Effective Language Learning Strategies: From Classrooms to Immersion

Effective Language Learning Strategies: From Classrooms to Immersion So there are definitely pros and cons to a bunch of different methods. I have done every type of learning a second language that there is to offer. I have sat through classes, I have been tutored, I have done Rosetta Stone, I have done the audiobooks and podcasts, I have clearly lived in a different country. There are pros and cons to each and every one of those methods and some are just flat out terrible. Here are some of the ways to learn Spanish: Classes I started with classes when I was in the third grade. I'm not gonna spell out the pro and cons of this time period because it wasn't very intense, but it is the basis for why I chose to study Spanish in high school. I already had that base from earlier.  In high school, I was in a classroom setting for Spanish. Most of us know how that turned out....none of us were fluent. But why? The thing is a classroom setting, especially a large classroom...
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Study Spanish: Learning to Speak Spanish Fast

Who here wants to speak Spanish quickly?

Who wants to speak Spanish quickly? I used to think that to be good at a second language, you had to speak quickly. But often second language learners get delusional and try to compare themselves to native speakers they hear on TV or radio. This is not the case.

For example, Spanish has a reputation for being a language spoken very fast. But in my native language, there are many people who speak slowly. When I was trying to get better at public speaking in English, my teacher told me that I said "um" a lot because I was trying to say things before I thought about what to say.

So the advice she gave me was to slow down my speaking, think about what I was saying, and then say it. This got rid of my habit of saying "um" in English, but guess what returned when I started speaking Spanish?

The dreaded "um"!

Of course it came back, because I was thinking more in Spanish than I was in English. But I was also trying to speak quickly because I had this idea in my mind that speaking fast was how I could prove to others that I was fluent. But in English, I speak slowly, taking my time and thinking about what I am going to say. So why should it be any different in Spanish?

After that, I started listening to the speed of how other people talked. Everyone has their own speed of speech. Some people speak slowly, some quickly, some normally, some with a high-pitched or low-pitched voice. Everyone is different and just does what is comfortable for them. When I realized I should probably just speak at my normal speed and go back to thinking about what I was going to say, everything about speaking Spanish became much easier. The irony is that by slowing down my speech, it became more fluid and sounded more natural. I started getting compliments on how well I sounded.

It was because I wasn't making mistakes just because I was going too fast; I was only making mistakes that I legitimately didn't know about, which are the kind of mistakes you want to make to get better.


Location: Atlanta, GA, USA

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