Español
For a minute, I thought it would be fun to type this blog post in Spanish, but then I remembered that I'm not fluent, and it would take me all night to figure out all the correct words. So English it is.
Day 3.
I am thankful for my rekindled desire to learn Spanish.
I studied Spanish for many years - from fourth grade to sophomore year in college. I even considered minoring in it in college. It's too bad that years and years of classroom Spanish never resulted in true fluency. I could read it pretty well, and if I had found myself in a Spanish country, I could probably survive (well, that's debatable, depending on what country, but you get the point) with the little I could communicate. Unfortunately, after graduating college, eventually getting married, having children, and just going about life, I've had little reason to use any of my previously held Spanish speaking skills. And like so many other things, if you don't use it, you lose it.
My sister, Meg's husband, Fernando is from Colombia. He moved here years ago, and is totally bilingual. We like to give him a hard time for the way he says certain words, like "reebye" steak or instead of Piper, it sounds more like "Pipair." But all joking aside, I think it's pretty impressive to come to a country where you know hardly any of the language and then eventually become totally fluent. Over the last few years, Meg has taken Spanish classes, practiced speaking Spanish with Fernando, and she even spent a month in Colombia with family and friends (without her husband), totally immersed in life there. She says that she's not fluent yet, but last weekend, while in Ohio with family for Christmas, I listened to her speak to her in-laws on the phone. I was impressed and entertained with how fluent she sounded.
Like I mentioned yesterday, I have started practicing Spanish on an app on my phone called Duolingo. It's really enjoyable, and I've realized that so many of the rules I learned in Spanish classes all those years are still accessible in my brain! I'm remembering words and grammar rules that I hadn't used in two decades! I've been trying to practice everyday. I know that I won't get fluent just using this app, but it's certainly better than nothing! Also, I wonder what kind of opportunities there are for adults to become more fluent in Spanish without traveling to another country for several months?
The kids have also shown interest in learning Spanish, and I told them that I would teach them some things. I want to find some fun (non-iPhone) ways to teach some basics. I read that teaching through movement and music are good options, as is reading to them in Spanish. I bet I could find some children's books at the library in Spanish that I could read to them. I've also thought about labeling items in our house with the Spanish word to help teach some basic vocabulary. Learning how to properly conjugate words is probably important too, but I wonder how much needs to be taught formerly, and how much could be picked up along the way.
Anyway, we'll see if I ever get fluent in Spanish, or if my kids remain interested in learning the language. But until then, I'll do my best learning and teaching it. And thankfully, I've got a brother-in-law I can text my questions to!
Day 3.
I am thankful for my rekindled desire to learn Spanish.
I studied Spanish for many years - from fourth grade to sophomore year in college. I even considered minoring in it in college. It's too bad that years and years of classroom Spanish never resulted in true fluency. I could read it pretty well, and if I had found myself in a Spanish country, I could probably survive (well, that's debatable, depending on what country, but you get the point) with the little I could communicate. Unfortunately, after graduating college, eventually getting married, having children, and just going about life, I've had little reason to use any of my previously held Spanish speaking skills. And like so many other things, if you don't use it, you lose it.
My sister, Meg's husband, Fernando is from Colombia. He moved here years ago, and is totally bilingual. We like to give him a hard time for the way he says certain words, like "reebye" steak or instead of Piper, it sounds more like "Pipair." But all joking aside, I think it's pretty impressive to come to a country where you know hardly any of the language and then eventually become totally fluent. Over the last few years, Meg has taken Spanish classes, practiced speaking Spanish with Fernando, and she even spent a month in Colombia with family and friends (without her husband), totally immersed in life there. She says that she's not fluent yet, but last weekend, while in Ohio with family for Christmas, I listened to her speak to her in-laws on the phone. I was impressed and entertained with how fluent she sounded.
Like I mentioned yesterday, I have started practicing Spanish on an app on my phone called Duolingo. It's really enjoyable, and I've realized that so many of the rules I learned in Spanish classes all those years are still accessible in my brain! I'm remembering words and grammar rules that I hadn't used in two decades! I've been trying to practice everyday. I know that I won't get fluent just using this app, but it's certainly better than nothing! Also, I wonder what kind of opportunities there are for adults to become more fluent in Spanish without traveling to another country for several months?
The kids have also shown interest in learning Spanish, and I told them that I would teach them some things. I want to find some fun (non-iPhone) ways to teach some basics. I read that teaching through movement and music are good options, as is reading to them in Spanish. I bet I could find some children's books at the library in Spanish that I could read to them. I've also thought about labeling items in our house with the Spanish word to help teach some basic vocabulary. Learning how to properly conjugate words is probably important too, but I wonder how much needs to be taught formerly, and how much could be picked up along the way.
Anyway, we'll see if I ever get fluent in Spanish, or if my kids remain interested in learning the language. But until then, I'll do my best learning and teaching it. And thankfully, I've got a brother-in-law I can text my questions to!
So....I tried to leave a comment from my phone, but apparently that didn't work. Basically what it said was that I think it's so cool that you're interested in rekindling your desire to learn Spanish and to share it with your kiddos. Over the Christmas weekend, I read a little bit in Spanish to Josie, and it was fun to see how much of the story she could pick up just from my few translations and the pictures. Good luck in your journey, and let me know how I can help. Love you!
ReplyDelete