Spanish wasn’t always my passion and in some ways maybe it never has been. I never went all in and said I am going to study for hours on end each day. I always wanted to maintain a fun social life and pursue other things while I studied Spanish.

So I am proof and here to tell you that yes, you too, can learn Spanish in one year’s time with at least somewhat focused and consistent study time. The key word in that last sentence is consistent.

Anki is a great app for flashcards

The post How I learned Spanish in About a Year (And How You Can Too!) appeared first on Spanish Hackers.

Hola fellow Spanish Hackers! I just wanted to introduce our special guest poster today.  His name is Teddy Nee from neeslanguageblog.com. He's currently living in Taiwan and speaks 6 languages! Kudos to Ted for sharing his some of his Spanish learning journey with us, and writing it in English  (which for him is a second language!).

I came to Taiwan in 2008 to pursue my higher study. I was enrolled in the major of Applied Computing, (or Information Management if you are more familiar with it). Despite having interest in technology, I am also interested in languages. Moreover, I studied in a full-English environment with classmates coming from around the world.

I once thought to myself, “I need to learn foreign languages!”. I believe that by learning foreign languages, we can learn about other cultures, customs, and even, ways of thinking.

Studying in English and dealing with daily chores in Chinese already seemed quite daunting for me, considering that both of those languages are foreign languages. However, my desire to grasp the opportunity that I had was beyond my weakness. Thus, without thinking any longer, I proceeded to learn other foreign languages, and Spanish was one of them.

Having the chance to learn Spanish has changed my life forever. It is certainly the most memorable moment that I will not forget. Moreover, I am more than happy to share my story about learning this beautiful language.

By the way, I am an Indonesian, I speak Medan Hokkien and Indonesian as native languages, I always dream big about languages, and let me show you how I did it.

Latinos in Taiwan

To my astonishment, latinos make up quite a big portion of the international people in Taiwan. Most of them come to study under the scholarships from Taiwanese government. However, most of them actually come from Central America, especially from those countries which has diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Some of the Spanish-speaking countries are as the following:

El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic, Paraguay,  and Belize (Some of Belizeans also speak Spanish as a native language).

The post My Fifth Language is Spanish appeared first on Spanish Hackers.

It seemed like a cool concept, so I decided to try it out. I picked a class from the upper beginner section, thinking that my Spanish was probably closer to an intermediate level.  I had regular hour long conversations in Spanish before so a beginner class should be a cinch right?...

...Well maybe not.

The class I chose was one where the teacher shows pictures and each student has to describe them in Spanish. Sounds easy enough... 

When it was my turn to describe a picture I was at a loss for words. Sometimes I knew the words but being put on the spot made me nervous and I couldn't remember them. Other times I just flat out didn't have the vocabulary I needed to describe what was going on. It also didn't help that some of the pictures were well...a little unusual:

Uh...¿La chica está en el piso con...sus juguetes?

 Through some lessons on Italki and some practice with a couple language partners, I had become fairly comfortable with talking about myself: my job, my hobbies, my family, where I live, etc. But for the life of me I couldn't describe these pictures! It was all a bit humbling to say the least. All the progress I made suddenly didn't seem all that special. 

I should mention here that the class was a good experience. I wasn't too sure what to expect in a live online class. The teacher was great and did a great job of involving all of the students. Even though in my mind I didn't do so well, it was a great way to test my skills and pick up some new vocabulary.

You can read more about the site I used for classes here.

 Here's 3 lessons I learned from the whole experience:​

1) Don't be too hard on yourself 

Needless to say after the lesson I didn't feel too good about myself. 6 months of learning Spanish and I was having trouble with a beginner course. ​

But rather then let all this keep me down I did my best to count it as nothing more than a learning experience. So I can't describe pictures well. That's okay. I can meet new people and make friends in Spanish, and that's way more important to me anyways.

There's no reason to beat myself up about it. So what if I'm not perfect at Spanish yet? I never will be so I had better get used to the idea and realize that continuing to move forward is the most important thing. When you're learning a foreign language it doesn't matter how big the step is, what matters is that it's a step forward.

2) A gap in your learning is just a bump in the road

One of the first things I did after this lesson was ask one my language partners to find some pictures on Google so I could practice describing them. I wasn't going to let this weak point keep me down!

Thankfully the pictures my language partner chose were a little easier

If you're learning Spanish or another foreign language you are inevitably going hit some bumps along the way. You might speak well about one topic and then be utterly horrible at speaking about another. Or you could be really good at talking in the present tense but the past tense alludes you. 

