I am publishing 3-minute video commentaries to share my knowledge... these are sort of the transcripts of those videos with more helpful information. The transcripts won't match what I say because I look into the camera and speak, so I may sometimes deviate from my intended script, but it's all good :-) Oh, and all views expressed are my own.
Showing posts with label spanish+immersion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spanish+immersion. Show all posts
As you know from my previous videos, I have been using a 3-step process for learning to speak Spanish: (1) Listen and Repeat, (2) Listen and Understand, and (3) Start Speaking (and as I have said, you also have to study vocabulary and grammar along the way).
For me, the “start speaking” step was easier said than done and it may be the same for you. Even though I gained some basic Spanish speaking capability from my “Listen and Repeat” step using the Pimsleur method, I had the usual fear of making silly mistakes if I were to speak Spanish. Also, I was not sure of many Spanish words and verbs, even though I had already completed the “Listen and Understand” step by watching a free online streaming video program called Destinos: An Introduction to Spanish and by listening to Spanish radio stations during my daily commute.
After spending about a year completing the first two steps, I researched on the Internet and found that many people take immersion classes to start speaking Spanish. After some searching, I located a well-regarded school -- Christian Spanish Academy or CSA (if I were advising them, I’d have suggested that they keep their Spanish name Academia Cristiana de Españoland abbreviate it to ACE in English :-) in Antigua Guatemala and enrolled there for a week in early 2010. For the total cost of $400 USD, I had 8-hours of one-on-one lessons each day plus a week of home stay with a very nice host family with three meals.
CSA follows a structured program. I was given an exam and placed in Grade B (they have grades A through G). That week of immersion got me started speaking Spanish even though I still had not gone beyond the present and the past tenses for the verb conjugations. To continue building my skills, I have been taking a two-hour class every Saturday from CSA’s e-learning program via Skype. I am now in Grade C, but, even though I still have lots of grammar to learn, the week of immersion study in Antigua, Guatemala definitely helped kick-start the process of starting to speak in Spanish for me. You may want to consider something similar to get going with your “Step 3: Start Speaking” :-)
Here's some more information to help you...
For my previous videos on the 3-step method for learning Spanish and the details of the first two steps, see:
Dinner with host family and other students (photo by Michael Herpy)
Photo by Michael Herpy - at dinner in host family's kitchen
Here are a few photos of Antigua, Guatemala (it's a very beautiful city):
Antgua - near the central park
Antigua - around central park
View of Antigua from a hill nearby
Volcan Fuego near Antigua, Guatemala
Update (2014)
My wife decided to learn Spanish as well and we both went back to the Christian Spanish Academy in February 2014 for a week of lesson. I have been continuing my lessons online through their elearn pogram and my wife has started the lessons as well. I can speak Spanish fairly well, as evidenced by this toast in Spanish at my daughter's wedding in Barcelona:
Here are some photos from our recent visit to the school:
I explain my approach to learning Spanish, especially how I overcame my fear of speaking in a new language. Just listen to the video :-) To see my video in Spanish, explaining the same method, please see the previous blog: NB-TMV - un método para aprender un idioma nuevo.
Here are some more things to help you...
I relied on Pimsleur lessons for the first step-- Listen and Repeat - -to learn Spanish pronunciation. They had CDs, each 30-minutes long, where a native speaker speaks and, where appropriate, pauses and lets you repeat what was said. The method recommends going through only one CD per day and I could do this on my commute to work. I went through three levels - - 90 CDs - - which you may consider doing to get an overall feel for the pronunciations plus learn some common phrases and words along the way. This would take 6 months or more to complete. You can check out Pimsleur on Amazon and then see if you want to invest in it or try borrowing the CDs from your local library. By the way, if you want to just check out the Pimsleur method, you can start with the lower-cost first book+CD, called goSpanish. I had used something similar and then committed to the whole series after I liked the approach.
The other option is Rosetta Stone. I had tried this for French (which I gave up after some time) and I think it'd work as well, but this requires to complete the lessons on a computer.
For the Listen and Understand step, which you should do continuously, search for local Spanish radio stations or watch Telemundo or Univision on cable. To begin speaking Spanish, you should consider spending some time (at least a week) at an immersion class in a nearby Spanish-speaking country such as Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, etc. I spent a week at the Christian Spanish Academy in Antigua, Guatemala - -that school was very good and affordable (and Antigua is a very nice town to visit). I stayed thw week with a host family (see photo below). Now, I continue weekly lessons over their elearncsa program.
Naba Barkakati with other students and host family in Anitigua, Guatemala
There are even books that you can consult to learn about Spanish immersion programs such as the one shown below for Mexico. I have also listed below some books that I have purchased for my own use and that I have found useful for learning Spanish vocabulary and grammar. Believe me, once you can speak some, you won't mind putting some effort into learning more vocabulary and polishing up on your grammar.
By the way, to check verb conugations or translate words online, I use the Spanishdict web site.
