Friday, August 18, 2006
Learn Spanish by Listing and Imitating
Perhaps without realizing it, you have some of the best Spanish tutors already in your own home – your TV, DVD player, and Internet-connected computer.
The TV is valuable if you have access to Spanish-language television programming, and your DVD player is useful if you have any DVD’s with a Spanish-language track (very probable, just take a look).
Your computer is the most valuable because it can change the play speed of media. Unfortunately, for some reason I have never been able to get my DVD player or my computer to slow both the audio and video of a DVD at the same time. When I slow down the play speed, the audio turns off. However, the DVD player is still great since you can turn on English captions while watching in Spanish.
Even though I’ve never succeeded in playing a DVD in slow-motion, other types of media files work great. To see how this works, go to a website that has the media geared for Windows Media Player. Other media players may also let you change the play speed (although I couldn’t see how to do with RealPlayer), but Windows Media Player definitely does. Click here to download the latest version.
To see how this works, go to the Mormon Church’s conference website to start streaming the proceedings of its general conference. You can’t slow down every type of online media, but some of the links on this page work great since they are geared for Windows Media. Another advantage is that you can follow along reading in either Spanish or English. And, since these talks were originally in English, you can hear the first few lines in English before the Spanish translation kicks in. By the way, the Mormon church has similar sites for every major (and several minor) languages you could ever want to learn. Click here for a complete listing.
If you find other sources of free Spanish that work at a slow play speed, please let me know with a comment so I can post the links to others who may not feel comfortable listing to religious broadcasting.
On the far right of this page you’ll see (under the column heading “Mirar”) a link to open streaming video for Windows Media Player. When you click on the 300k link Windows Media Player should open and start playing. Once it is playing, you can now slow down the audio.
There are at least two ways to do it:
1) Under the “Now Playing” tab there should be a little white square with lines and a down arrow. It is the Playing Options – Click on it, and then on Enhancements, and then Play Speed Settings. You should see near the bottom a place where you can change the play speed. If you move the slider slightly to the left you’ll notice that it will re-buffer and then start playing at a slower speed.
2) Maximizing Windows Media Player so that the menu bar across the top includes “File, View, Play, Tools, Help” – click on View, Enhancements to see and modify the play speed.
The TV is valuable if you have access to Spanish-language television programming, and your DVD player is useful if you have any DVD’s with a Spanish-language track (very probable, just take a look).
Your computer is the most valuable because it can change the play speed of media. Unfortunately, for some reason I have never been able to get my DVD player or my computer to slow both the audio and video of a DVD at the same time. When I slow down the play speed, the audio turns off. However, the DVD player is still great since you can turn on English captions while watching in Spanish.
Even though I’ve never succeeded in playing a DVD in slow-motion, other types of media files work great. To see how this works, go to a website that has the media geared for Windows Media Player. Other media players may also let you change the play speed (although I couldn’t see how to do with RealPlayer), but Windows Media Player definitely does. Click here to download the latest version.
To see how this works, go to the Mormon Church’s conference website to start streaming the proceedings of its general conference. You can’t slow down every type of online media, but some of the links on this page work great since they are geared for Windows Media. Another advantage is that you can follow along reading in either Spanish or English. And, since these talks were originally in English, you can hear the first few lines in English before the Spanish translation kicks in. By the way, the Mormon church has similar sites for every major (and several minor) languages you could ever want to learn. Click here for a complete listing.
If you find other sources of free Spanish that work at a slow play speed, please let me know with a comment so I can post the links to others who may not feel comfortable listing to religious broadcasting.
On the far right of this page you’ll see (under the column heading “Mirar”) a link to open streaming video for Windows Media Player. When you click on the 300k link Windows Media Player should open and start playing. Once it is playing, you can now slow down the audio.
There are at least two ways to do it:
1) Under the “Now Playing” tab there should be a little white square with lines and a down arrow. It is the Playing Options – Click on it, and then on Enhancements, and then Play Speed Settings. You should see near the bottom a place where you can change the play speed. If you move the slider slightly to the left you’ll notice that it will re-buffer and then start playing at a slower speed.
