for that I didn't want to sound silly attempting to talk to native speakers. Although I may not know the solution to how we can improve our language learning classes, I will say that the way it is done now is simply not effective.
If I had the chance to go back and talk to my teenage self, I would tell myself to just talk. Jump right in and speak. Don't be afraid to use the present tense instead of the preterit, and don't worry if you use the "tu" form instead of the "usted" form. Sure, foreign language can be intimidating, but we can't just dip our toes in the water and hope for the best. If we're going to be successful, we need to jump in the deep end right from the start and learn to swim as we go. I've read countless forum posts debating the value of studying grammar first or memorizing hundreds of vocabulary words before ever uttering your first phrase. Now, I suppose if you're learning a foreign language for academic reasons, then by all means, study that grammar, but if you're like me, trying to simply learn how to talk to other people, who cares if you know why you say it that way as long as you know it's right, or even close enough.
Look, I am a perfectionist when it comes to my hobbies. When I first started out, I bought every book, studied every vocabulary word, hammered home every verb tense in an effort to be a Spanish speaking machine. I didn't just want to speak Spanish, I wanted to be a walking Spanish dictionary. Then it hit me. What's the point? Most of the Spanish speakers I come across will be just like me when it comes to English. Sure, I'm fluent in English, but that doesn't mean I am a walking dictionary or thesaurus. In fact, when it comes to English grammar, I struggle mightily, but that doesn't stop me from writing these endless blog posts!
We have to get over our fear and realize in the real world, outside academia, no one is judging us on how we speak. OK, no one wants to sound ignorant, which is why we ask for help along the way, but I would much rather learn as I go by talking with live people than sit at home with a grammar book all day long, never interacting with anyone. So do it. Jump in the deep end and start talking. Make mistakes. Sound silly. Ignore all those people who tell you you'll never get it. I think you'll find great satisfaction in the conversations you have.
Even to this day, confidence plays a huge role in being able to speak Spanish. I often realize, sometimes too late, that I actually know more than I give myself credit for and will many times shy away from speaking not because I don't know how to say something, but because there is that lingering doubt that maybe, just maybe, I'm not going to say the right thing. Fear in language learning is a silly thing and I attribute a great deal of the fear we feel to the way we are taught languages in school. Like every other subject we face, our language classes are based on a pass/fail grading system. I may very well have been able to carry on a conversation with ease even as far back as my days in high school, but because I was constantly being graded on using the correct verb tense or placing the accent mark over the proper vowel, my overall score wasn't nearly as high as I would have liked and it made me feel as if I wasn't successful in learning. This "failure" at learning left me feeling like I didn't really know the language and for that I didn't want to sound silly attempting to talk to native speakers. Although I may not know the solution to how we can improve our language learning classes, I will say that the way it is done now is simply not effective.
If I had the chance to go back and talk to my teenage self, I would tell myself to just talk. Jump right in and speak. Don't be afraid to use the present tense instead of the preterit, and don't worry if you use the "tu" form instead of the "usted" form. Sure, foreign language can be intimidating, but we can't just dip our toes in the water and hope for the best. If we're going to be successful, we need to jump in the deep end right from the start and learn to swim as we go. I've read countless forum posts debating the value of studying grammar first or memorizing hundreds of vocabulary words before ever uttering your first phrase. Now, I suppose if you're learning a foreign language for academic reasons, then by all means, study that grammar, but if you're like me, trying to simply learn how to talk to other people, who cares if you know why you say it that way as long as you know it's right, or even close enough.
Look, I am a perfectionist when it comes to my hobbies. When I first started out, I bought every book, studied every vocabulary word, hammered home every verb tense in an effort to be a Spanish speaking machine. I didn't just want to speak Spanish, I wanted to be a walking Spanish dictionary. Then it hit me. What's the point? Most of the Spanish speakers I come across will be just like me when it comes to English. Sure, I'm fluent in English, but that doesn't mean I am a walking dictionary or thesaurus. In fact, when it comes to English grammar, I struggle mightily, but that doesn't stop me from writing these endless blog posts!
