How to Become Fluent in Spanish in Just 3 Years
As my assignment for Miami Cross-Blogination, this blog stumped me. No specific topic was required, just the suggestion that I write and not worry about what people think about it. That's actually a tough assignment for me, as I constantly worry about what people think. In fact, that is what first impeded me from learning Spanish...which brings me to my selected topic: How to learn Spanish. Based, of course, on how I learned Spanish. Follow these simple guidelines and I guarantee you will become fluent!
First of all, I highly recommend falling head over heels in live with a Mexican. Then, about a year or so later, said Mexican will need to get transferred to Mexico. As you can not live without this person, you must follow. (Engagement not required.) You are not going to just go to Mexico and mooch off of the love of your life - you must find a job.
A job, you say? But I don't speak Spanish! Who will hire me? Don't let that hold you back. Sell your skills to the Mexican branch of your American company, as I did. Or, if all else fails, teach English.
Okay, so let's do a quick re-cap. You now live and work in Mexico with your 'honey'. Now I've got some bad news. You will spend an entire year in the country and not have much to show for it in the bilingual arena.
Why is that? Precisely for the reason that we started this conversation with - you are too concerned with what others think. You speak English at work with your bilingual co-workers. They speak it so well, you are embarrassed to take your terrible Spanish out for a test drive. To make matters worse, when out to dinner or shopping, you let your 'love' do all the talking.
But have no fear, you will not leave the country without mastering the language! The stars will need to align a little bit for this next one, but you will soon find yourself in the incredible position of planning your wedding! Congratulations to the both of you. You must be so happy! The wedding will be in Mexico, you say? Perfect. Sounds exactly like what we need!
Here's the deal. You need to plan the entire wedding by yourself. Pick a date about eight months out. Arrange for flowers, food, location, dresses, and music. Yes, you will fumble. You will have to use hand gestures, pictures, and Spanglish. And guess what? You'll mess up. A lot. You know what else? People will be kind.
You will learn all sorts of technical wedding words like bouquet and veil. But you will also get a lot more comfortable with the language in general. Keep this up, and by your wedding day, you will be almost fluent.
So, do you have to get married to become fluent in Spanish? No. But I would feel bad about leaving someone at the alter like that!
The reason you learned Spanish, of course, was because YOU HAD TO. That, in my opinion, is the only key to learning a language. (And I mean really becoming fluent.) Necessity.
There is ever more good news: You will cut your learning time in half when you stop giving a damn about what others think.
Suerte!
Check out check out all the assignments or surf the webring. Whatever rocks your world!
Tags: Miami, Miami Cross Blogination, Spanish, Love, Thoughts, Humor, Dayngr, Dayngrous Discourse
Dished out by Dayngr at
1:08 AM
14 comment(s):
Hey Rebecca, I agree 100%. The only way I ever learned languages when living abroad (in Israel and Turkey) was by swallowing my pride and making mistakes. And people really are patient about it. Now it's time for me to learn Spanish. Good for you!
By
Sara, at
September 19, 2006 9:31 AM
Loved it!
By
Tere, at
September 19, 2006 9:34 AM
I guess I can blame my inability to speak Spanish on my husband... damn him! :)
By
Freckle Face Girl, at
September 19, 2006 10:15 AM
I am glad you decided to talk about this subject today. I have lived in Miami for 11 years and am tired of not knowing how to speak Spanish. Of course, I am already married to a gringo so the marriage thing is out. However, I have always felt that if I just move to a Spanish-speaking country for a few months, I'll be all set. Moving to Buenos Aires has been a fantasy of mine for about a year. Your post just reinforces my idea.
By
Michelle, at
September 19, 2006 10:27 AM
Hmmm, I've been thinking about actually trying to learn Spanish myself. The only problem is, I'm hard-headed enough to think people should speak the native language of the country they live in. Since I don't live in Mexico, Cuba, or any of the other popular Spanish-speaking locales, I never had the "need" to.
Now, the part about finding someone you can't live without and following them to the ends of the earth, I'm all about that!
Great post Rebecca!
By
MiamiGringo, at
September 19, 2006 10:56 AM
Thanks guys! I thought this was going to be a no comment post...glad to see otherwise! I love Miami but wonder if I would feel the same if I didn't speak Spanish as well.
By
Rebecca Carter, at
September 19, 2006 1:47 PM
Señora , gracias para la información, muy interesar.
By
Gus, at
September 19, 2006 2:23 PM
So all I need to do is find a hot Mexican guy to marry? No problem.
First I just need to dump my husband.
By
Jenny, at
September 19, 2006 2:33 PM
Rebecca, it also leads to some hilarious moments! One time in Venezuela an American friend of ours said "estoy embarasado" when he really wanted to say "I am embarassed." Of course, you know what that means: he told the world he was pregnant!
By
Manola Blablablanik, at
September 19, 2006 4:40 PM
MG, how can you live in Miami and say you "never had the need" to learn Spanish? Don't you ever visit Hialeah? LOL
By
Dayngr, at
September 19, 2006 5:19 PM
And guess what? You'll mess up. A lot. You know what else? People will be kind.
Excellent. I think you've discovered the secret of the universe. Once we embrace this, it's all cake. :-)
By
Yvette, at
September 19, 2006 5:57 PM
How can I say that? LOL read my latest post. :P
As for when someone doesn't speak it, like in a store or something I just point at whatever I want (usually cigarettes)
By
MiamiGringo, at
September 19, 2006 9:44 PM
spanish is the hottest language. all i know how to say in espanol is 'no tengo denero'. which roughly translates to: im a broke-ass motherfucker. yeah, very rough translation, i find adding some cuss words adds more spice, no?
By
Mika, at
September 20, 2006 5:23 PM
I've started a yahoo group for intermediate to advanced speakers and I
thought you might be interested. I think it can be really benificial
to those who are studying castellano. There are vocab lessons,
articles, videos, and some other cool stuff. Check it out:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hablandocastellano
Nos vemos!
By
Anonymous, at
September 30, 2006 11:48 PM
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