Obama; Americans Learn Spanish! I’m Embarrassed
Obama; Americans Learn Spanish! I'm Embarrassed Obama is telling us that we need to learn other languages. He's embarrassed for us.
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Obama; Americans Learn Spanish! I’m Embarrassed
Learning Styles And Their Effect On Language Learning
Note: This article makes special reference to the effect of learning syles in the learning of Spanish but the principles are valid for all language learning.
¡LEER ES PODER!
¡Learning Spanish!
How can you best learn Spanish? It depends on your particular approach to learning. Take a look at the following approaches to learning Spanish. But if you already know where you are, you can skip the following reflections and go back to see what is available for your level ( beginning, intermediate, or advanced ) in Spanish, to sort and search for your specific needs, as well as to read reviews and summaries of the books that strike your interest.
DIFFERENT STYLES
Non-Virgins: Those who studied another language should use the skills they acquired with that language. They know what a conjugation is. They know that verbs are different from nouns. Their previous study gives them some mental hooks to help with their Spanish. They should not throw away their advantage by working on Spanish in a completely conversational manner. They should try to get an overview of some commonplaces in the language. They should get an “old fashioned” grammar and lean heavily on the tables to organize their thought. This type of learner should “invent” Spanish on the basis of what they know of the other language. They will remember a little of the structure of the other language. For example, what is the relation between adverbs and adjectives in Spanish? What is the most common way to express what happened yesterday (past tense)? If the other language is a Western language, they should observe the possible similarities. If the other language is non-Western, the very differences can be their starting point to learn the counterparts in Spanish. In short, they should study “the wrong way”. This is not for everyone. The learner should know his or herself.
Brains: These folks will operate much like the Non-Virgins. They will progress better by concentrating on the little points that intrigue them such as the difference in usage between the prepositions “por” and “para” and the verbs “ser” and “estar”. To master one or two of these elements so characteristic of Spanish will help the learn build on their conquests to go on to master other things. This analytical approach will be of great utility to the persons with the cerebral learning style.
Motor Mouths: The persons who are not afraid to try out their Spanish will progress very rapidly. These folks probably have a little genetic edge over the rest of us. However, we all should try to put together the pieces as we learn them. If there is no opportunity to talk with someone else, then we can tape our attempts. There are two parts to this early talking practice: confidence and pronunciation. The most important thing is to gain confidence or to be thick-skinned enough to speak your piece, knowing that the exercise will pay dividends. However, we should not put off working on our pronunciation until it is too late and we have given up on acquiring a valid accent. There are too many people who after living years in a Spanish speaking country are perfect in their grammar but who have a typical or even stereotypical English accent. There is no need for that. Spanish is perfectly regular in its phonetics. Motor mouths should also work on their accent!
People People: Anyone who likes being with people and who has a need to communicate will progress quickly in learning a language. Many outgoing, friendly people learn language in the “motor mouth” mode. However, other people without the gifts of the motor mouths can gain valuable exposure to the language by just following their social instincts. These folks, however, should not overlook the need to speak correctly. Although they are not interested in traditional grammar in the same way the “brains” are, they must work at speaking correctly. We all know people who learned English years ago, but still say things like, “I am interested to go with you”. You don’t want to spend your life in Spanish with a similar easily corrected error. Learn it right as soon as you can. The people people have to stay curious about the language.
Learn-while-doing People: I was told once that the only way to learn French was to sleep with a French woman. The idea behind this is that we learn the expressions and words for the activities we are interested in. People who learn like this try to get their Spanish-speaking friends to accompany them as they cook or fix their car. They find that they learn better when their whole body is involved in learning the new words and phrases. For example, the person who learns the word “serrucho” while sawing a board will remember it better than the person (see the “word collector”) who just learns the vocabulary from a list.
Word Collectors: This person may be great at crossword puzzles (Crucigramas) in Spanish but rarely gets to speak it. If you find yourself learning words and not getting any further, break out of it! We once had a houseguest, a young man from Spain who came to learn English. There were times when our family would be talking Spanish, and he would echo all the Spanish words with their English equivalents. He had a great vocabulary but never got around to talking English. This kind of learner should alway make sure that they make up sentences to practice using the new words they learn. They can combine their ability with vocabulary with the “divide and conquer” tactic. They should not only invent sentences to use the new words; they should run through diferent grammatical constructions as the setting for their vocabulary.
Divide and Conquer People: Every learner of a foreign language has to learn to incorporate the learning style of dividing and conquering into their own style. If they are “brains” they should concentrate on one grammatical turn of phrase, such as conditions contrary to fact, (If my grandfather hadn’t died, he’d be alive today!) until they can handle it.