We have to get over our fear and realize in the real world, outside academia, no one is judging us on how we speak. OK, no one wants to sound ignorant, which is why we ask for help along the way, but I would much rather learn as I go by talking with live people than sit at home with a grammar book all day long, never interacting with anyone. So do it. Jump in the deep end and start talking. Make mistakes. Sound silly. Ignore all those people who tell you you'll never get it. I think you'll find great satisfaction in the conversations you have.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Changing How You See Yourself
Anyone who has known me for more than say a day or so would probably describe me as a fairly quiet, rather tame individual who leans towards the more serious side than playful side on most occasions. While I am not always proud of it, I tend to be rather shy in social settings and gravitate away from the center of attention. It's not that I don't like to have fun or that I don't enjoy being around people, it's just that I am not always comfortable in the limelight. It's something I have been working on changing about who I am, but it's not always easy to simply change the person you have been since birth. Then again, what if you give birth to a new you?
OK, that sounds a little silly, and maybe even a little contradictory, but hear me out. I've noticed that as my level of fluency in Spanish has grown, so has my so-called Spanish personality. No, I don't jump out of a phone booth wearing a Mariachi hat nor do I suddenly start dancing the tango when I attempt to speak Spanish with a native speaker, however I do find that some of my actions and even the phrases I use are slightly uncharacteristic of the me who only speaks English. I didn't notice it immediately, but I found I felt much more daring or even risque when joking with some of my Spanish speaking employees. When I finally did see how my Spanish personality acted, I decided to sit down and figure out why it was I could suddenly liven up the room when using Spanish but I still hid in the shadows when speaking English.
First, and foremost, without a doubt, confidence plays a huge role in all of this. I may only know 25% of the Spanish language, compared to what I may know in English, so when I attempt to converse with a native speaker and all goes well, my confidence shoots through the roof. I get an adrenaline rush from my success and feel like I'm on top of the world. Suddenly, my jokes are funny, the ladies find me attractive, and I can order my burritos with extra hot sauce. I wish it were this simple when it came to speaking English, but unfortunately, I'm not breaking any new ground when I speak in my native language.
Getting that surge of confidence allows me to take a chance to try to say things in Spanish that maybe I'm not 100% sure about. Sure, I still make a lot of mistakes, but when I see that I am being understood, I just want to keep talking. I suppose the opposite is true if I really start stumbling along but usually once I get going, it's hard to stop. Of course that leads me to my other discovery. Sometimes, knowing less is actually more helpful. In English, I always want to say the perfect thing and often that leads me to hesitate when I speak or simply not speak at all. Any native English speaker knows there are a million different ways to say so many things. Well, since my vocabulary in Spanish is quite condensed, I only know how to say a lot of things in one way. To a native speaker I may sound silly, but to me, I'm getting my point across. I may not sound quite like my eloquent English speaking self when I am speaking Spanish, which I've decided just adds a little to my Spanish speaking personality.
Instead of worrying that I don't know enough or that I won't be understood, I have allowed myself to be comfortable using what I do know and that has really freed up my personality to come out and express itself a bit. As I said, it's a shame I can't do the same in English, but I'm working on it. In the meantime, I'll continue exploring the Spanish side of me and maybe someday it will teach the original me how to have some fun!
I'd love to know more about anyone else's foreign language personalities and if they have helped you come along as a second language speaker or even if it has helped your native speaking self! Keep me posted and I'll add more soon.
OK, that sounds a little silly, and maybe even a little contradictory, but hear me out. I've noticed that as my level of fluency in Spanish has grown, so has my so-called Spanish personality. No, I don't jump out of a phone booth wearing a Mariachi hat nor do I suddenly start dancing the tango when I attempt to speak Spanish with a native speaker, however I do find that some of my actions and even the phrases I use are slightly uncharacteristic of the me who only speaks English. I didn't notice it immediately, but I found I felt much more daring or even risque when joking with some of my Spanish speaking employees. When I finally did see how my Spanish personality acted, I decided to sit down and figure out why it was I could suddenly liven up the room when using Spanish but I still hid in the shadows when speaking English.
