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!
Showing posts with label shyness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shyness. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
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!
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!
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