In my last few blogs I've talked about language learning and the importance of studying English. Well, today I'd like to talk about the importance of language learning in general and of Spanish in particular and why learning Spanish in Madrid is such a great opportunity.
There are more native speakers of Spanish than of English. Of course, there are more speakers of Mandarin and Hindi than of either Spanish and English, and although you can find both Chinese and Indians in most places of the globe, both languages are fairly mono-cultural and generally limited to their own countries. If you want to choose a language with a massive and varied cultural audience Spanish is the one to go for; with speakers in Spain; the whole of Latin and South America, apart from Brazil; in many parts of the United States; and it has influence also in Asia, in The Philipines.
Spain is a popular holiday destination for the British, amongst many nationalities: Germans, Dutch and Scandinavian in particular. In the resort areas, Spain is very accommodating language-wise, for example most people employed in the tourism industry speak, at least some, English. In places such as Mallorca which is very popular with German tourists, German is primarily spoken. Of course this is done as a means to make guests more comfortable and to make their trip smoother and easier, thereby encouraging guests to come back again in the future. Simply, it's good for business. The problem for the guests is the lack of incentive to learn the language, however there are so many places off the beaten track within Spain that are wonderful to visit, but where English is less-frequently spoken. Villages that are hidden gems, full of culture, architecture, wonderful gastronomy with delicious local specialities and also beautiful countryside. Many people are getting increasingly tired of going to the same old places and so the interest to explore less well-known places is deepening. The whole experience would be infinitely more rewarding with a knowledge of the language. That's only talking about Spain, South America is a fascinating, varying and enormous continent to visit with delightful people, assorted cultures, diverse customs, incredible architecture and monuments.
However it is not just for tourism reasons that it is a good idea to learn Spanish. For business reasons too, it makes a lot of sense to have another language under your belt. As I said before, a large part of the world speak Spanish, so it makes good business sense to have a linguistic and cultural idea of how to do business in those places. Even though English is the language of business and the actual business transactions are most probably done in English it still helps for the lunches or other social events if some attempt, at least, is made to speak the language. Mr Nick Clegg, the deputy Prime Minister in the UK is incredibly popular and well-looked upon in Spain after he did an interview with Spanish TV in Spanish. He received a lot of respect and admiration. Sadly, in my opinion, it was mainly due to the surprise that a British person was prepared to be interviewed in another language and but also because he defended himself and his position representing the UK very well. Monolingual English speakers are always at a disadvantage, not only culturally and linguistically, but also for lacking the respect by not having an idea of the language.
Madrid is the beautiful bustling capital city of Spain, full of history, museums, art galleries with a great, lively night-life, where there is always something going on to see and do. There is an almost continuous array of exhibitions, theatre shows, dance recitals and concerts happening throughout the year. Madrid has the highest number of bars and cafeterias per capita so the choice of food, particularly of tasty tapas, is out of this world, there are even a number of annual tapas festivals taking place in different areas of the city for you to come and try out different specialities from throughout Spain. Anytime of the year in Madrid is a wonderful time to come and enjoy the life of this great city, my personal favourite is summer, with the long days and relaxed tempo with everyone enjoying the long evenings out in the streets: it is a great atmosphere to meet people and to practise the language.
One Stop Language provides a fantastic Weekend Immersion Course in which you can spend the weekend in Madrid sightseeing, having lunch, visiting museums, enjoying the night-life with a Madrileño, practising your Spanish with a native whilst enjoying their beautiful city and learning first-hand about the culture, people and life there. It is a great opportunity.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Learning Languages
I am probably the worst kind of student there is. I don't think teachers make good students, we are too used to being the protagonist in the classroom, it's very difficult for me, anyway, to sit back and let the teacher get on with doing their job without taking over. I'm forever thinking of ideas, trying to help and generally being a pain in the neck. I am also very critical of the way in which classes are done, for instance, the methods used or the way the class is conducted. For this reason, I have never stayed very long in any establishment, plus the fact that my job keeps me busy when most classes are held so it was difficult to continue. I mainly, therefore, studied the grammar and vocabulary by myself, if you like studying languages this really is not a bad way to go, but there are always going to be questions that you have that cannot be answered by a book so I've looked for private teachers, as it's easier to fit that way into my timetable, but as I mentioned before I'm a veritable nightmare.
