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When I do stuff I tend to do it obsessively and learning a language is no exception. For language learning I try to surround myself with the language so I'm after ideas for ways to expose myself to Spanish.
So far...
Any others?
- Change my social media settings to Spanish
- Duolingo
- Translating a few lines of "Platero y yo" every night
- Listening to SBS Spanish news podcasts
- Coffee Break Spanish podcasts
- El Tiempo weather app
- Consider weekly night classes next year
- Distance learning course - just need to find a good one!
- Spanish subtitles on English movies
Thanks for the information about the conversation exchange website!Anyone at an intermediate or higher level should consider a conversation exchange with a Spanish speaker. I have used conversationexchange.com for 4 years for my French and I have had good success. Via Skype, 1/2 hour in each language, usually once a week. PM me if you'd like additional tips.
BTW, it's free.
Tom
When I do stuff I tend to do it obsessively and learning a language is no exception. For language learning I try to surround myself with the language so I'm after ideas for ways to expose myself to Spanish.
So far...
Any others?
- Change my social media settings to Spanish
- Duolingo
- Translating a few lines of "Platero y yo" every night
- Listening to SBS Spanish news podcasts
- Coffee Break Spanish podcasts
- El Tiempo weather app
- Consider weekly night classes next year
- Distance learning course - just need to find a good one!
- Spanish subtitles on English movies
Any others?
- Spanish subtitles on English movies
I took a year of Beginning Spanish at the local state college before I left for my Camino. I just registered for Intermediate Spanish 1 in the spring. Year 1 the focus has been on vocabulary, and grammar. I guess you have to be able to walk before you can run. Much of the homework required writing (formulating sentences and progressed to paragraphs or very short essays). The writing component forced the use of the grammar. We would speak in small work groups, but we were learning Spanish and our pronunciation etc. was not the best but we did get a little practice.Anyone at an intermediate or higher level should consider a conversation exchange with a Spanish speaker. I have used conversationexchange.com for 4 years for my French and I have had good success. Via Skype, 1/2 hour in each language, usually once a week. PM me if you'd like additional tips.
BTW, it's free.
Tom
Sigh. These methods have been proven¹ inefficient for most students, yet many schools/teachers still cling to them stubbornly, perhaps because multiple-choice questions are easier to grade than "ability to communicate." Yet communication is the purpose of language, and the only way to get good at it. I am good at languages (at least I think so, and experience suggests it's true) but after five years of getting top scores on grammar and vocabulary tests, I was unable to communicate in Mexico.Year 1 the focus has been on vocabulary, and grammar. I guess you have to be able to walk before you can run. Much of the homework required writing (formulating sentences and progressed to paragraphs or very short essays). The writing component forced the use of the grammar.
Sounds like you had a better teacher than many folks. But your first post suggests that the overall balance would have been better with more communication and less memorization.@WGroleau I am a newbie to learning a language, and will defer to you. But just wanted to clarify the use of multiple choice questions. There were some multiple choice questions in the homework related to vocabulary, but it was a very small percentage of the overall class (low single digit percentage 1 ~ 2%). There were never any multiple choice questions on the tests or in class work.
There was usually the same sections on each test (there was no use of English on the test in any form):
1) Oral - She would ask a question in Spanish, and we had to write our answer in Spanish.
2) Verb Conjugation - A 1 pager with fill in the blanks with an appropriate conjugated verb. Usually a dialog.
3) Grammar - Sentence construction using a specific grammar component (double object pronoun, etc.) given a set of words as input. Needed to formulate a complete written sentence using the inputs (nouns, verbs, etc.).
4) Reading - Read an article in Spanish, and answer questions in Spanish.
5) Essay - Write a short essay based on the prompt.
The final also included a separate oral interview that was entirely in Spanish.
Sigh. These methods have been proven¹ inefficient for most students, yet many schools/teachers still cling to them stubbornly, perhaps because multiple-choice questions are easier to grade than "ability to communicate." Yet communication is the purpose of language, and the only way to get good at it.
Unfortunately my daughters have to use these inefficient methods in school.Sigh. These methods have been proven¹ inefficient for most students...
Here are for example Spanish news, radio an TV links:... and BBC learning Spanish...
When I do stuff I tend to do it obsessively and learning a language is no exception. For language learning I try to surround myself with the language so I'm after ideas for ways to expose myself to Spanish.
So far...
Any others?
- Change my social media settings to Spanish
- Duolingo
- Translating a few lines of "Platero y yo" every night
- Listening to SBS Spanish news podcasts
- Coffee Break Spanish podcasts
- El Tiempo weather app
- Consider weekly night classes next year
- Distance learning course - just need to find a good one!
- Spanish subtitles on English movies
Has anyone put together a series of sentences that would be a useful reference bank for hospitaleros?
On my last camino I walked from Alcuescar to SdC with a Spanish pilgrim from the Canary Islands. Unfortunately because he normally works in the UK he would lapse into English when I would speak English. He did teach me how to swear and use many words I would not use in polite company.A Spanish boyfriend or girlfriend
Yes, American Pilgrims on the Camino has a list they provide during hospitalero training.Has anyone put together a series of sentences that would be a useful reference bank for hospitaleros?
I heading to Guatemala in February for 6 weeks or so for total immersion. I can read and write decently, but I really need to practice, practice, practice! I'm in upper division Spanish courses at the local university, but I feel that I really need to be a bit more fluent to get the most out of them.
Thanks for sharing your experience!Hi Trecile! Going to Guatemala is a great idea! It's the cheapest (in my experience) immersion option there is, and there are many, many good schools in Antigua, if that's where you're going. I did a month there in 2014 at Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School and really enjoyed both the course, teacher(s), the homestay, and the whole immersion experience. Antigua is a fun little city with a great historic market area downtown, and if you look towards Volcán de Fuego at night you'll likely see fire from the summit cone. Volcán de Agua provides a gorgeous backdrop to the city as well!
One caveat if you've never been to Antigua before....
Since Spanish language teaching is a huge industry there, and English speakers comprise a HUGE percentage of their business, you sometimes have to work to speak Spanish in town, at restaurants, etc since MANY people at places of business speak at least some level of English as well. (This isn't as much of an issue if you go to Quetzaltenango (aka "Xela"). The good news is that the people in Antigua are very used to having Spanish students in their midst, and are always more than willing to help you practice. With good intentions, they might try to "help" you by speaking English, but just ask them politely if they mind if you practice your Spanish. You'll get a smile, a laugh, and a "¡Por supuesto!" It's really a very friendly place, and the people are terrific. I'm sure you'll enjoy your time there as much as I did. ¡Buen viaje!
Or pretend you don't understand English.With good intentions, they might try to "help" you by speaking English, but just ask them politely if they mind if you practice your Spanish.
http://radiolingua.com/2017/12/31-ways-to-make-january-your-best-language-learning-month-ever/ More suggestions for that immersion experience.
I used Babel and spent a week on a Spanish course in Alicante before my last Camino.
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