First, and foremost, without a doubt, confidence plays a huge role in all of this. I may only know 25% of the Spanish language, compared to what I may know in English, so when I attempt to converse with a native speaker and all goes well, my confidence shoots through the roof. I get an adrenaline rush from my success and feel like I'm on top of the world. Suddenly, my jokes are funny, the ladies find me attractive, and I can order my burritos with extra hot sauce. I wish it were this simple when it came to speaking English, but unfortunately, I'm not breaking any new ground when I speak in my native language.
Getting that surge of confidence allows me to take a chance to try to say things in Spanish that maybe I'm not 100% sure about. Sure, I still make a lot of mistakes, but when I see that I am being understood, I just want to keep talking. I suppose the opposite is true if I really start stumbling along but usually once I get going, it's hard to stop. Of course that leads me to my other discovery. Sometimes, knowing less is actually more helpful. In English, I always want to say the perfect thing and often that leads me to hesitate when I speak or simply not speak at all. Any native English speaker knows there are a million different ways to say so many things. Well, since my vocabulary in Spanish is quite condensed, I only know how to say a lot of things in one way. To a native speaker I may sound silly, but to me, I'm getting my point across. I may not sound quite like my eloquent English speaking self when I am speaking Spanish, which I've decided just adds a little to my Spanish speaking personality.
Instead of worrying that I don't know enough or that I won't be understood, I have allowed myself to be comfortable using what I do know and that has really freed up my personality to come out and express itself a bit. As I said, it's a shame I can't do the same in English, but I'm working on it. In the meantime, I'll continue exploring the Spanish side of me and maybe someday it will teach the original me how to have some fun!
I'd love to know more about anyone else's foreign language personalities and if they have helped you come along as a second language speaker or even if it has helped your native speaking self! Keep me posted and I'll add more soon.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
To Vlog or Not To Vlog
One way I have been told is an excellent way to improve your speaking skills in a foreign language when you don't have a language partner to practice with is to make a video blog of yourself speaking in your target language. When I first came across this idea, I was so excited to give it a try, I ran out and bought a handheld video camera and started outlying all the various themes I was going to discuss. I was so inspired to get going, I forgot one small detail. I charged the camera, set up a spot in my kitchen to practice, and pressed record. Then came the silence. I had never been comfortable in the spotlight and suddenly I was facing a camera, recording my every move. I froze and had absolutely nothing to say. I quickly paused the recording and went back to the drawing board. My original plan had been to speak "off the cuff" with only a few notes to keep me on track, but I found myself stumbling over my words, forgetting what I wanted to say, or conjugating things entirely wrong. My next plan was to script it all out in advance and read it like a speech. The problem with this was that it took me so long to write out the script, by the time I was ready to record, I was tired and had lost the desire to go through with it. Needless to say, I have a nice camcorder here in my kitchen that has only been used a handful of times since purchasing it last fall.
I did manage to make a few short video clips on the days I was really feeling ambitious, however I feel so awkward watching recordings of myself, I hid them away and never really critiqued them as is the purpose. I'd really like to try again, especially before I leave for Spain. I want to make a documentary style video of my trip, recording myself having conversations with people I come across in Madrid and Valencia. In addition, I wanted to have a collection of "before and after" style videos to chronicle my progress, but as the days creep by, I fear it will soon be time to depart and I won't have much more than a few short clips of me reading my blog entries.
Facing a camera is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. In fact, despite my shyness, I am more comfortable talking to a total stranger than I am in talking on my own to a camera. Something about being able to go back and see the mistakes I make is unnerving. Certainly, we've all had moments like this when it comes to using the language we are studying or simply putting ourselves in a position of awkwardness that we have to overcome. If anyone has any suggestions as to how I can get over my timidness towards my camera, I'd love to hear them. I'm certainly not looking to go pro, but it would be nice to have a video to show my friends and family when I come home. Feel free to share your ideas here with me and perhaps we can work this out together!
I did manage to make a few short video clips on the days I was really feeling ambitious, however I feel so awkward watching recordings of myself, I hid them away and never really critiqued them as is the purpose. I'd really like to try again, especially before I leave for Spain. I want to make a documentary style video of my trip, recording myself having conversations with people I come across in Madrid and Valencia. In addition, I wanted to have a collection of "before and after" style videos to chronicle my progress, but as the days creep by, I fear it will soon be time to depart and I won't have much more than a few short clips of me reading my blog entries.
