Category Archives: #learnspanish

Spanish On The Go

I make the most progress learning Spanish,
not with my nose buried in a book,
nor camped in front of the computer,
nor even by writing copiously (as much as I like to write),
but by conversing with my friends Tuesday nights at Mestizo,
and while walking or bicycling in the neighborhood interacting with Spanish learning programs.

Reading and writing is good, but hearing and speaking seems better … and it is much easier to exercise while hearing and speaking, than it is to exercise while reading and writing.

Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, “The legs are the wheels of creativity.” I take that to mean that exercise improves thinking, and I heartedly agree with that.

You’ve already heard about my preference for Pimsleur, it’s easy to carry that program with me on my iPod or small cassette player while walking or bicycling.

However, today I’d like to share with you my preferred podcast.

If you go to the iTunes store, click on Podcasts, and search for Spanish, you will find several Spanish podcasts available for free. I’ve checked out several of these, but my favorite so far is News in Slow Spanish. The title just about sums it up, this a program that gives you the weekly news (as well as grammar lessons) very S-L-O-W-L-Y. The podcasts are FREE through iTunes, but for about $100 a year you can get access to all the transcripts as well. I have all the podcasts, but I have not yet subscribed to the program … in part because I am getting ready to leave the country for awhile, but also because there is a “study group discount” available. If anyone reading this blog is interested in getting in on the study group discount, please let me know.

So go to http://www.newsinslowspanish.com/ and check it out. One aspect of the program which is not my favorite is the inclusion of “vosotros” tenses, which I am not bothering to learn since I am focused on Latin America. In that light, what I did purchase is the partner program, ¡Hola Viajeros, which you can find through a link on the site, or by going directly to the web site http://www.holaviajeros.com/home.php. This audiobook contains fun stories based on travel adventures to Latin America, and I’m guessing that the Spanish on these programs is “Latin American” Spanish. Ask me in a few months how well I am liking the ¡Hola Viajeros audiobook. And again, let me know if you are interested in going in with me on the News in Slow Spanish study group discount.

Mind-boggling Array of Options

There is a mind-boggling array of options for learning a new language.

Books. Web sites. Music. Computer programs. CDs. Conversation groups. Movies with subtitles. Immersion schools. Online software programs. Tutors. College and/or adult education courses. Community forums.

Also, there are any number of people who like to think (or who would like you to think) that they have the best system for learning.

So how do we decide what path to follow?

Personally, I like the multi-prong attack, and at one time or another I have used (or continue to use) just about all of the options listed above.

However, since I still consider myself somewhere between beginner and intermediate at best, I can’t really tell anyone the best path to follow toward bilingualism.

Nonetheless, there is a little 4-step process that I have used for many years that enables me to keep moving forward in life, and helps me to avoid frustration along the way. And I’d like to share that with you now.

Step 1 – SET A GOAL. At some point you simply have to determine your objective, otherwise you may go anywhere, nowhere, or some place you don’t want to go.

Step 2 – MOVE TOWARD YOUR GOAL. Do something, anything to move toward your goal … and take baby steps if necessary. Standing still is not helpful, so pick up the phone and make that call, or do some research online, or ask a friend, or go to the bookstore, or do something that moves you toward your goal.

Step 3 – MONITOR YOUR RESULTS. Are you actions moving you toward your goal? Is the system you are using helpful? Are the people that are around you contributing to your progress? Are you at peace in your heart with the path you are on?

Step 4 – IF NECESSARY, CHANGE YOUR TRAJECTORY. If what you have been doing isn’t working as well as you had hoped, isn’t moving you toward your goal, try something different, something new. And even if you have spent months, years, following a path only to discover that it was a big waste of time, you don’t have to remain stuck there. If you still want to pursue that goal, take a different path … or if you want, set a new goal and start moving toward that new goal.

We had a fabulous time speaking Spanish at Mestizo Coffeehouse last night, and that included a first-time participant with a strong command of the language who had seen the group announcement on the blackboard at Mestizo. All are welcome, regardless of experience or proficiency.

One day at a time, even one moment at a time … and enjoy the process.

Vaya con Dios.

Envy Can Be Your Friend

Do you consider envy a friend or foe? The choice is yours.

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines envy as:

Painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/envy)

Envy is your foe when you let “painful or resentful awareness” paralyze you. Instead of making changes in your life, you decide to remain in the pain … sometimes for years, or even a lifetime.

Get clear on what you envy, on who you envy. What is it about others that you envy? Is it their appearance … finances … friends … job … connections … skills … health … attitude … family … privileges … freedoms, etc.

First get clear on who you envy, and on what it is about them that you envy … and then do what you can to change yourself to become the person you want to be.

Granted, there are some things you cannot change … and may God grant you the serenity to accept the things you cannot change. For example, I envy professional golfers. I just think it would be so cool to be able to hit a golf ball the way professional golfers do. But at age 48, I just don’t see that there is any way I will ever have enough time, money, or desire to make the sacrifices, and practice enough, to become a professional golfer. At this point in my life I would have to give up too much I enjoy to make it even worthwhile to seek that goal. Nonetheless, I still envy professional golfers.

However, there are some things about others that you envy which are within your reach, and if only you took action and changed your life you could put yourself on paths toward some of your innermost desires.

For example, I have always envied accomplished drummers. I held that envy for many years and did nothing about it. I would feel upset in my heart at my parents for never giving me drum lessons as a child, I would think to myself that if only they would have done that for me as a child it would have been so easy to learn the drums. Finally, at the age of 37 I decided to let that envy be my friend and motivate me to do something about it, and I asked the drummer in our church band if ever considered giving drum lessons. Well, as it turns out, that is how he made a living. Next thing I know I am buying drum sticks, and I started drumming lessons the next week. The end result is that I discovered that extensive drum practicing was causing an old injury “tennis elbow” to emerge, and that I could keep drumming if I also maintained regular physical therapy. Ultimately, though I enjoyed my time drumming, I decided not to continue so that I could give my elbow a rest and pursue other goals.

Another example from my life is that I have always envied people who are bilingual. For many, many years I have watched people move effortlessly between two languages, and regretted the fact that I did not stick with the language study I began in high school. And for many, many years I would tell myself that I am too old to learn another language now. I just assumed that I would hold this envy for the rest of my life.

Until a few months ago. It became clear to me that I could be envious of bilingual people for the rest of my life, or I can let that envy motivate me to make a change in my life. So at the age 48, I began Beginner Spanish Class through the local adult education system. I have bought at least 3 books on learning Spanish, I bought flash cards to learn Spanish vocabulary, I bought a computer program to help me learn (which I am faithfully using), and I am already committed to finding a private tutor as soon as I reach a certain level of competency.

I don’t care that I might not reach Spanish fluency until I am in my 50’s … Lord willing, I will be that same age in a few years if I don’t study Spanish.

I don’t want to spend the rest of my life being envious of the bilingual, and so I am going to do what I can now to overcome this envy and move down a path where I believe I will find a blessing.