So everyone that knows me knows me probably knows me as the the white girl married to the handsome Mexican man, with the cute little chicana baby (I actually don't know who knows me as this, but it's true). They also know that we're trying to teach our baby girl Spanish (which is a work in progress, we'll see what type of Spanglish this more little thing ends up speaking). However, little known fact is that I haven't been speaking Spanish very long. In fact, most of the Spanish I have learned has been learned just by living my life these past 3 years. You can totally tell, because I don't speak very proper Spanish and I could really cuss someone out if I wanted to, but the fact is I've learned, and I've improved a lot (or so I've been told).
So here we are, and I thought I'd pass some tips of to my fellow gueros (that's white people, but in this case all English speakers) wanting to learn Spanish, just not in the classroom.
I took the required 2 years of Spanish in high school. I even went for another semester. But when I nearly failed my final semester I decided I valued graduating with a GPA that would get me into college than learning Spanish. Though a little tragic for my speaking skills, I learned something about myself, I'm just not a classroom learner when it comes to language (or most things). It's not that I don't like to learn. I do. I really do, but I have to be actively using what I'm learning to actually make it stick. That's what I've been doing since 3 years ago, and I've learned a lot along the way. That's why I want to share some nuggets of knowledge for those who would love to learn some Spanish (or any other language), but like me are a little more tactile.
Lesson 1: Find and Make Opportunities
Obviously, I live with my best opportunity to learn Spanish. I'm married to a Mexican man and we have a little baby. But it wasn't always like that (and I'm not advocating to find some random spanish speaker and get hitched) however, to learn Spanish on the street (that's what the called means) you're going to need to build some relationships with actual spanish speakers. For me, that was going Salsa dancing, making friends, and swapping a few numbers (those numbers may or may not lead somewhere else, so be careful). You could also try attending a Spanish-speaking church, go to the get togethers, hang out, attend service, make friends. If you have kids, go to Spanish story time at the library (don't do this if you don't have kids, you'll just come off creepy). And here's the thing, the beauty of learning on the street in the U.S. is that most Spanish speakers also speak some English. So be brave, be bold, and go make some friends. It might be slow going, but with time and patience it will happen.
Lesson 2: Remember your basics
When I first went to the Salsa Club, I didn't go empty handed. I knew a handful of phrases that I had to learn to graduate high school, and if you're like me, you probably had to learn a foreign language to graduate too. Reach back into the depths of your memory and pull that out. If you by small chance didn't need a foreign language, or for some unknown reason took Bengali (there's just not a lot of Bengali being thrown around in Minneapolis, I don't even know where you would take that) it may be a good investment to by a Spanish for beginners workbook. I'm sorry, I know I said without the classroom, but on the bright side, you can take this at your own pace. Or you can even download a Spanish for beginners app on your smart phone. There are so many many options now a days. So don't go in empty-handed. Get some basics. Here's a few giveaways just for fun:
Hola:Hello
¿Comó estas?: How are you?
Muy Bien: Very Fine
Gracias: Thank You.
That's enough to get you off the ground with your first conversation, a very short conversation, but a conversation none the less. Good Luck.
Lesson 3: Be Fearless
Apart of learning how to speak on the street is just doing it. You kind of have to decide to throw caution to the wind and just do it. Take what you have, and even what you don't and go for it. You're going to make mistakes, you're going to be speaking more Spanglish than anything, but every good thing has a beginning and this is yours. And if by chance you happen to ask some guys to do some naked rock climbing (not that I would know about this from personal experience...and I don't want to talk about it) pick yourself up, bury your embarassment, and keep going. It's worth it.
Lesson 4: Get Some Media
Books, Music, Movies. Read, listen, watch. A lot of understanding comes from patiently observing, and being immersed. Since you live in the good ol' USA, that's a little harder to do. However, we do have access to quite a few Spanish resources. Like Pandora, Netflix, and the library. Even if you don't pick up a lot of words from this, you will still get a sense for rhythm and flow of the language, and will really help you stop sounding so white. Haha just kidding, nothings going to really help that, but it will help you feel more comfortable when listening to your Spanish-speaking friends. Here's some options I've tested and approved:
Music: use pandora, seriously
Prince Royce (Bachata Music)
Marc Anthony (Salsa Music)
Rojo (praise music)
Tercer Cielo (More praise music)
Evan Craft (praise music, but is more similar to a white people style)
Pequeña Fiesta de Alabanza by Yancy (Children's Praise Music) this is also good for adults, as the words in kids music repeat themselves often to help the meaning stick)
Movies: if you have DVDs check the back. There may be a Spanish Audio Option. If so, change it to that and leave all subtitles off. But if you need a little help, turn on the Spanish subtitles. It can help to read and listen at the same time. In addition, there's Netflix:
Instructions Not Included
Paraiso (warning small amount of nudity)
No Filter (again a second of Nudity warning)
Canela (cute to watch with kids)
Pulling Strings
The Little Prince (Change audio to spanish)
PlimPlim (kid's show)
Cantiflus(Story of a Mexican Comedic Legend)
Ala Mala
Mi Mejor Regalo
Frida (Change audio to Spanish, small amount of nudity, teaches about Frida Khalo)
Galinha Pintadinha (Kids show)
Books: Go to your local library! This may be harder in areas that don't have a large Latino population, but we live in an area with a number of Latinos and has a Spanish section. Also, start easy and work your way up.
Baby Don Quixote (teaches Spanish words to babies and beginners)
Loiteria (another baby board books)
La Llorona (Baby board book)
Buenos Noches Monstruos (harder board book)
Eres Tu Mi Mama by P.D. Eastman
Get a Spanish/English Bible and read in both languages
Jesus Te Llama (Jesus Calling in Spanish)
Soy Miembro de la Iglesia by Rainer
The Harry Potter Series (Ideal for moderate advanced who already know the story. As the writing in Harry Potter grows in difficulty as the series progresses, mainly because the audience grows up. Also your Spanish should grow up as you continue to read the books)
Lesson 5: Practice, Practice, Practice
Talk to your friends, talk to your dog, talk to your self (make sure what you're saying is correct if you talk to your dog or yourself, otherwise you'll be in a world of bad habits formed). Write your grocery list in Spanish, write your Facebook posts in Spanish. Whatever you do don't give up. It will pay off. Eventually the man at the pananderia won't just give you a blank stare, you're waiter will give you tamales instead of a torta (I still don't know how that happened), and you'll finally understand the joke about the "cuchara que no escuchara." It's will happen. Just have patience and practice. Good luck in all your Spanish Speaking endeavors!
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