Facing a camera is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. In fact, despite my shyness, I am more comfortable talking to a total stranger than I am in talking on my own to a camera. Something about being able to go back and see the mistakes I make is unnerving. Certainly, we've all had moments like this when it comes to using the language we are studying or simply putting ourselves in a position of awkwardness that we have to overcome. If anyone has any suggestions as to how I can get over my timidness towards my camera, I'd love to hear them. I'm certainly not looking to go pro, but it would be nice to have a video to show my friends and family when I come home. Feel free to share your ideas here with me and perhaps we can work this out together!
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Moving Beyond Beginner
When it comes to learning Spanish, or basically any other language known to man, the internet has become a treasure trove of information. I would say anyone with a strong desire to learn could get themselves well past the "beginner stage" of language learning without spending a dime thanks to all the great free sites out there. When I first dove into Spanish, I spent hours Googling every resource I could find, and I must say, I was fairly successful. Sure, I like to possess my learning materials, so while I probably did spend more money than I should have I can still say that doesn't have to be your road to success. That is, if you are only looking to get past the beginner stage. Unfortunately, one road block I have found in my journey is one I am sure many of you have come across as well. What do you do when asking "Where is the bathroom?" may be the only phrase you can readily pull from your repertoire? You can order your meal at the local restaurant, but what about having a conversation with the waiter that goes beyond asking for more napkins? I can tell you again and again how many brothers and sisters I have, but what if I want to talk about their personalities? I have read time and time again about the plateaus we reach but I have yet to discover a truly successful learning path to take once we are past the basics in order to keep climbing. I mean, I guess we can always force feed ourselves more vocabulary and try our hand at more verb conjugations, but let's face it. That's just boring. If you're like me, you want to TALK, not just memorize boring vocabulary.
When I was first learning all the various ways to conjugate Spanish verbs I kept myself busy by playing games that challenged me to conjugate verbs and phrases as fast as I could. It was fun and now I have a pretty solid grasp on all the various Spanish verb forms, and I even go back and review every now and then, but the only comparison I can make is that I feel like a high school student being forced to go back to elementary school. Sure, I am reviewing the basics and if I only want to have very remedial conversations it's a great thing to do, but I want to talk about sports, politics, that cute girl sitting at the end of the bar. I'm not learning how to do any of that if I can only say, "Hi, my name is James. I live in an apartment and have blonde hair." I mean, really is this how we introduce ourselves?
So what do we do to get past the basics? How do we transform a set of rote phrases into the ability to really converse in the language we want to converse in? I know many people are going to start shouting Skype, Skype, Skype, and I agree, I think Skype is a great tool, BUT Skype alone isn't going to teach you how to converse. It will certainly allow you to practice the skills you have, and surely you'll improve those skills, but even a true language teacher isn't going to be able to offer you a complete package like that. You'd basically be asking them to teach you how to be fluent. That's a tall order to fill.
For me, my solution has been my Spanish blog, which I have been working on since 2010. Unfortunately, it doesn't directly improve my speaking ability, although I do on occasion read my entries aloud to myself as means of practicing. This helps my pronunciation a bit, but in a real life situation, you aren't likely to have a script to hold in front of you as you go. In fact, one of my biggest challenges has been being able to respond to someone in Spanish when they catch me off guard with a topic I may not be too familiar with and I'm not ready to respond. One advantage of the blog however is that it gives me time to think of phrases I may actually use in everyday conversation and then I go look them up and add it to my vocabulary. It's been slow going, but I do feel having the blog is better than nothing, but I would really like to find resources out there that address moving past the intermediate stages and into the more advanced stuff. If anyone knows of any great advanced learning sites, I'd love to hear about them. I'm planning on compiling a list of my favorite sites and I'll be sure to take any suggestions I receive into consideration.
So really, what ways have you found to move past the beginner stage? I've got a few ideas floating around my head but I'd like to hear from some other folks first. Let me know and we can start progressing together.
