Lenguajero Blog

When Natalie finished up her last year of university by taking a Spanish course she thought that by the time the year was over her Spanish would be pretty good, and she’d have no trouble spending the summer in Mexico and Guatemala.  So she studied hard, got good grades, and learned how to conjugate her irregular verbs.

She still tells the story of ending up at the bus station in Mexico completely unable to communicate with anyone with a mix of shock and self-deprecation. Natalie’s story highlights what many of us experienced in high school or university; it is hard to learn to speak Spanish when you are crammed into a classroom with 50 other students.

For students and non-students alike who really want to learn Spanish this year Lenguajero presents: A quick-and-easy back to school guide: Speaking Spanish.

1. Listen to something in Spanish everyday

Listening to Spanish is a great way to improve just about every facet of your ability to speak the language.  Above all listening to something in Spanish everyday will train your ear how to parse what is coming in, and pretty quickly you will notice your comprehension really improve.  Aside from improving your comprehension listening to Spanish everyday will also make it easier for you to form sentences when you are speaking, and help solidify the uses of the various grammatical constructions.

My top 3 easy listening favs.

1. Notes in Spanish – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – They are the best!  These fantastic learning Spanish podcasts at all levels cover everything from world events, to life in Spain, to internet fads, and pop culture. A couple of my favorites: Notes From Spain, Fuegos Artificiales, Heroes
2. BBC Mundo Podcast – I get all my news everyday in a quick ‘n easy 15 minute Spanish format, thus killing two birds with one stone. (Note: They are cramming all the day’s news into 15 minutes, so they can talk pretty quick sometimes.  Don’t be intimidated, if you stick with it for a few weeks you’ll be amazed at how much easier it becomes.)
3. Some Spanish music -  My current favs for this are Me Llaman Calle (Manu Chao), Celos (Fanny Lu), and Pedro Nevaja (Rubén Blades) Tip: When no one is around try singing out loud to them, especially Celos.

2. Read, Read, Read

In the age of content consumption why not make the conscious effort to consume a big chunk of your daily content in Spanish.  For example, set your Facebook, Gmail, and Twitter (or any other sites you use on a daily basis) language to Spanish.  You already know how to navigate your way around these sites, now get used to doing it in Spanish.

Then of course there is actually taking the time to read things in Spanish.  For those of you who want to take this *yawn* more traditional approach I would highly recommend the following:

1. Harry Potter – It was fantastic in English, and when you read it in Spanish you feel way less guilty about how you are spending your time (it’s educational). So aside from being a great read, the language is at a pretty basic level, it has lots of action, and it never gets boring.
2. Generacion Y – Yoani Sanchez has been named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people. Not an easy task for a blogger, and one made much more difficult by the fact that she lives in Havana, Cuba and relies on help from people outside of Cuba to publish her anti-Castro blog.
3. 20minutos – Keep up to date with what’s going on in Spanish and around the world with this online news journal published in Madrid.
4. Glamour Magazine – I’ll let you decide whether this is up your alley or not (I want to go on record saying this is Natalie’s recommendation not mine). From Natalie “It would lack all educational value, except it’s in Spanish!)

3. Watch A Movie

Doesn’t kicking back with a bowl of popcorn and watching a movie sound way more fun than writing out all the present tense conjugations of ser and estar?

When I first started watching movies in Spanish I would watch them with the subtitles on (in Spanish, doing it in English is just cheating…ok, I did that a couple of times too, but I don’t recommend it.)  Just like listening to podcasts, the news, or music in Spanish watching movies is a great way to train your ear.

My favorite Spanish language movies are….

1. Pan’s Labyrinth – It takes place in Spain in May and June, 1944, after the Spanish Civil War, during the Franquist repression. Also present is the main character Ofelia’s fantasy world which centers around an overgrown abandoned labyrinth.”
2. Fresa y Chocolate – A powerful movie set in Havana, Cuba right after the fall of the Soviet Union. Roger Ebert comments that “…It is not a movie about the seduction of a body, but about the seduction of a mind. It is more interested in politics than sex — unless you count sexual politics, since to be homosexual in Cuba is to make an anti-authoritarian statement whether you intend it or not.” The entire film is available on YouTube, the link above is to part 1 of 11.
3. Maria Llena Eres De Gracia (Maria Full Of Grace) – María, a 17-year-old Colombian girl works in sweat shop-like conditions at a flower plantation to help support her family. After being unjustly treated by her boss, she quits and decides to find another job. She is offered a position as a drug mule. Desperate, she accepts the risky offer, swallows 62 wrapped pellets of cocaine and flies to New York City.
4. El Cuerno de La Abundencia – Another Cuban movie, and the funniest Spanish language movie I have ever watched.  The entire movie is available free on YouTube.

4. Put your learning to good use – Have an intercambio

So you’ve been studying Spanish, but why not put it into use by actually speaking Spanish. Having a conversation exchange (intercambio) is a great way to not only practice your Spanish, but also to make some new friends.  If you live in an area where there are a lot of Spanish speakers try to set up a face-to-face intercambio at a bar or cafe. My recommendations for having a great intercambio.

If you can’t find anyone in your area, or if you feel more comfortable speaking online check out Lenguajero.  Lenguajero has a growing community of native Spanish and English speakers who enjoy helping each other learn these languages. You can have voice, video, and text based conversation exchanges, as well as exchange messages, and post daily writing assignments which will be graded by a native speaker.