How to really learn spanish.pdf

REALLY

learn

SPANISH

by Ricardo Gonzalez , Founder & Executive Director of Bilingual America

How to

Table of Contents

Foreword by Jane Madsen, D.Ed. Pennsylvania State University

Intro

The Importance of Methods

II.

Assess Your Abilities

III.

The Fruit and the Root

IV.

The Power of Patterns

You are Not a Native…All About Immersion

VI.

The Four Secrets to Long-term Retention

VII.

The Comfortable, Cozy Classroom

VIII.

Eight Reasons Why Telephone Tutoring is BETTER

than Face to Face Tutoring

IX.

What to Expect From A Great Tutor

What to Expect From Great Course Materials

XI.

Mastering Pronunciation, Speech Flow and Comprehension

XII.

Put Your Products on the Shelf!

XIII.

What To Do When You Already Speak Some Spanish

XIV.

Cultural Training and Language

Closing Thoughts

Foreword

by Jane Madsen, D. Ed.

Penn State University

The "threads" of a cultural "fabric" are its language. Learning a language other than one's own

native language is not a simple task unless you are some sort of a multiple language genius. Most

of us, including me, are not.

The second paragraph of the "Introduction" in How Really to Learn Spanish is the mirror image of

me before I enrolled in Bilingual America. My thought when I finally decided to try this program

was: "This is the LAST time I am going to try to learn the Spanish language! If this doesn't work, I

give up!" I have had a pleasant surprise. This non-traditional program has taken the threads of the

Spanish language and woven them into a progressive learning fabric that works extremely well for

the average learner.

As a professional educator who has made several attempts to learn Spanish aside from my

demanding professional life, Bilingual America has truly given me a gift! Read this little book and

apply what you have learned. It purports a language-learning style that makes sense. Seriously

following the instructional patterns in the Bilingual America language program, you, too, can

learn this beautiful language.

Jane M. Madsen, D.Ed.

Introduction

I speak daily with people who are frustrated and confused, people who have tried to learn Spanish

in one way or another but simply have not totally achieved their goal. Many of these people

honestly believe it takes at least two to three years of dedication to be "good" at the language —

not "highly proficient," just "good." Many of these same people honestly believe that they have

some type of "mental block" or "learning disability" when it comes to learning a different language.

Some people have had two to three years of Spanish in high school or college, others have gone to

Latin America anywhere from six weeks to six months, some even longer. Many have picked up

books and tapes at their local bookstore or have purchased some program through an

advertisement in an airline catalogue. Some have even done all of these things and still do not

speak well!

These people all have the same thing in common — they haven't reached their goal of

communicating well in Spanish. They all have invested significant time and money and they are still

not there yet.

The reason I have written this short book is to help you become an educated student, to help you

avoid the pitfalls most people make in language learning. The case I will present to you is forged in

years of experience both academically and practically. I am a pragmatic. I am a realist. Above all, I

believe in being "up front" with people. I will tell you what works and what does not work.

You may or may not become a student of Bilingual America. We may or may not be what you want

or need. That's fine. As we say in Spanish, "No hay problema." Whatever you end up doing for

your Spanish training needs, I want you to go in with your "ojos pelados." That means with your

"eyes wide open."

The only thing that is important for you at this point is to become an educated consumer. There is

no sense or need for you to make the same mistakes in your Spanish learning process as those who

I have previously mentioned.

In this book I will share with you many insights regarding language training. These will sometimes

enlighten you, sometimes surprise you, and if you have already taken some Spanish and have been

unsuccessful, perhaps these may even sometimes anger you.

I have had students actually say to me, "I wish I had known these things before. I sure could have

saved a lot of time and money."

Well, let's dig in! Maintain an open mind and plan on getting a mental exercise.

You will enjoy it, I promise.

Chapter 1

The Importance of Methods

I cannot overstate the importance of methods. Methods are the key to your learning process. You

must understand what you are going to do before you start doing it. So, with that in mind, allow

me to introduce you to the importance of methods in Spanish training.

• A learning process is only as good as the methods that are implemented.

• A teacher is only as good as the system that he or she uses.

• A student will learn only as well as the teaching method allows.

If I bought a "Spanish Language Course" at my local book store that had dialogues of "Gabriel and

Andrea in a burrito shop," that is exactly how good a teacher I would be and that is exactly what

you would learn. You would be able to order burritos, but you would not be able to negotiate a

business deal in Latin America.

Unfortunately, many people make the mistake of choosing a school based on pricing, location or

social environment. In fact, the first question many people ask when considering a language school

is, "Where are you located, when are your classes and how much does it cost?"

Sorry, amigo, wrong questions! A school should be chosen based primarily on methods because the

method will determine the result.

Learning is primarily about what you do, not where you are or who you are with, certainly not how

beautiful or nice is your teacher! The fact is that most teachers are great people. The problem is that

being great people does not make for great results; great learning systems make for great results.

There are two types of methods used by schools. They are:

• Learning Methods

• Logistical Methods

Learning methods include things like:

• How are memory systems developed and implemented?

• How and when should pronunciation skills be taught?

• How do you develop speech flow?

• How is grammar and structure most easily and comprehensively learned?

• How is comprehension developed?

• Should you be introduced to native rate of speed immediately?

• Should you learn in a dialogue based, immersion method or through a bilingual approach? Is

there a balance? If so, what is it?

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