The people people should repeat in the same conversation the new expression that they just heard. The same goes for all the others. The only way to learn a language is by following the “swiss cheese” method, nibble away at the things you don’t know, and master them until they are all gone.
Lost Latinos: This person should try to remember the nursery rhymes that they might have learned in Spanish. They should run over the names of their cousins and uncles. All of this will loosen up their rusty language skills. They should listen to how others speak “spanglish” and try to figure out the proper way to say things. They should make a game of trying to spot the influence of English in the Spanish they hear at home or in the barrio. This detective work will make them more aware of correcting whatever bad habits they have picked up. However, don’t think that these persons have all the advantages. The person learning from scratch will probably spell Spanish words better than those who know a little Spanish. I’m not sure why.
What works for EVERYONE… There are two activities that will help everyone, no matter what their learning style, move forward rapidly: They are: 1. Passive Listening, and 2. Pattern Response Drills.
1. Passive Listening. Everyone should keep the Spanish radio on as much as possible. Keep the radio or TV on while you doing other things. It has to be the sea of sound that you swim in while you are beginning your study of Spanish. You don’t have to concentrate on it; you are not listening to try to understand. After a while you won’t hear it but it will be affecting you. Little by little you will begin to anticipate the rhythm of the language, even before you understand everything. You will also begin to recognize certain words. You will begin to hear “beyond” the differences in pronunciation of different people and recognize the underlying word. Once you clearly hear a word or phrase, you can look it up and progressively expand your vocabulary.
2. Pattern Response Drills. You have to run through all the permutations of the new expressions that you learn. For example, suppose you just learned to say. “Pedro tiene cuatro años” rather than translating from the English incorrectly, “Pedro es cuatro”. Now to make this new element of the language stick with you, you should go on substituting different ages and the names of different people. You have to be able to say comfortably, “María tiene cuatro años.” “Juan tiene ocho años.” “Yo tengo treinta años.” “¿Cuántos años tienes tú?” “Nosotros tenemos cuarenta años.” This type of drill is necessary for all the different learning styles.
Do you want to return to look at beginning ; intermediate , or advanced books? Or you can check out other Books ON Spanish at: http://www.bookslibros.com/spanishbooks.php to help you out.
Or do you want to see our books IN Spanish? You will find books on health, the family, self help, literature, etc. and the possibility to search for any other topic. Check out http://www.bookslibros.com/LibrosEnEspanol.php
Kids Can Learn Spanish! Take a look at: http://www.bookslibros.com/SpanishForNinos.htm
About the Author:
Frank Gerace Ph.D has lived and worked in Latin America on Educational and Communication Projects. He currently teaches English in New York City at La Guardia College/CUNY. He invites learners of Spanish of all levels and styles to visit him at: http://www.bookslibros.com/spanishbooks.php
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Learning Styles And Their Effect On Language Learning
Learn Spanish with Salma Hayek & Antonio Banderas
Learn Spanish with Salma Hayek & Antonio Banderas Enjoy learning Spanish with the creators of Learn Lingo the worldwide favorite. learnlingo.net From: evanmorgan40 Views: 1036713 283 ratings Time: 02:27 More in People & Blogs
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Learn Spanish with Salma Hayek & Antonio Banderas
How Can I Learn Spanish?
To learn Spanish, you could invest a lot of money in a college education in which you could earn a degree in the language. You would end up very fluent and very well versed in the history of it. But, this is costly and, well, time consuming. If you need to learn Spanish you will probably want a more speedy result. And, you can find this without a problem in several areas. In fact, you may even consider teaching your kids a second language as well. Learning Spanish should be fun, entertaining, and exciting!
Think back to when you learned to speak English. What? You don’t remember that? Well, of course you don’t! You were more than likely just a child. But, how can a child learn to speak a language? It is through the use of pictures, sounds, and hearing the language on a daily basis that helps them to learn. Unfortunately, this won’t work for our quest to learn how to speak Spanish, will it? Yes, it can. In fact, the best way to learn something new like this is to see, hear, and experience it daily.
You can learn to speak Spanish through a variety of ways. You can learn it by studying in a book. You can learn it from watching videos on the television. And, you can learn Spanish through the online adventures. In fact, you can even purchase programs to help you with each aspect of learning the language. By using these programs, you will get the repetition that is necessary while learning how to speak fluently. You will need to expose yourself to the language daily and it will often be challenging, but in every way that counts, it will be learned.
Finding these software programs isn’t hard. If you choose to go the tapes and videos route, many of your favorite department stores will carry beginning level learn Spanish tapes. But, if you want quality programs either for the television or for the computer, always turn to your online sources. Learning Spanish will be fun!
About the Author:
Find more information and tips about learning Spanish by visiting http://www.learnspanishnews.info
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How Can I Learn Spanish?