When I was first learning all the various ways to conjugate Spanish verbs I kept myself busy by playing games that challenged me to conjugate verbs and phrases as fast as I could. It was fun and now I have a pretty solid grasp on all the various Spanish verb forms, and I even go back and review every now and then, but the only comparison I can make is that I feel like a high school student being forced to go back to elementary school. Sure, I am reviewing the basics and if I only want to have very remedial conversations it's a great thing to do, but I want to talk about sports, politics, that cute girl sitting at the end of the bar. I'm not learning how to do any of that if I can only say, "Hi, my name is James. I live in an apartment and have blonde hair." I mean, really is this how we introduce ourselves?
So what do we do to get past the basics? How do we transform a set of rote phrases into the ability to really converse in the language we want to converse in? I know many people are going to start shouting Skype, Skype, Skype, and I agree, I think Skype is a great tool, BUT Skype alone isn't going to teach you how to converse. It will certainly allow you to practice the skills you have, and surely you'll improve those skills, but even a true language teacher isn't going to be able to offer you a complete package like that. You'd basically be asking them to teach you how to be fluent. That's a tall order to fill.
For me, my solution has been my Spanish blog, which I have been working on since 2010. Unfortunately, it doesn't directly improve my speaking ability, although I do on occasion read my entries aloud to myself as means of practicing. This helps my pronunciation a bit, but in a real life situation, you aren't likely to have a script to hold in front of you as you go. In fact, one of my biggest challenges has been being able to respond to someone in Spanish when they catch me off guard with a topic I may not be too familiar with and I'm not ready to respond. One advantage of the blog however is that it gives me time to think of phrases I may actually use in everyday conversation and then I go look them up and add it to my vocabulary. It's been slow going, but I do feel having the blog is better than nothing, but I would really like to find resources out there that address moving past the intermediate stages and into the more advanced stuff. If anyone knows of any great advanced learning sites, I'd love to hear about them. I'm planning on compiling a list of my favorite sites and I'll be sure to take any suggestions I receive into consideration.
So really, what ways have you found to move past the beginner stage? I've got a few ideas floating around my head but I'd like to hear from some other folks first. Let me know and we can start progressing together.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
New Friends In New Places
Before I truly dedicated myself to learning Spanish, the program Skype held little appeal to me. I had grown up in the land of chat rooms and instant messaging way back in the 90's and felt they had run their course. When I started looking for ways to improve my communication skills, however, I quickly discovered how useful a program like Skype can be. I can't say exactly how long I have been using the program, but I can say that every one of my Skype friends are native Spanish speakers and none of them live in The United States. Were it not for Skype or other similar chat based programs, I don't know that I ever would have made the progress I have made in speaking Spanish.
This realization brought about another interesting thought to my mind. A monolingual person would likely only have friends who speak the same language as them. That seems logical, right? Well, being at the very least bilingual opens the doors to make many new friends. According to Wikipedia, there are roughly 21 countries in the world in which Spanish is the dominant language. Thanks to Skype, and thanks to my efforts in speaking Spanish, I can potentially make friends in 21 countries in which that wouldn't have been possible were I to only speak English. That's literally MILLIONS of potential friends I would never have had the chance to make were I monolingual.
OK, maybe this is a bit of an exaggeration, but the fact is, speaking multiple languages allows you to meet so many new and interesting people. While I once dabbled in learning additional languages (Italian, French, and Portuguese) I backed off after a few months of studying and made my focus Spanish only, at least until I felt totally comfortable speaking in Spanish without having to fall back on English. I'm not quite there, but the thought has once again popped into my brain, and I can only imagine how my friend list would explode were I to start chatting in Italian, French, and Portuguese. I find it incredible how easy it is to meet new people simply by saying I am an English speaker who is learning Spanish. So many people are eager to talk with me, I honestly can't always respond to them all at once.
My upcoming trip to Spain has inspired me to start thinking about other potential adventures and I started thinking about how great it would be not only to visit each of those 21 different Spanish speaking countries, but to have a Skype friend in each one to potentially meet in person. Sure, 21 countries is a lot of travelling, but to meet at least 21 new friends all over the world would be quite a feat. Right now, I just need to focus on meeting my friends in Spain.
