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...
1 comment

Spanish Immersion: Translating in Your Head

Are you having trouble translating from your native language to your target language when speaking? Don't you wish you could just "think" in your target language? It can be really annoying when you ask people, "How did you do it?" and all they say is, "Just think in your target language." I know that phrase got on my nerves. No one was telling me the truth about how to stop thinking in English and start thinking in Spanish. Everyone was trying to sell me on these ideas and methods, when really it's as simple as time and practice. If someone had just told me I had to work hard and practice, it would have relieved a lot of stress. What I'm going to tell you is:

STOP TRANSLATING IN YOUR NATIVE LANGUAGE TO YOUR TARGET LANGUAGE

But how? It comes with time. If you have any other skills, whether it be what you do at work or any hobbies, you'll understand that once you get good at something, it starts to be subconscious. Who here remembers HOW to ride a bike? No, you just KNOW it. So, the advice of not translating in your head is kind of crappy. It's more of a measurement of where you are in your ability instead of a tool to get you to the next level. I'll tell you how it worked out for me.

I didn't understand a word ----> Then I learned the meaning of the word through translating it -----> Then I understood what the word meant -------> Then I recognized the subtle differences Spanish used that word -----> Then I would incorporate that word in my Spanish, including the subtle differences

After some time, that word just became a part of my vocabulary, but because of the constant exposure to that word, I started imagining "un bombillo" as a picture of a lightbulb in my mind. I would stop going from "bombillo --->Lightbulb--->picture of light bulb in my mind"

Which brings me to my next topic of thinking in two languages. So, all the time, people ask, "Now that you're fluent, do you think in two languages?" The short answer is "yes," the long answer is "kinda." It's a different thought process, but a lot of it is taken over subconsciously because of all the practice that I have had. When one is speaking a different language, yes, there is a different format in which they are trying to phrase the words, different

Location: Atlanta, GA, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Top Free Online Resources for Language Learning

Image
Top Free Online Resources! So we're going to go through what I think are the top applications/websites that will help you with your language learning. All of these websites/apps I have either used or am currently using. A lot of people think you have to buy a 200 dollar program to learn a language. You can get A LOT of education purely through free programs! Note: I have linked where you can find the resources so that you can try them out for yourself! Doulingo -  Duolingo So let's start with Duolingo, this program is AMAZING for the basics. A lot of people want to learn a language but simply do not know where to start. If you are looking for a starting point this is my recommendation. The good thing about Duolingo is that it progresses well, gives you a good starting point, and it's a very easy application to use. It has multiple languages as well. The bad thing about Duolingo is that people think that using Duolingo will get you to an intermediate/adva...
Read more

Study Spanish: Best TV Shows To Learn Spanish

Image
These are my favorite telenovelas that will improve your Spanish. La Esclava Blanca This novela is probably my favorite one of the 4 telenovelas that will improve your Spanish. It's about a girl who grows up as a "slave" in Colombia. Better said, she grow up with a bunch of slaves that have escaped and then are recaptured. This is probably my favorite novela of all time because the drama takes you all the way to Spain and back to Colombia. It will have you on the edge of your seat screaming, "NO DON'T DO THAT" and will also have you crying over the love between Miguel and Victoria. I would watch this telenovela with the Spanish Subtitles on because the way the black people talk at first is a little weird. They always drop the "S" on their words so "como estas" becomes "como esta". It takes a little bit of time to get used to but after that you will get sucked into the story line and you'll binge watch like you've neve...
Read more

Speak Conversational Spanish: Losing Hope

Image
This experience that I'm going to talk about is not something that I have a name for, to be honest, it's just a little thing that I noticed happens. What I'm going to talk about is losing your morale while practicing having conversations. In this post, I'm going to talk about when you'll feel this, how you will probably feel (at least how I felt), and what you can do to get over it.  What You'll Feel I have mentioned in previous posts that you need to learn the basics ( here ) then after you learn the basics you need to start moving on to listening practice, speaking practice, and overall conversation practice. Once you start feeling more it will be even more of a head pain. When I was just getting into the "correct me" phase, my girlfriend and her family really took into that. They would correct me for every little mistake that I made. Even though I wanted this I could feel the fatigue of constantly getting something wrong and thinking through what ...
Read more