by the resources available for us now when learning a new language, especially Spanish.
I started playing with Duolingo three months ago, on May 6th. At the time I wrote,
So I don’t have a goal of becoming proficient in Spanish (the company offers a lot of other languages), I’m just using Duolingo as game like Wordle, Spelling Bee, etc. So far it’s been a winner — they know how to grab my attention and keep me motivated to use it.
As I’ve said, I do the bare minimum on Duolingo each day now, and I’m still learning from it. I like the approach, don’t worry about memorizing vocabulary or grammar, just see what works and what doesn’t. There’s no penalty for being wrong. Duo just tells you the right answer so you can try again. Amazingly enough, some of it is sticking. So I’m continuing with that philosophy.
The way I learned English was by listening, speaking, and reading, so that’s what I’m playing with now with Spanish. I am watching the two-semester college Spanish course on Wondrium (formerly The Great Courses), but I’m not doing the homework involving memorizing. The professor says there are two ways of learning Spanish, “going-by-the rules” and “that sounds about right.” I did the first when I was in high school… I diligently memorized vocabulary and conjugations and other grammar and applied them. This time I’m trying the second way…immersing myself in some Spanish every day to get a feel of what sounds right and what doesn’t. Thanks to AI and the internet it’s easy to get English and Spanish versions of the same text and to read the Spanish aloud while knowing the meaning because of the English version.
The Wondium professor says it’s important to start speaking and using Spanish right away. Find someone to talk to. Hmm. That’s not what I really want. I would rather have a pen pal, someone I could correspond with in writing. So instead I’m writing to myself a little each day with the help of Google Translate or SpanishDict. I read the results out loud to help it sink in, and I’m trusting that some of it will stick. It’s a fun experiment and it’s keeping my mind off the crazy heat we’ve been having here! I will let you know how it goes. Te dejaré saber cómo va.
August 6, 2023
yes learning isn’t just rote anymore – and it is easier to decide what best works for “oneself” – and you still are having fun …
It’s so much easier to keep motivated this way. 🙂
glad you are having fun while learning. all of us have different ways to remember things. this morning I asked an employee where the shaving cream was, they are remodling the store and its chaos. she shook her head and I mimed shaving by face and said shaving. she took me right to it..
That’s a great way of communicating!
I remember the spanish classes I took in high school. I can’t say that I retained much of what I learned back then.
Me neither! I was starting almost from scratch again.
Seems like you are almost proficient now!! You are so sharp!!
Not nearly “proficient” but I understand a lot more now than I did three months ago. 🙂
Funny, I was never required to take a foreign language while in school.
I like the thought of making yourself a pen pal!
Yes, being my own pen pal works for me. I want to eventually think directly in Spanish rather than thinking in English and translating.