On Learning Spanish

On Learning Spanish

I am coming up on two months here in Spain and already I feel like things have really opened up for me, that I see things more clearly, and that I’m actually starting to fit in (at least in my own illegal immigrant sort of way). I am not intimidated by language situations as I know I can muddle through just about anything that I encounter. I still have a lot to learn and I get frustrated with myself at times and think that I’ll never speak Spanish well.

I still haven’t even really started to learn the second person plural familiar pronoun, vosotros, and all of its verb declensions. This form is not used in Mexico and Peru where I learned Spanish initially. It’s not an important gap in my knowledge of the language but I need to start incorporating this into my speech.

My strategy in learning Spanish calls for lots of reading. I read every newspaper I can get my hands on. I look up damn near every word that I don’t know. I have pages and pages of vocabulary in my little notebook that I review whenever I get the chance, like when I’m walking down the street or riding the subway. Some words stick and some don’t. I really hate it when I have already looked a word up before and then I am stumped when I come upon it again.

If I am home I usually have the television turned on or I listen to the BBC in Spanish via the internet. I can follow the news rather well and talk shows aren’t too big of a problem. Movies are still a struggle to understand. I just have to force myself to pay close attention and understand as much as I can. The hardest things for me are the cartoon shows, Los Simpsons, Futurama, and Padre de la Familia (Family Guy). The animated voices are really difficult to hear. When I can watch and understand an entire episode of Los Simpsons I will really feel like I have achieved something. It’s important to set high goals for yourself.