So how has language learning changed your friendship status? Have you found people near and far to help you practice? Does having friends help keep you on pace with your learning? I like to offer challenges to some of my Spanish speaking friends, such as to write 50 words or more in English for me to read next time we chat. Do you think language competitions will help you buckle down and study a little harder? Let me know your thoughts and experiences!
This realization brought about another interesting thought to my mind. A monolingual person would likely only have friends who speak the same language as them. That seems logical, right? Well, being at the very least bilingual opens the doors to make many new friends. According to Wikipedia, there are roughly 21 countries in the world in which Spanish is the dominant language. Thanks to Skype, and thanks to my efforts in speaking Spanish, I can potentially make friends in 21 countries in which that wouldn't have been possible were I to only speak English. That's literally MILLIONS of potential friends I would never have had the chance to make were I monolingual.
OK, maybe this is a bit of an exaggeration, but the fact is, speaking multiple languages allows you to meet so many new and interesting people. While I once dabbled in learning additional languages (Italian, French, and Portuguese) I backed off after a few months of studying and made my focus Spanish only, at least until I felt totally comfortable speaking in Spanish without having to fall back on English. I'm not quite there, but the thought has once again popped into my brain, and I can only imagine how my friend list would explode were I to start chatting in Italian, French, and Portuguese. I find it incredible how easy it is to meet new people simply by saying I am an English speaker who is learning Spanish. So many people are eager to talk with me, I honestly can't always respond to them all at once.
My upcoming trip to Spain has inspired me to start thinking about other potential adventures and I started thinking about how great it would be not only to visit each of those 21 different Spanish speaking countries, but to have a Skype friend in each one to potentially meet in person. Sure, 21 countries is a lot of travelling, but to meet at least 21 new friends all over the world would be quite a feat. Right now, I just need to focus on meeting my friends in Spain.
So how has language learning changed your friendship status? Have you found people near and far to help you practice? Does having friends help keep you on pace with your learning? I like to offer challenges to some of my Spanish speaking friends, such as to write 50 words or more in English for me to read next time we chat. Do you think language competitions will help you buckle down and study a little harder? Let me know your thoughts and experiences!
Saturday, June 21, 2014
The Trip To Spain
The idea came to me mostly as a lark last November. I had often said in passing that I would like to see another country but I had never made any real attempts at actually going through with it. The "old" me was very good at talking the talk but never walking the walk. I would say all kinds of things to my friends only to back out at the last minute. One day I let it slip out that I would like to see Spain someday, not with the intention of going on vacation, but rather to spend time there totally immersed in the language. I had become frustrated with my progress in speaking the language despite becoming rather good at reading and writing. If you don't believe me, check out my blog written entirely in Spanish! My one struggle was still with speaking confidently. While I do not subscribe to the notion that one must live in a foreign country in order to learn the language, I did feel dropping myself in the middle of Spain would force me to speak the language and therefore increase my proficiency. That being said, there was a lot more going on in my head besides simply going to Spain.
I'm 33 years old and I have never left the country. In fact, I have never done much of anything daring. I allowed myself to become content with a life that was fairly plain and uninteresting. I made excuses not to do things and found myself often hidden inside a shell, afraid to face the world around me. Around the same time the idea of travelling to Spain bubbled up inside my thoughts, I had reached a low point in my life. I was unhappy with who I was and who I had allowed myself to become. Those around me saw me as a grumpy, rigid, unhappy person. Instead of countering those notions, I let it define who I was and it brought me into a deep depression. Thankfully, I saw what was happening and through a series of events, I climbed my way out. Part of my resurrection came when I decided to make the trip to Spain a reality instead of a fantasy. Going to Spain became more about challenging who I was and who I wanted to be. It was about more than taking a vacation. It was about putting myself in the most uncomfortable position I have ever been in and telling myself that I can do this. Originally, I planned on making the trip immediately after my 35th birthday in 2016, but thanks to some wonderful inspiration I have decided to go in May of 2015. I will spend the entire month in Spain, dividing my time between Madrid and Valencia and my goal is not to speak Spanish, rather it is to NOT speak English. You see, speaking Spanish is easy enough, but I can always fall back on English. If I make the goal to not use a single word of English, it forces me to find other means of communication.
