Several years ago I took a Chinese class. Besides wanting to learn some Chinese, as a foreign language teacher, I felt it important to be able to again understand what it was like in a class and not understand a word! I did well in the class but I longed to learn more and have more of an immersion type experience. I needed more repetitions than the class was able to give me. I longed for a program like BiLingo Kidz in Chinese where a learner can listen and study independently. For me, as a teacher and as a learner, repetition is the key to learning not only correct pronunciation but correct sentence structure in context.
Several years later I attended a TPRS (Teaching for Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling) conference where I had the opportunity to again learn some Chinese using TPRS techniques. I learned so much in about 20 hours because of the constant repetition and it was so much fun! Of course having an instructor is more fun than working off a software program but either way one can learn.
Parents often find themselves without a class for their younger children. Most schools in the United States wait until high school to teach a second language. This practice directly affects correct pronunciation. Many parents start before or after school programs but they are difficult to maintain with schedules, car pools, and finding teachers.
I am currently lucky to have a Chinese student living with me. Of course I had to practice my minuscule amount of Chinese with her. Most of the time she didn’t have a clue as to what I was saying as I had picked up some bad pronunciation habits. Not my teacher’s fault, just a lack of repetition and reading. At any rate, I practice and get corrected and practice and get corrected again and again. At this rate I don’t know that I will ever be fluent but hopefully not completely illiterate when I visit China.
I agree with the fact that repetition is key to learning a new language. I thought I would never get my homework done because writing it, and actually trying to say it aloud are two very different things. Over time when you start saying and using the foreign words in sentences and assignments, it starts to become more recognizable. I also find when people speak spanish it is really fast and it doesn’t feel like I could ever speak Spanish that quickly or understand it. In time I will understand it because I will use it repetitively and it is fun.
Be patient with yourself. Speaking a second language is the last skill one acquires. Think of your children and their English language development. They understood what you said to them before they spoke. And as a college student you can read and understand much of what you read in Spanish but writing or producing it is much more difficult. So one learns to speak and write any language by first listening and reading.
Hola Profesora Felicia,
I am in your Spanish 121 class at 8:30. I think it is really cool that you decided to learn another language because I think it is very important to be as multilingual as possible. I think it was very cool of you to take another language that you didnt know so you could understand how it feels to not know a word in the class. When i was in high school, my freshman year i took a beggining spanish class. I lived in Los Angeles and everyone in the class already knew spanish except for me. They all decided it would be an easy A for them since they already knew how to speak it. As for me, i didnt know anything. The teacher was not that good and didnt like to repeat things enough and it was hard learning spanish in that class. i switched out of his class at the semester and took it with another teacher where i was able to learn a lot more from his teaching style. I took Spanish my freshman and sophmore years of high school and now in my second year at SCC, i decided i wanted to learn more. From your class, i have learned even though it was mostly review for me. I like your style of teaching and hope to learn a lot more from you.
What an interesting situation for you to be in a Spanish class with native Spanish speakers and not really being able to catch on. Think of the reverse when a Spanish speaker tries to learn English without having instruction. It is no wonder many Hispanic students struggle with both languages in school depending upon their literacy level in both Spanish and English (or any dual language learning). I have friends doing doctoral research on language reading skills. They have found that children who learn to read in their first language first will read better in their second language (results are yet to be published). There are not enough good beginning books written in Spanish for children in primarily Spanish speaking households to learn to read in Spanish. Most books are translations from English unless one has access to books from Mexico, Colombia, Spain, etc. Parents can check out Children’s Book Press, http://www.childrensbookpress.org, a non-profit publisher attempting to provide books written in several languages about different ethnicities.
Hola-
I feel as if language is an excellent opportunity to open your mind to different cultures and to see the world in complete different views. I long for the day where I can speak fluently to mi prima without being laughed at. I’ve struggled with my past Spanish classes back in high school, whether it was the teachers way of teaching or not, I still take responsibilty for not striving more in those classes. I believe the increase in motivation I’ve had these past years has helped me become more educated in Spanish subjected classes. I also feel the techniques that you teach, Felicia, whether it’s singing songs or playing pictionary, these activities have helped me tremendously. I still have way more to learn, but even the smallest spurt of confidence you’ve helped me gain through your class made me determined to keep strutting along, and for that I thank you. I’ve decided to enroll into your next Spanish course next quarter. I find it very inspiring that you are capable of not only speaking fluent Spanish, but also Chinese. It takes a lot of time and patience i’ve learned, but in the end I do believe it is worth every minute of my time.
I’m glad that you have a motivation other than a grade to learn Spanish ie: speaking with your prima. Keep up the good work. Profe
Repetition is a very important key when trying to learn something new. Another way that I found it easy when remembering things ir relating the words with something hands on. For example in our spanish class, when we are signing our silly little songs such as: Yo me llamo Isabel, Isabel, Isabel, yo me llamo Isabel! Y Quien eres tu.. we use gestures as in pointing to our selves or the nest person. Another example was the hand gestures we added with every word example muy bien is thumbs up. Working with a group has also always worked best for me. Learning and mastering a second language is very important for me.