Really, the best way to learn a language is by being in the country that speaks it, make friends and practise it. This I did, although I know that my accent in Spanish is awful; I think it's true when they say that learning a language when you are a child is best. Children have a much better capability with listening. Of course, there are those who just have a good ear, how I envy them. I learned how to use the grammar through using it. Spanish verbs, for those who don't know, are conjugated for each person, singular and plural, it's really just a question of memorizing them. However, that is easier said than done; I had diligently learned many verbs, but of course, these rarely came up in any conversation I was having. The regular verbs are no problem as you learn the format and copy it for each verb. But not all verbs are regular, so I would pick up the 'I' form and 'you' form as in a one-to-one conversation that is normally what you would be using mostly, as you stay longer in the country you make more friends, so the conversation expands with the 'he', 'she', 'they' and 'we' forms.
For me, starting to use the 'we' form was a sign that I had managed to make a circle of friends, I had moved from the singular into the plural and it was a very satisfying feeling. As I spoke more, I started to feel more and more comfortable with the language, I picked up new vocabulary along the way, I invented quite a few words, usually by adding an 'o' to the end of an English word in the hope that it would be understood, and do you know what, in about 60% of the cases it worked. It helps if your new friends speak another language, especially if that language happens to be English, as they can then figure out what you were trying to say and correct you. You need friends who will correct you, that's an important point.
Of course, the most important thing you need is confidence, or in my case the ability to not care what people think of me. Spanish is the third language I've learned and it's true what they say, that it gets easier with each language. I don't think it's a case that the actual language learning gets easier, it's more a question of having learned how to get over the obstacles so when you face a similar obstacle in a new language you know what to do. For me, a major obstacle has always been feeling like a complete idiot when starting a new language. This is another reason why it is best to start as a child, children only really want to ask their friend what their favourite colour is, ask someone to pass them the ball or to tell someone that they don't like eggs; they then pick up the vocabulary and the grammar structure gradually as they mature into wanting to have deeper conversations. Adults want to have philosophical conversations, explain their theory of why their project is the best for the company, argue their case, chat up someone of the opposite sex in a bar and generally get to know whoever they are talking to and 'what is your favourite colour?' is not up to the job.
But it is something that you have to do and have to pass, often it is a good idea to be patient and listen to conversations. When I say listen, I mean listen and not drift off into never-never-land because you are bored. With time, you will start to pick up rhythms, words, grammar structures and you will surprise yourself by wanting to join in.
Usually, by the time you have constructed your sentence, the conversation has moved on, so this is when overcoming shyness or lack of confidence comes in; you have to leap into the conversation, let it be known that you have something to say and go for it. People, once they know you have something to say, will wait for you. It's hard and I spent many, many evenings whilst learning Japanese (my second foreign language) in silence, kicking myself as I yet again missed the opportunity to say something in a conversation. But finally, out of desperation, boredom and being totally fed-up of people commenting that I was really quiet and shy, I took the plunge and did it. Nobody laughed at me. In fact everyone was really pleased and encouraging. I felt like a baby bird taking my first flight.
And, yes, it got easier and easier.....and the best bit was when I came to Spain and started to learn Spanish I knew exactly what I had to do and did it, I was talking Spanish at a much earlier stage than with Japanese, that's because it's a much easier language to learn and you can invent, but also because I knew what was the obstacle and how to get over it.
Of course, not everyone is nice to you when you are speaking another language. This is where not caring what people think of you comes in. I remember a shop-keeper in Japan who, after 7 years there and speaking perfectly well with everyone else, decided he couldn't understand anything I said, he told me in Japanese that he didn't speak English. He had obviously taken one look at me, seen a foreigner and blocked his head of the possibility that the foreigner could speak his language. His wife, on the other hand, gave me a sympathetic look and dealt with me, understanding perfectly well what I had said. This has happened in Spain too, as I said before, my accent is not good but most people understand me, occasionally I meet someone who looks at me as if I'm an alien landed from another planet, but this is rare. Another lesson learned. Communication is a two-way street and there are some people who do not want to communicate, it is their problem not yours. It is necessary to keep reminding yourself of this as it is so easy to let an episode like this dent your confidence in your ability to speak the language.
Despite knowing this, I've had many crises due to someone not understanding me and making me feel stupid. But, to repeat, it is their problem not yours, keep remembering all the frequent times that people have understood you and as you get better at the language, these times will become more frequent until the person who criticizes you is in the minority. Now I can laugh at all these episodes. Mind you, it still happens occasionally and it probably always will. I've had people I don't know commenting on how good my Spanish is and how amazing my vocabulary is and an hour later someone just focuses on my accent and comments that it's so typical that British people don't learn foreign languages.
Grrrr.
Breathe.
It's their problem not mine, they don't want to communicate with me, that's all, I'll look for the people that do.