There are so many other factors that are going to play into this trip. I used to say I was afraid to fly. Well, there aren't too many ways to reach Spain from The United States without a plane. I am quiet in social crowds. If I am going to improve my speaking skills, I'm going to have to talk, and I imagine it will be uncomfortable for me to start conversations with total strangers, especially those who don't speak English. Despite living alone, I have never been comfortable going places on my own where I don't know people. I am fairly certain I do not know a single person in Spain. This trip is about so much more than seeing a foreign country. This trip is about challenging myself and every aspect of who I am.
So what I want to know is how those of you out there have used a new language to overcome any fears or reservations about life you may have? Has speaking a new language offered you the confidence to do things you wouldn't have otherwise done? I still have months to prepare for my trip and it has given me a new reason to wake up with a smile on my face every morning. How about you? Let me know and I'll be sure to add more here soon.
I'm 33 years old and I have never left the country. In fact, I have never done much of anything daring. I allowed myself to become content with a life that was fairly plain and uninteresting. I made excuses not to do things and found myself often hidden inside a shell, afraid to face the world around me. Around the same time the idea of travelling to Spain bubbled up inside my thoughts, I had reached a low point in my life. I was unhappy with who I was and who I had allowed myself to become. Those around me saw me as a grumpy, rigid, unhappy person. Instead of countering those notions, I let it define who I was and it brought me into a deep depression. Thankfully, I saw what was happening and through a series of events, I climbed my way out. Part of my resurrection came when I decided to make the trip to Spain a reality instead of a fantasy. Going to Spain became more about challenging who I was and who I wanted to be. It was about more than taking a vacation. It was about putting myself in the most uncomfortable position I have ever been in and telling myself that I can do this. Originally, I planned on making the trip immediately after my 35th birthday in 2016, but thanks to some wonderful inspiration I have decided to go in May of 2015. I will spend the entire month in Spain, dividing my time between Madrid and Valencia and my goal is not to speak Spanish, rather it is to NOT speak English. You see, speaking Spanish is easy enough, but I can always fall back on English. If I make the goal to not use a single word of English, it forces me to find other means of communication.
There are so many other factors that are going to play into this trip. I used to say I was afraid to fly. Well, there aren't too many ways to reach Spain from The United States without a plane. I am quiet in social crowds. If I am going to improve my speaking skills, I'm going to have to talk, and I imagine it will be uncomfortable for me to start conversations with total strangers, especially those who don't speak English. Despite living alone, I have never been comfortable going places on my own where I don't know people. I am fairly certain I do not know a single person in Spain. This trip is about so much more than seeing a foreign country. This trip is about challenging myself and every aspect of who I am.
So what I want to know is how those of you out there have used a new language to overcome any fears or reservations about life you may have? Has speaking a new language offered you the confidence to do things you wouldn't have otherwise done? I still have months to prepare for my trip and it has given me a new reason to wake up with a smile on my face every morning. How about you? Let me know and I'll be sure to add more here soon.
It Has To Start Somewhere
My name is James, and as you may already know, I have a small obsession with speaking Spanish. I've been hanging about Google+ since its inception, but never really found my calling when it came to involving myself in the Google community; that is, until now. While there are truckloads of pages devoted to language learning and just as many devoted to self-improvement, I am not so sure there are all that many associated with using foreign language acquisition as a means of self-improvement. Well, OK, maybe they exist, but I haven't found them, and this was an idea I had the other night, so I decided to run with it.
I thought it best in my first entry to offer a little background of who I am and what brought me here today. Also, I thought it might be nice to give you an idea of how I would like to run this blog so you know what to expect. First of all, a little about me.