It is interesting how many college students do NOT want to do actions but it does keep students attention and the muscle memory adds to the listening comprehension and memory.
Learning a second language is hard, but its worth it. I’m nowhere near being fabulous at Spanish, but I do intend to continue learning it. As I said in my presentation, my mom is from Germany. When she came to the US, she didn’t know ANYTHING about English. I asked her about what it was like, which I’m now wishing I’d done at the beginning of this quarter for it would’ve been super beneficial in studying. She told me about how being around English speaking people made her pick up our language, as well as attending classes! Whenever her and her husband (at the time) would go anywhere or do something (ie. grocery shopping, eating dinner, going out on a date) he would ask her what each item she wanted was but wouldn’t get it unless she said it in English. So every time they went out she’d be learning new things and repeating them consistently. Now, I’m trying to train my brain so that when I look at objects or think of words that I know the Spanish term for I think of them in Spanish. It would’ve been much better had I began doing that at the beginning of the quarter, but now that I know this hopefully I’ll be able to use it when I take future Spanish classes!!
Yes, we can learn so much from immigrants and how they learned a second language. Label things in your house in Spanish and then use those words with your baby.
Hola Senora Felicia,
I feel that being exposed to a second language at an early age definitely has it’s advantages. I am taking Spanish 121 in your class and have already enrolled in your second level class for winter quarter. As a child, my mother who is bilingual, occasionaly spoke in spanish to me which is why I feel that I am somewhat familiar with the language and am able to understand more than I expected to in your class. People who are bilingual seem to have an easier time learning other languages. I feel that learning other languages also helps us to understand and appreciate other cultures, and fluency in a foreign languages can also be an advantage for many seeking employment, which is why I have decided to graduate with a double major in spanish and nursing. I look forward to seeing you in Spanish II!!!
It is great that you want to keep improving your speaking fluency in Spanish. You will be able to put Spanish speakers at ease when they need medical care which can be scary in itself. Suerte con tus estudios.
Different languages are amazing and beautiful. Learning a new language is always a challenge, but it’s a very rewarding one. I personally know 2 languages and I’m on my way to learning a 3rd one, which is spanish. I think it’s very interesting how each language is so unique and dynamic in its own way. A tiny example is when we speak in english we use the word “do” and without it, things just don’t sound right. “I not want to stop learning spanish” as opposed to “I do not want to stop learning spanish” sounds wrong. But, in spanish or russian we do not use the word “do” in the same way. When asking questions in spanish or russian a word like “do” doesn’t even exist. “Do you want to come with me?” In spanish or russian it would be more like “want to come with me?” or “you want to come with me?”
Also, in my opinion it’s absolutely necessary to learn about the culture when learning a new language. Language and culture come together and when someone tries to learn a language without learning about the culture, they miss out on A LOT. Having software programs like bilingo kidz are very beneficial, they help experience the language and culture so that the learner can understand and comprehend, not just have different words memorized. Another absolutely necessary key to learning a language, as explained in other posts is repetition. Repetition along with mentally connecting actions, people, places and objects to the spanish words for them have helped me get a great start in learning spanish. Even with the other languages I know, repetition is necessary not to forget the language or certain words, etc. From a scientific perspective our brains work in a “lose it or use it” manner, which explains why repetition is so important.
Lastly, I will encourage everyone to never stop learning. Language builds on what a person already knows. Languages are so rich and dynamic that we will never be able to learn a language completely. And I think there is a certain unexplainable beauty in that.
You are a super language student! You are so correct in that languages are dynamic and always changing but if one achieves a comfortable level of fluency it can broaden your life inexplicably as you can more fully experience other cultures. Language acquisition promotes critical thinking as it teaches how people think differently and one can learn to see alternatives to a problem. Critical thinking is a necessary skill to be globally compentent. You are well on your way to a rich life through all of your languages.
Hola Profesora Felicia,
I can definitely say that I in joyed the course over the last several months. After already taking 3 years of Russian in high school Spanish definitely seemed harder to pick up as the second foreign language. I am a firm believer that if I had been exposed to both of the foreign languages at a younger age that not only my pronunciation and comprehension levels would have been much higher for both. My wife and I both are of the opinion that courses that are like the ones offered on this site would be a good investment for our kids. It would not only widen their vocabulary but also there outlook on other cultures in the world than just our own. Thank you for this last quarter, as you know it has been tough for my family and I but I allways looked forward to your class.
The gift of a second language is a great one. It boardens our life experiences to be able to understand and communicate in a second or third language. I am so jealous of the Europeans who learn a minimum of 3 languages by the time they graduate from high school. We are behind in the US but recognizing the problem is the first step in correcting it.
Hola,
I have really enjoyed learning Spanish. My husband and I have been together for almost seven years now and to be honest it wasnt until about six months ago that I decided that I wanted to learn spanish too. I think that learning a second language has really enhanced my communication with my in-laws. My children want to learn it now too. The culture is wonderful and I really had no idea that ther were many spanish speaking countries. Senora Andersen’s clase was fun and interactive, which really helped me to learn. If you ever get a chance to learn a second language take advantage of it because it really is a joy and helps you see ouside your personal box.
Thank You