2) Maximizing Windows Media Player so that the menu bar across the top includes “File, View, Play, Tools, Help” – click on View, Enhancements to see and modify the play speed.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Learn Spanish Fast by Reading it Out Loud
Learning Spanish involves training your ear and your mouth; the fastest way to fluency is to listen and imitate.
You’ll find as you progress that it’s much easier to understand what people are saying than to speak yourself. When you get to that point it can be a little frustrating because people will often assume you can’t understand them just because you can’t speak well (immigrants to the US also have this problem, by the way, so don’t assume they don’t know what is going on just because their English is broken).
One of the best ways to train your mouth and your ear at the same time is by reading a Spanish book out loud. Of course, you first need to know what sounds letters and syllables make – but once you know the very basics, open up a book and start to read it. Don’t worry that you’ll be butchering the language – better in the privacy of your own home than out on the street. So, don’t be shy and speak in soft tones. Read loud and clear as if you knew what you were talking about.
The best books to read are children’s books because they have pictures, use simple words, and are fun. Sometimes they also have a rhythm or rhyme to them that make reading easier because you get a better idea of what it’s supposed to sound like. Although children’s books are probably the best place to start, find anything that interests you. When I was starting to learn Spanish I opened up a book that was a couple of hundred pages long and started to read. Of course, at first I didn’t know what was going on, but amazingly, by the time I reached the end of the book my comprehension was at about 70%. It helped that I was already very familiar with the English version of the book.
Learning by reading isn’t something you could really do so well in a non-Romance language like Korean. You could read Korean all day long once you learned the alphabet and still not understand. The difference with Spanish is that, since it is so close to English, you will start to pick up meanings with your eyes and ears.
I like to joke with my friends that learning Spanish is easy – if you don’t know a word, you can just make it up and you’ll probably be close. So many words have the same root that as you read the Spanish version you’ll pick up the meaning. For words like educacción (education) and gramática (grammar), it may take a little while before you notice that they are the same, but it will come. For other words such as camisa (shirt), and zapatos (shoes) you’ll need a dictionary.
But don’t get bogged down by using the dictionary for every word. That is back to book learning and it is slow going – you’ll never remember them all. Instead, try to get into a rhythm and pace where you are reading. It’s a lot like reading music – you don’t know what the ink you read is going to sound like until you get there. You’ll be slow and stumble over some words and have an easier time with others. But, try to keep a steady pace and make a game of it and see if you can keep a pace.
To improve your pronunciation when you do this, I recommend (and it was recommended to me by someone) that as you read you keep a pencil in your mouth sideways – just bite it horizontally and keep it back there as you read. Its uncomfortable, but will help with your pronunciation and accent.
Do this everyday for several minutes and you’ll be on your way to learning Spanish very fast!
You’ll find as you progress that it’s much easier to understand what people are saying than to speak yourself. When you get to that point it can be a little frustrating because people will often assume you can’t understand them just because you can’t speak well (immigrants to the US also have this problem, by the way, so don’t assume they don’t know what is going on just because their English is broken).
One of the best ways to train your mouth and your ear at the same time is by reading a Spanish book out loud. Of course, you first need to know what sounds letters and syllables make – but once you know the very basics, open up a book and start to read it. Don’t worry that you’ll be butchering the language – better in the privacy of your own home than out on the street. So, don’t be shy and speak in soft tones. Read loud and clear as if you knew what you were talking about.
The best books to read are children’s books because they have pictures, use simple words, and are fun. Sometimes they also have a rhythm or rhyme to them that make reading easier because you get a better idea of what it’s supposed to sound like. Although children’s books are probably the best place to start, find anything that interests you. When I was starting to learn Spanish I opened up a book that was a couple of hundred pages long and started to read. Of course, at first I didn’t know what was going on, but amazingly, by the time I reached the end of the book my comprehension was at about 70%. It helped that I was already very familiar with the English version of the book.