Like many students throughout the world, years ago I was forced to learn a foreign language in high school. It was dull, it was confusing, and it was in no way helpful in learning how to communicate with other people. I learned the most basic phrases and spent most of my time trying to learn the most common Spanish swear words. Once I graduated, I mostly forgot what little I had learned. That was until I was confronted with a reason to actually speak the language. You see, I work with a lot of Spanish speaking people and I found it a little uncomfortable to see such a divide among the English speaking employees and the Spanish speaking employees. Some time around 2008, I decided to refresh my memory and start talking with the Spanish speaking members of the staff. I made a promise to them that June that in three months I would be able to communicate with them conversationally. Today, nearly six years later, I am still learning, but I am proud to say I have really impressed them with my progress and have reached a point where I can discuss almost any topic in Spanish without feeling totally lost in the conversation. I'm not perfect and I still have a lot of progress to be made, but it has opened up a new world for me.
That brings me to the second part of this blog. Speaking Spanish has not only made it easier for me to speak to my employees, but it has given me new found confidence in myself. I have always been a shy person and often times avoided talking for fear of embarrassment. I'm not entirely sure what it is about Spanish, but I get a tremendous high anytime I can talk with another Spanish speaker and feel like we understand one another perfectly. I watch my favorite movies in Spanish and I read some of the best novels in Spanish. Learning a second language has truly enriched my life, and I decided I wanted to start this blog as a way to share my experiences as well as learn from others who have found such pleasure in a new language. I'm going to attempt to write it both in English and in Spanish, but I have also included the Google Translate button for anyone who wants to read along in any language. I welcome comments and stories of both success and failure when it comes to learning a foreign language, because anyone who has attempted to learn a new language knows all too well the struggles that come with it. I'm creating this blog in the hopes of inspiring others to fulfill some of their life's dreams and it doesn't necessarily have to be through a new language. It just so happens that's how it worked out for me.
My plan is simple, but to be honest, I haven't looked all that far down the road. I am hoping to structure these entries around the responses I get from others, but I will of course use this page as a way to share my experiences and offer my thoughts. I hope to make some new friends along the way, so if you're interested, jump on board, because away we go.
I thought it best in my first entry to offer a little background of who I am and what brought me here today. Also, I thought it might be nice to give you an idea of how I would like to run this blog so you know what to expect. First of all, a little about me.
Like many students throughout the world, years ago I was forced to learn a foreign language in high school. It was dull, it was confusing, and it was in no way helpful in learning how to communicate with other people. I learned the most basic phrases and spent most of my time trying to learn the most common Spanish swear words. Once I graduated, I mostly forgot what little I had learned. That was until I was confronted with a reason to actually speak the language. You see, I work with a lot of Spanish speaking people and I found it a little uncomfortable to see such a divide among the English speaking employees and the Spanish speaking employees. Some time around 2008, I decided to refresh my memory and start talking with the Spanish speaking members of the staff. I made a promise to them that June that in three months I would be able to communicate with them conversationally. Today, nearly six years later, I am still learning, but I am proud to say I have really impressed them with my progress and have reached a point where I can discuss almost any topic in Spanish without feeling totally lost in the conversation. I'm not perfect and I still have a lot of progress to be made, but it has opened up a new world for me.
That brings me to the second part of this blog. Speaking Spanish has not only made it easier for me to speak to my employees, but it has given me new found confidence in myself. I have always been a shy person and often times avoided talking for fear of embarrassment. I'm not entirely sure what it is about Spanish, but I get a tremendous high anytime I can talk with another Spanish speaker and feel like we understand one another perfectly. I watch my favorite movies in Spanish and I read some of the best novels in Spanish. Learning a second language has truly enriched my life, and I decided I wanted to start this blog as a way to share my experiences as well as learn from others who have found such pleasure in a new language. I'm going to attempt to write it both in English and in Spanish, but I have also included the Google Translate button for anyone who wants to read along in any language. I welcome comments and stories of both success and failure when it comes to learning a foreign language, because anyone who has attempted to learn a new language knows all too well the struggles that come with it. I'm creating this blog in the hopes of inspiring others to fulfill some of their life's dreams and it doesn't necessarily have to be through a new language. It just so happens that's how it worked out for me.
My plan is simple, but to be honest, I haven't looked all that far down the road. I am hoping to structure these entries around the responses I get from others, but I will of course use this page as a way to share my experiences and offer my thoughts. I hope to make some new friends along the way, so if you're interested, jump on board, because away we go.
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