my Spanish journey – The Fitnessista

Share more on the way I work on Spanish in the past two years and what helped me the most. Spoiler: Duolingo made Nada for me.

Hi friends! How are you doing? I hope you have a nice morning. We made an water park and a theme park yesterday, so I have a feeling today will be a little more discreet.

Now that we are heading for our 4th week in Spain, I thought I would make a little update on my Spanish trip and some of the things that have helped me the most. I think that as an adult, it is so important to be a beginner * to things; To challenge your brain in a new way and try the pastime and the activities you always wanted to do, even if you are not good at the start. I know that many of my friends aim to learn a new language, so I hope this post is useful! I would also love to hear all the strategies that have worked for you.

My Spanish trip

A small background:

– Growing up, the side of my mother of the family often spoke Spanish. For this reason, I have always been able to understand it, but I never talked to it. I would do the thing where my family asked me for something in Spanish, and I answered in English. When people spoke Spanish around me, I knew what was going on, but did not contribute to the conversation.

– I took Spanish lessons in primary and college (super basic stuff) and Milré in Spanish at university. I thought it would be my chance to feel fully confident and fluent in Spanish. I wrote essays, read novels, analyzed poetry, but I may have spent 5% of the time in my Spanish lessons in Spanish speaking Spanish. So, once again, it simply solidified my understanding, gave me the opportunity to write and read in Spanish, but I did not really have to feel confident.

– A few years ago, I decided that I was going to start practicing and really understanding things. We like to travel, I like to be able to interact with people in different places, so it has become really important to me. Some of our closest friends are Colombians, and they have friends who speak Spanish, so I wanted to be able to contribute and feel more comfortable talking. In addition, I would like to start working with IHP customers in Spanish from the beginning of next year.

I tried a few different things to refresh my skills and feel more confident talking about it.

Here is what made a huge difference and here is what did nothing.

Learn Spanish as an adult

Applications:

I did not find a useful application for real situations. I tried Duolingo and Babbel and I was not impressed by both. I have the impression that it is a lot of correspondence and vocabulary, but little understanding behind grammatical rules and how to use languages ​​in real life. In addition, most of the time, you don’t even remember what you were doing. Even with the use of a little on the applications, I learned nothing again.

Virtual tutoring and in person:

It was the biggest gamechanger for me. I did a ton of research and came across Italy And it’s my go-to for Spanish tutoring. I have tutoring at least once a week, but I also have homework throughout the week in reading, writing, mastering, speaking and listening. It took me a little while, but I found a tutor that pushes me (it is actually a little mean hahah) but which makes me get out of my comfort zone and at the next level. (If you want his information, please LMK and I would be happy to transmit it!)

Practice Spanish in Spain:

Last year, when we came to Spain for about two weeks, I said to myself: “Let’s go. It’s my chance!” It was a nice little booster of confidence to feel like you can do it. I could order food in restaurants, ask and answer questions, order taxis, it was really NBD. Last year, I felt like the inhabitants spoke to us a lot English and I was surprised by the number of people in Seville spoke English. It looks like the opposite experience this time because of my determination to speak only Spanish while we are here. I was surprised by the way it feels easy and natural and I was only a few times in English. 😉

I also had the opportunity to work with a nice Spanish tutor twice a week while we are here!

Most of my world conversations have been at the surface level: the interactions of stores and restaurants. Burk, my deepest conversations were with taxi drivers! In Barcelona, ​​we have discussed a lot: economics, quality of life in the United States, how much schools and grocery stores… I loved it. I am delighted to continue practicing while we are here and that we come home and perhaps finally speak Spanish with my many Spanish-speaking friends. 😉

So tell me, friends: what are you a beginner these days?

Do you work for learning a new instrument or a new language? I would love to hear about it!

xoxo

Gina