Don't worry too much about it. These things are bound to happen. You can't learn everything all at once. Keep your head up and keep practicing!

3) If you are comfortable, you're not learning much

This class was definitely outside of my comfort zone, but by exploring the limits of my ability I was able to get feedback and see where I can improve. Stretching my Spanish speaking didn't feel good in the moment (I felt like child again), but in the end I know I'm better for it.

Remember my friend Anthony's post where he compared speaking Spanish to jumping off a cliff? In order to learn you have to keep pushing yourself. You can never be too comfortable. But hey, that's life. I think deep down we all know that anything worth doing will be scary at times. That's what makes living and learning so much fun!

The post 3 Things I Learned From Failing an Online Spanish Class appeared first on Spanish Hackers.

Me and some friends of mine were traveling through Tennessee last summer, and were staying near Knoxville. We were told by one of the locals of an old abandoned rock quarry that people go to swim and cliff jump. We decided to check it out and try our hand at jumping off a 70 ft cliff.

 Actually it was probably 60ft, the cliff gets a little higher every time I tell the story. It was terrifying, but so worth it.

The most tangible fear in my life is probably heights, but I took the plunge anyways. Looking back there are some surprising parallels between jumping off a cliff and learning to speak Spanish. I realized the feeling I had at the top of that cliff is the same feeling I get when I'm getting ready to talk with Spanish speaker.

Just like I had to face my fear to jump I have to face the fear of speaking a language I don't know. Here are 3 things I took away from the cliff experience and am starting to apply to my Spanish practice.

1) The more you think about it the less likely you are to do it

You will always think of million reasons why there’s a better time or place. The only time is now and if you don’t do it now you’ll probably never do it. This is very simple to understand, but terribly painful to implement. Still, apply it and your life will be much better for it.

Sometimes speaking a new language with someone can feel like jumping off a cliff

This was true when I was standing at the top of the cliff and it’s also true when I’m trying to start a conversation with a native Spanish speaker.  When you first start out learning a language the thought of actually speaking it with someone can be scary. Still, the longer you wait the more you agonize over it. It’s better to not think about it at all and just jump, or in this case talk.

2) You will survive

When you speak Spanish NOT necessarily cliff jumping, (I’m not condoning cliff jumping!) Not only will you survive, but you will feel awesome as well. Once you jump the rest takes care of itself. When I jumped off a cliff (which you shouldn’t do) I was terrified for about half a second then I realized how awesome it was that I had just faced my fear.

Similarly when I started talking with a native speaker I was pretty scared but as soon as the first question is asked I'm usually too busy communicating that I didn’t have time to be afraid. The first step is always the hardest.

3) Fear is my biggest obstacle to speaking Spanish.

The biggest obstacle to my learning isn’t my intelligence, my method, or whether not I have enough time or money. The biggest obstacle to learning I have is fear. I want to learn Spanish but I’m often too embarrassed to speak it. It’s a source of pride really. For all the parts of my life that I can remember, I’ve been able to communicate my thoughts and feelings accurately in English. 

To be unable to do so in front of other people kind of feels like being naked. You feel vulnerable, that’s why I tend to revert back to English. That’s why I often don’t talk to my Spanish speaking friends or my grandmother in Spanish. I don’t like the defenseless feeling of not being good with a language. So I don’t get out there and speak as much as I should.

Jumping Off My Spanish Cliff by Speaking

 A couple weeks ago I had an appointment online for an hour long Skype session with a tutor on Italki who didn’t speak any English. I had been learning Spanish for 4-5 months but had never spoke in Spanish with no English for that long of a time period.

I was nervous and afraid. I thought to myself, "What on earth am I going to talk about for an hour? What if I don’t understand him? What if he doesn’t understand me? I don’t want to look stupid. I don’t want it to feel awkward. How on earth am I going to think of things to talk about for an hour?!

Fear can be your greatest obstacle in learning a foreign language

 I couldn’t possibly know or remember that many words yet." Well the session started and the first question asked was "¿Cómo estás?". After that the conversation flowed pretty naturally. We talked about where we lived, our jobs, our hobbies, our cultures, and all the usual language learning questions.

By the end of the session I was so busy communicating that I hadn't realized an hour had passed. I jumped and I survived.

Speaking is hard but communication comes easy

I would guess that as human beings communication comes naturally to us. Have you ever played charades? It’s fairly easy to play a game using no words and guess obscure and unrelated things (I’m a cowboy, then I’m painting). Little kids and adult can even play it together.