Reading Spanish
One thing that can be extremely beneficial to you when learning Spanish is to simply pick up a book or newspaper.
Try and select reading material that matches your current ability, so beginners can choose a kid’s book or comic. There are two exercises you can choose to do, each of which helps with different aspects of your language learning.
The first of these helps with vocabulary; pick a shortish passage – a newspaper article or a couple of pages in a book are perfect for this – and read through it while trying to understand as much as possible, marking any words you are unfamiliar with. Once you have finished the article you can look up the words in a dictionary and re-read the article, reminding yourself of any words that still don’t stick.
The second exercise is suitable for reading novels; this time read, trying to understand as much as possible, but whatever happens don’t stop to note words you don’t know. By forcing yourself to read as fast as you can you’ll find that you can follow the story despite the gaps in information. You’ll also find that what you may miss in one context you will pick up from other clues, whether it is dialog, descriptions or the reactions of characters in the story.
This exercise will help build your coping mechanisms for when you don’t understand everything, such as when you are speaking to a native Spanish speaker talking at full speed.
Make sure to check out Learning Spanish Like Crazy to Learn Spanish Quickly and Easily!
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Reading Spanish
Why is learning Spanish so important?
Learning a foreign language, like Spanish, is becoming much more of a necessity in today’s society. Learning Spanish is easier and more enjoyable than ever with audio courses, online courses, study abroad, and intensive language courses.
Following are just some of the many reasons learning Spanish will benefit you and enrich your life:
More than 400 million people speak Spanish worldwide — By learning Spanish, you’ll be better able to communicate with Spanish speakers who don’t speak English. Whether you travel abroad or within the United States, you’ll likely run into more than one situation that will require you to know at least basic Spanish.
Spanish speaking countries include Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela.
More than 33 million people in America speak Spanish — That makes the United States fifth on the list of countries with the most Spanish-speaking people. Spanish is also one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world, behind Chinese, English and Hindustani. Undoubtedly, at some point during your life, you’re going to find that knowing Spanish is extremely valuable.
More than 1000 Spanish-speaking immigrants come to the United States every day — That means the country gains at least 365,000 new Spanish-speaking residents each year.
Knowing Spanish enhances your resume — Employers love applicants that have fluency (or even moderate fluency) in a foreign language. Having the ability to speak Spanish will allow you to communicate with Spanish-speaking employees. If no one else at the company speaks Spanish, you’ll be even more valuable. If you’ve ever searched through the classifieds, you’ve likely run across an ad that states, “Must speak English and Spanish.”
If you want to continue your education, you’ll need to take foreign language classes — Most colleges require that undergraduate students take at least two semesters of a foreign language. If you have your eyes on graduate school, you should know that many require students to be able to read and comprehend one, and sometimes two, foreign languages. Getting a jump-start on learning Spanish will definitely pay off later, especially if you’re continuing your education.
If you love to travel, you’ll have even more fun if you go to a Spanish speaking country — Of course, you don’t need to know Spanish, or any other foreign language, for that matter, to travel overseas, but you’ll find it really enhances your experience to know the language. In fact, even if you don’t go to a Spanish speaking country, you’ll still find that knowing Spanish is an asset. Let’s say you go to Paris or Rome. More likely than not, you’ll run into Europeans who don’t speak English, but speak several other languages, and you’ll be able to use your Spanish.
Spanish is a romance language, which means if you’re in France or Italy, for example, you’ll have an easier time deciphering the language because they’re similar.
Learning a foreign language actually helps keep your memory sharp — As we grow older, our memory begins to fade. In fact, an article published by the AARP (American Association of Retired People) states, “Mastering activities you’ve have not done before, such as playing the piano or learning a foreign language, stimulates neuron activity. For best results, remember this: People exposed to positive reinforcement before completing memory exercises scored well above others exposed to negative reinforcement in a study led by Thomas Hess, a North Carolina State Univ. psychologist.”
These are only a few of the many reasons you’ll benefit from learning Spanish. You probably have a few of your own. Whatever the reason, you’ll find that learning Spanish is not only fun, but it enriches your experiences, whether at work or while traveling.
About The Author
Dorioara Pinku
Enjoy your free Spanish phrase ebook: http://www.amerispan.com/spdownload – This 30-pager is great if you quickly want to learn common Spanish phrases for travel or life in general. Also pronunciation and basic grammar. http://www.amerispan.com
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Why is learning Spanish so important?
Learn Spanish – Accent Rules
Learn Spanish – Accent Rules www.spanishbootcamp.com This is a short clip to help you learn the Accent Rules of Spanish. For more information, please visit the above website.
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Learn Spanish – Accent Rules
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