Learning by reading isn’t something you could really do so well in a non-Romance language like Korean. You could read Korean all day long once you learned the alphabet and still not understand. The difference with Spanish is that, since it is so close to English, you will start to pick up meanings with your eyes and ears.
I like to joke with my friends that learning Spanish is easy – if you don’t know a word, you can just make it up and you’ll probably be close. So many words have the same root that as you read the Spanish version you’ll pick up the meaning. For words like educacción (education) and gramática (grammar), it may take a little while before you notice that they are the same, but it will come. For other words such as camisa (shirt), and zapatos (shoes) you’ll need a dictionary.
But don’t get bogged down by using the dictionary for every word. That is back to book learning and it is slow going – you’ll never remember them all. Instead, try to get into a rhythm and pace where you are reading. It’s a lot like reading music – you don’t know what the ink you read is going to sound like until you get there. You’ll be slow and stumble over some words and have an easier time with others. But, try to keep a steady pace and make a game of it and see if you can keep a pace.
To improve your pronunciation when you do this, I recommend (and it was recommended to me by someone) that as you read you keep a pencil in your mouth sideways – just bite it horizontally and keep it back there as you read. Its uncomfortable, but will help with your pronunciation and accent.
Do this everyday for several minutes and you’ll be on your way to learning Spanish very fast!
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
How Do Kids Learn Spanish So Fast?
Almost everyone agrees that children learn languages much faster than adults. Most attribute this phenomenon with children’s minds and how amazing they are during their early formative years. I would argue that there is something more in play – namely the methods children use.
Adults often attack a new language by first reading about it in books or learning the grammar. The logic is that these building block fundamentals will cement their understanding later on. The irony is, however, that many people learn English without ever speaking it. Did you know any international student in school that couldn’t talk, but could read? Unlike adults, children are not afraid to sound stupid and just start speaking before they know what they are saying – they simply listen and imitate. After a while, they figure out what they are saying and the grammar and books then become useful.
As an avid Jazz saxophone player, I discovered that the most effective way to learn to play the sax was by imitating great musicians. Reading music and understanding chord progression didn’t really make me sound like a “native” jazz pro. Book learning – although useful – was too academic and not something I easily internalized. However, by listening to jazz saxophone often, singing along, and playing along (pausing and rewinding until I got the riff right), I discovered that the music became part of me. It was who I was and I couldn’t help but sound like those I listened to. I trained my ear, which in turn trained the rest of me.
Unconsciously, my mouth and body started changing in ways that matched the music. The sound coming out of the saxophone changed without my doing anything conscious. Skilled musicians could even hear an “accent” and correctly guess which professional saxophone players I had been listening to – language works the same way.
Hence, one of the best ways to learn Spanish fast is to become like a little child and just start listening to it wherever you are – even if its only background noise. Like a saxophone player learning by ear, you will learn the language subconsciously – which will help you in your later book learning.
So, don’t worry if you don’t understand everything you hear – but try to develop the habit of enjoying the language, and get your ear used to hearing it. To do that I’d recommend you:
- Find a copy of your favorite movie/TV shows in Spanish. Most DVDs have a Spanish-language track. Watch your favorite movie over and over (perhaps with subtitles)
- Find great Spanish-language music. My wife and I love listening to the Mexican group Maná and the Chilean group Illapu – and I really like the Spanish duo Ella Baila Sola. There is plenty of Spanish-language music that doesn’t have the stereotypical see-saw beat and accordion/trumpet background.
- There is a ton of Spanish-language features on the internet. Some that I’ve used to keep my Spanish up include The Mormon Church’s broadcasting page in Spanish, the UN radio news site in Spanish, and online radio stations such as Radio Unica
The key is that you have to immerse yourself in it, and hopefully enjoy it. Don't worry if you don't understand everything at first - just let it be background music. Eventually you will be able to hear and pick out a word here and there, and then another, and then whole sentences. The key is that most of your learning will be done when you're not consious about it - and thats definately the fast and easy way to do it.
