Most folks, when they set out to study a new language, begin by enrolling in Spanish I at their local Junior College. This is not the way to begin. In fact, the formal learning about the language in a course at the JuCo is about 5 years away from where you are at if you’ve had no experience at acquiring the target language.
You begin by listening. You need this exposure to grow accustomed to the sounds of the language. You need this period of silence in which you listen, not produce, so you can bombard your brain with lots and lots of visual and auditory impressions in the new language you are seeking to understand and speak. You’ve got to learn “the music” of the language. You’ve got to experience comprehensible input.
It is relatively easy in today’s technology to immerse yourself in languages through television. Those seeking to acquire spoken fluency in Spanish have it made in the shade while living in the States. You not only can find multiple radio and cable TV stations that are 100% Spanish, you will most likely find an American-Hispanic community living in a neighborhood near you. You can listen to Spanish almost anywhere in America now. And, if your goal is to develop spoken fluency, you will need to listen and listen and listen.
There are some pretty terrific home study courses that have risen to the challenge of providing “comprehensible input” from a very beginner’s level to a high intermediate level. Some even will guide you through to advanced levels. While using these courses, you’ve got to continue listening to lots of Spanish even when it sounds like gibberish to you. Together with the home study courses, your ear will slowly break down what sounds like one long word into separate components and allow you to understand even the fast talkers. Children, by the way, are the best teachers. They are slow speakers and seem, more often than not, to speak with crystal clarity.
When you reach the point of actually producing speech in the language, and are using a home study course, make sure the environment is as relaxing and free of anxiety as possible. Anxiety is one of the most profound reasons adults do so poorly in classes. In a classroom language learning circumstance, students are constantly put on the spot to perform. You will be asked to produce speech in the class in front of other adult (and sometimes college-age) learners. You may not be ready at that point to produce anything in the language. You may personally need more time to listen. However, in a class, you are put on the spot to produce in the language. The fear of screwing up and looking stupid will be a huge hindrance.
It takes time. It takes time to reach that point at which you are ready to begin showing off your new linguistic skills in a pressured situation. I interviewed multiple people who have an impressive proficiency in Spanish as their second language. All of them said it took 6-10 years to reach the point they were currently at in their Spanish proficiency. And when I say that, I mean not only speaking but also reading and writing. Language acquisition and language learning take time. It isn’t going to come after a year of studying Spanish in a Spanish-speaking country. If it took a Mexican child 6-7 years of non-stop bombardment in Spanish to reach his or her first grade level of spoken fluency, then just how long can it take an adult whose first language is not Spanish? It is not an overnight thing. You’ve got to curb the expectation that after you’ve shelled out a few hundred dollars (or more) for classes, you are going to have bought yourself fluency.
It isn’t going to happen.
Listen actively. Listen passively.
You’ve got to begin by listening!
Bena Kallick talks about Technology in the Classroom- How Do We Create a Good Balance? Bena Kallick is a strategic advisor for SunGard Public Sector and a private consultant providing services to school districts, state departments of education, professional organizations, and public sector agencies throughout the United States. Her areas of focus include group dynamics, creative and critical thinking, and alternative assessment strategies in the classroom. Formerly a Teachers Center Director, she also created a childrens museum based on problem solving and invention. Kallick was the coordinator of a high school alternative designed for at-risk students. She is cofounder of Technology Pathways, a company that facilitates teachers networks and communications about curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Her teaching appointments have included Yale University School of Organization and Management, University of Massachusetts Center for Creative and Critical Thinking, and Union Graduate School. Her national and international consulting work focuses on alternative assessment strategies, organizational change, and the use of technology in education. Her most recent publications are: Using Curriculum Mapping & Assessment Data to Improve Learning, co-authored with Jeff Colosimo, Assessment in the Learning Organization and Habits of Mind ( a four book series published by ASCD), co-authored with Arthur Costa, Strategies for Self-Directed Learning (published by Corwin Press), and …
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