How much more should two adult be able to communicate with context and a small but common vocabulary? It’s easier and more natural than we think. Also people are usually very patient and graceful in helping you with their native language, especially if they are learning another language themselves.

Don’t forget you’re paying someone a compliment by trying to learn their native language. Worst case you make a funny mistake and everyone laughs about it (don’t take yourself too seriously mistakes can be part of the fun).

 Anyways get out there and jump off as many cliffs as possible! (metaphoric cliffs that is. I am not condoning literal cliff jumping, do that at your own discretion). Speak a lot of Spanish and please...don’t hurt yourself.

The post 3 Things I Learned About Spanish from Cliff Jumping appeared first on Spanish Hackers.

Via atraza.com

It All Started with a Book

It was over a year ago that I first thought about learning Spanish, and about 6 months since I actually started learning. In back of my mind I had always had a faint desire to learn a foreign language, but It was never something I thought I could actually do.

I always had this timeline in my mind and thought that to be fluent in a foreign language I would have to undergo 3-5 years of intensive studying. This is probably because I knew a lot of people who had taken 3-4 years of Spanish in school and still couldn’t speak it very well.

I didn’t know anyone who had successfully learned a foreign language from scratch before. But then I read a book by Benny Lewis, an Irish Polyglot who speaks at least 8 languages. If you have been involved in language learning on the internet you’ve probably heard of him, and for good reason.

He emphasizes speaking a new language as much as possible. His approach can seem extreme, but at the same time it feels very fun and well...human. I don’t know if I could cut myself off from my native language cold turkey like he does, but his method seems to work.

Ultimately his advice helped me realize that I could in fact learn a new language and that there is more than one way to skin a cat (ever wonder where that idiom come from?). I didn’t need to spend 5 years with my nose in a boring text book. I wasn't prepared to completely immerse myself 24/7 like Benny and learn a language in three months.

But I figured if I practice 1-2 hours a day I could probably become conversational in about a year. I quickly decided that I would learn a foreign language and that Spanish would the one I learned. (the reasons for that I’ll get to in a minute).

Sometimes learning a new language can feel like a neverending uphill journey

My Spanish Journey Begins

After reading his book I began to research further on the web about how to learn languages and found numerous methods, resources, and best of all i found more people like Benny who were in fact learning languages quickly without formal classrooms or books.

I decided on the idea but tipped toed my way into the language until January 2015 when I fully committed to learning. That’s when I signed up for my first Spanish lesson on an Italki and really pushed myself to practice.

My goal was to be somewhere around a B2 level by the end of the year, I also wanted to learn all aspects of the language: reading, writing, listening, and most of all speaking. I also wanted to learn in a way that wasn’t too intrusive toward my day to day lifestyle (no more than 1-2 hours a day 5 days a week).

I should mention that there have been some weeks where I spend way more time than that and a lot more where I spend less, but consistently I have been studying or practicing Spanish for no less than 2-3 hours per week. I’d say on average 5 or 4. 5 months in and I’m coming closer and closer to an intermediate level, something I once thought I could never do!

Why I Chose Spanish

Family History

Now why exactly did I choose Spanish? Well there are several reasons, one is my father was Mexican-American. He was a 2nd generation born American but his parents were from a part of Texas walking distance from Mexico where most people don’t use English as a first language.

For whatever reason neither my father nor his brothers or sisters ever spoke Spanish, but they could all understand it. I actually ended up living with my grandmother on my father’s side for the last couple years and she speaks Spanish, though she constantly switches between Spanish and English mid sentence, and doesn't remember some Spanish words (I think they call this Spanglish?).

I want learn because until a generation ago one side of my family all spoke Spanish. There is a personal sense of history and identity for me in learning the language.

Spanish is a great language to learn if you like to travel

Travel

The second and probably biggest reason I want to learn is because I want to travel, and you can get a lot of mileage out of Spanish compared to some other languages. There are over 20 of countries that claim it as a national or official language and its estimated that over 400 million people speak it.

The countries of Spain and Latin America are full of diverse cultures and peoples, and I plan to travel to there one day. 

Food & Girls

I like pretty girls okay...

Some other less lofty reasons are I love the different foods and I think Latinas can be quite pretty. Hence, the image to the left.

But yeah, that’s how my journey began. I doubt Spanish will be the only language I will learn. I’m well on my way to fluency and I don’t regret my choice one bit

What about you? What made you decide to learn Spanish? How did you start learning?

The post Why I Started Learning Spanish appeared first on Spanish Hackers.