Adults often attack a new language by first reading about it in books or learning the grammar. The logic is that these building block fundamentals will cement their understanding later on. The irony is, however, that many people learn English without ever speaking it. Did you know any international student in school that couldn’t talk, but could read? Unlike adults, children are not afraid to sound stupid and just start speaking before they know what they are saying – they simply listen and imitate. After a while, they figure out what they are saying and the grammar and books then become useful.
As an avid Jazz saxophone player, I discovered that the most effective way to learn to play the sax was by imitating great musicians. Reading music and understanding chord progression didn’t really make me sound like a “native” jazz pro. Book learning – although useful – was too academic and not something I easily internalized. However, by listening to jazz saxophone often, singing along, and playing along (pausing and rewinding until I got the riff right), I discovered that the music became part of me. It was who I was and I couldn’t help but sound like those I listened to. I trained my ear, which in turn trained the rest of me.
Unconsciously, my mouth and body started changing in ways that matched the music. The sound coming out of the saxophone changed without my doing anything conscious. Skilled musicians could even hear an “accent” and correctly guess which professional saxophone players I had been listening to – language works the same way.
Hence, one of the best ways to learn Spanish fast is to become like a little child and just start listening to it wherever you are – even if its only background noise. Like a saxophone player learning by ear, you will learn the language subconsciously – which will help you in your later book learning.
So, don’t worry if you don’t understand everything you hear – but try to develop the habit of enjoying the language, and get your ear used to hearing it. To do that I’d recommend you:
- Find a copy of your favorite movie/TV shows in Spanish. Most DVDs have a Spanish-language track. Watch your favorite movie over and over (perhaps with subtitles)
- Find great Spanish-language music. My wife and I love listening to the Mexican group Maná and the Chilean group Illapu – and I really like the Spanish duo Ella Baila Sola. There is plenty of Spanish-language music that doesn’t have the stereotypical see-saw beat and accordion/trumpet background.
- There is a ton of Spanish-language features on the internet. Some that I’ve used to keep my Spanish up include The Mormon Church’s broadcasting page in Spanish, the UN radio news site in Spanish, and online radio stations such as Radio Unica
The key is that you have to immerse yourself in it, and hopefully enjoy it. Don't worry if you don't understand everything at first - just let it be background music. Eventually you will be able to hear and pick out a word here and there, and then another, and then whole sentences. The key is that most of your learning will be done when you're not consious about it - and thats definately the fast and easy way to do it.
Learn Spanish - Fast!
My name is Corey Wride and I love Spanish and I love Latin America! Several years ago I left my home in the US to spend a couple of years living and working in South America. I had studied Spanish in high-school and felt that, by the time I left, I had a pretty good command of the language.
Something terrible must have happened on the plane ride down there because once I arrived; I couldn’t understand anything I heard. People seemed to talk in one continuous sentence without a break or a pause except to take a breath. It was really frustrating for me and I felt like I was starting all over again. The difference was that this time I wasn’t book learning, I was learning in the same way children learn English, by listening and imitating.
By imitating what I was hearing and not being afraid to butcher the language, I was conversant after a few months. I’ve since enjoyed traveling and working in Chile, Argentina, Guatemala, and Mexico and love to make friends with Hispanics in my neighborhood. Learning Spanish has had a huge impact on my life for the better.
I’ve decided to start this blog to help people who are interested in learning Spanish another resource. Good luck!
Something terrible must have happened on the plane ride down there because once I arrived; I couldn’t understand anything I heard. People seemed to talk in one continuous sentence without a break or a pause except to take a breath. It was really frustrating for me and I felt like I was starting all over again. The difference was that this time I wasn’t book learning, I was learning in the same way children learn English, by listening and imitating.
By imitating what I was hearing and not being afraid to butcher the language, I was conversant after a few months. I’ve since enjoyed traveling and working in Chile, Argentina, Guatemala, and Mexico and love to make friends with Hispanics in my neighborhood. Learning Spanish has had a huge impact on my life for the better.
I’ve decided to start this blog to help people who are interested in learning Spanish another resource. Good luck!