Really, the best way to learn a language is by being in the country that speaks it, make friends and practise it. This I did, although I know that my accent in Spanish is awful; I think it's true when they say that learning a language when you are a child is best. Children have a much better capability with listening. Of course, there are those who just have a good ear, how I envy them. I learned how to use the grammar through using it. Spanish verbs, for those who don't know, are conjugated for each person, singular and plural, it's really just a question of memorizing them. However, that is easier said than done; I had diligently learned many verbs, but of course, these rarely came up in any conversation I was having. The regular verbs are no problem as you learn the format and copy it for each verb. But not all verbs are regular, so I would pick up the 'I' form and 'you' form as in a one-to-one conversation that is normally what you would be using mostly, as you stay longer in the country you make more friends, so the conversation expands with the 'he', 'she', 'they' and 'we' forms.
For me, starting to use the 'we' form was a sign that I had managed to make a circle of friends, I had moved from the singular into the plural and it was a very satisfying feeling. As I spoke more, I started to feel more and more comfortable with the language, I picked up new vocabulary along the way, I invented quite a few words, usually by adding an 'o' to the end of an English word in the hope that it would be understood, and do you know what, in about 60% of the cases it worked. It helps if your new friends speak another language, especially if that language happens to be English, as they can then figure out what you were trying to say and correct you. You need friends who will correct you, that's an important point.
Of course, the most important thing you need is confidence, or in my case the ability to not care what people think of me. Spanish is the third language I've learned and it's true what they say, that it gets easier with each language. I don't think it's a case that the actual language learning gets easier, it's more a question of having learned how to get over the obstacles so when you face a similar obstacle in a new language you know what to do. For me, a major obstacle has always been feeling like a complete idiot when starting a new language. This is another reason why it is best to start as a child, children only really want to ask their friend what their favourite colour is, ask someone to pass them the ball or to tell someone that they don't like eggs; they then pick up the vocabulary and the grammar structure gradually as they mature into wanting to have deeper conversations. Adults want to have philosophical conversations, explain their theory of why their project is the best for the company, argue their case, chat up someone of the opposite sex in a bar and generally get to know whoever they are talking to and 'what is your favourite colour?' is not up to the job.
But it is something that you have to do and have to pass, often it is a good idea to be patient and listen to conversations. When I say listen, I mean listen and not drift off into never-never-land because you are bored. With time, you will start to pick up rhythms, words, grammar structures and you will surprise yourself by wanting to join in.
Usually, by the time you have constructed your sentence, the conversation has moved on, so this is when overcoming shyness or lack of confidence comes in; you have to leap into the conversation, let it be known that you have something to say and go for it. People, once they know you have something to say, will wait for you. It's hard and I spent many, many evenings whilst learning Japanese (my second foreign language) in silence, kicking myself as I yet again missed the opportunity to say something in a conversation. But finally, out of desperation, boredom and being totally fed-up of people commenting that I was really quiet and shy, I took the plunge and did it. Nobody laughed at me. In fact everyone was really pleased and encouraging. I felt like a baby bird taking my first flight.
And, yes, it got easier and easier.....and the best bit was when I came to Spain and started to learn Spanish I knew exactly what I had to do and did it, I was talking Spanish at a much earlier stage than with Japanese, that's because it's a much easier language to learn and you can invent, but also because I knew what was the obstacle and how to get over it.
Of course, not everyone is nice to you when you are speaking another language. This is where not caring what people think of you comes in. I remember a shop-keeper in Japan who, after 7 years there and speaking perfectly well with everyone else, decided he couldn't understand anything I said, he told me in Japanese that he didn't speak English. He had obviously taken one look at me, seen a foreigner and blocked his head of the possibility that the foreigner could speak his language. His wife, on the other hand, gave me a sympathetic look and dealt with me, understanding perfectly well what I had said. This has happened in Spain too, as I said before, my accent is not good but most people understand me, occasionally I meet someone who looks at me as if I'm an alien landed from another planet, but this is rare. Another lesson learned. Communication is a two-way street and there are some people who do not want to communicate, it is their problem not yours. It is necessary to keep reminding yourself of this as it is so easy to let an episode like this dent your confidence in your ability to speak the language.
Despite knowing this, I've had many crises due to someone not understanding me and making me feel stupid. But, to repeat, it is their problem not yours, keep remembering all the frequent times that people have understood you and as you get better at the language, these times will become more frequent until the person who criticizes you is in the minority. Now I can laugh at all these episodes. Mind you, it still happens occasionally and it probably always will. I've had people I don't know commenting on how good my Spanish is and how amazing my vocabulary is and an hour later someone just focuses on my accent and comments that it's so typical that British people don't learn foreign languages.
Grrrr.
Breathe.
It's their problem not mine, they don't want to communicate with me, that's all, I'll look for the people that do.
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