16. Follow this rule about mistakes.
If you say something incorrectly and realize it immediately, you can correct yourself right then and go on. This will help you learn and...
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Do you know a little Spanish? How did you learn it? Maybe you took a class, or traveled in a Spanish-speaking country. Maybe you’ve worked through a beginner textbook, or you’re interested in people who speak Spanish.
Have you ever wanted to go beyond these first steps and learn to enjoy the Spanish you know? You can decide to use and enjoy the Spanish you have right now. It will be a great adventure. You will meet new people. It will make you feel young and exhilarated. It will exercise your brain. You will travel intelligently. You will enjoy life more.
I’ve been speaking Spanish, more or less well, for a long time. Here’s what happens: A friend greets me with, “Hola. ¿Qué tal?” I reply,”Bién, muy bién.” Then the conversation abruptly changes to English as my friend apologizes that he or she once knew some Spanish and liked it but has forgotten it all.
What a wasted opportunity. How many entertaining conversations, how many laughs could I have had by now with friends who gathered their courage and plunged into bad Spanish with me?
So come along and have fun with your bad Spanish with me. You may notice I like to have fun with my bad drawings as well!
Scroll down to enjoy more than 50 quick tips and stories to energize your love of Spanish!
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15. Learn vocabulary in categories.
You will remember more of the words you learn if you’ll group them into subject categories. Important categories include parts of the...
14. Learn vocabulary.
Vocabulary has a starring role in language learning. On the one hand, it is the absolute essential to know, and, on the other hand, if...
13. Watch Spanish TV.
Not the news. The announcers speak so fast you’ll be discouraged from the start. Watch one of the extravaganza shows like “Sabadazón” on...
12. Ask permission to practice with native speakers.
This takes some courage. Do it on a day when everything is going well and you feel tough. A day when your hair looks good. Maybe you’re...
11. Take a CLEP test.
The College Level Examination Program (CLEP) offers two levels of tests of Spanish. Taking a test will cost you about $90 and can be done...
10. Choose “Spanish” on voice mail.
Maybe not when you’ve been on hold for 20 minutes and you absolutely have to get your phone bill straightened out. Otherwise, give it a...
9. Listen to Spanish radio.
It will be mostly music. Try to catch some words. Try to do that for a while before you look online for the lyrics. I’ve had good luck...
8. Apply verb first aid.
If you don’t know how to conjugate the verb, go ahead and use the present tense or even the infinitive of the verb, as we just did with...
7. Learn five workhorse verbs.
To English speakers, the verbs in Spanish are quite confusing. We are accustomed to our own very simple verbs. In the appendix, you’ll...
6. Get the Spanish audio guide at a museum.
You’ll miss the fine points, but after a few minutes, you’ll get the main ideas. You already know something of the subject matter and...
5. Shop at a supermarket for Spanish-speakers.
They are beautiful and clean and jolly inside, though the parking lot often looks uninviting. Browse through the foreign products in the...
4. Learn pairs of words with opposite meanings.
In my classes in English for adult learners, I saw that everyone liked learning pairs of vocabulary words with opposite meanings, like...
3. Consider the advice of Stephen Krashen: You’ll never be fluent if you strive for correctness.
Stephen Krashen is the author of many works on teaching English to speakers of other languages. They include The Natural Approach, a 1983...
2. Make a list for yourself of useful exclamations.
In conversation, it’s necessary to affirm the other person and to indicate you’re following the discussion. In English, we do this...
1. Put a CD of Spanish music or language lessons in your car.
Arrange to have it come on as soon as you start the car. Don’t let it be a decision you make every time. Don’t feel you have to pay...
50 Ways to Have Fun with your Bad Spanish
The next 50 blog posts will be tips, activities, and bits of philosophy for using your Spanish. Some are very easy and others require a...
Reason # 6: You Feel the Quiet Pleasure of Competence
You have the private satisfaction of owning a skill. Whenever you have a conversation in Spanish, understand an ad, scan the Spanish...
Reason #5 It's Exhilarating to Feel Yourself a Citizen of the World
Now you can talk to people you wouldn’t have thought about or been able to talk to before. Now those people view you differently. Now the...
Reason #4 You can enjoy the guilty pleasure of showing off.
Americans are still impressed with one of their own speaking another language. If you know Spanish, you’ll find opportunities to show...
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