If you’re learning Spanish you already know the key techniques that aid your language skills; classes, listening & conversation and study. Have you thought about the things that hinder your language skills? I’ve had a chat to the students here at Vamos Academy Malaga and jotted down the top 5 points that we all agree are absolute killers when trying to speak Spanish.
Embracing Imperfection: Overcoming Nervousness in Speaking Spanish
- Being nervous will always slow down your fluency and your ability to speak confidently. You’re mid-sentence and you said a word wrong…? Put down the defibrillator, no es tan malo*. Unless you have accidentally replaced a terrible word with “tu madre*” it’s no biggie! If you’re standing around at a party and Juan is judging your grammatical errors in a social setting then he’s probably a boludo* (I mean that in the literal, non-affectionate sense) and not worth talking to anyway.
- Who’s idea was it to shame people who are trying to speak another language? It seems quite petty to me. If you’re worried or scared about putting yourself out there, think about all the time and effort you’ve put into learning another language. Remember that Spanish people, and most South Americans, find it very respectful that you’re attempting to speak their language and not assuming they speak English. One of my Spanish teachers here at Vamos told me that 9 times out of 10 the first word that comes to your head is correct, so finish chewing that piece of empanada and open your mouth and hable*!
To Drink or Not to Drink: How Alcohol Affects Your Spanish Skills
- Drinking a bit = good for your Spanish. Drinking lots = bad for your Spanish
- Jack, a fellow student here at Vamos Academy, has a very complex theory about alcohol consumption in relation to linguistic ability that can only be explained through this table that represents years of study:
From these concrete anthropological findings you can clearly see that although your confidence is increasing with every drink you have, your ability is dramatically declining. I would like to recommend the perfect amount of drinks that reduces inhibitions but maintains or even improves your ability to speak Spanish but unfortunately I’m yet to find the sweet spot.
If you don’t believe my obviously-real-and-not-fake-at-all table then cast your eyes over this article: http://time.com/4989850/alcohol-foreign-language-speak/
- RESACA*
- So unlike drinking, a hangover is never, ever good for your speaking ability. My teacher here at Vamos, Macu <3, can always tell when any of the students have a hangover. At first I thought Macu could read minds, or perhaps had a 6th sense.. Or maybe just a 5th sense; smell. But no, it wasn’t until another student, (actually, it was Jack – the guy I mentioned before..) It wasn’t until Jack turned up to class hungover and could hardly string a sentence together that I realised you have minimal brain function when you’re hungover. Studies (don’t ask me for any specific examples) have proven that along with the dizziness, nausea and anxiety, a hangover also leaves the brain itself less able to function. As if hangovers weren’t bad enough.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/10213764/Hangovers-can-make-you-stupid.html
Latin Language Crossfire: How to Tackle the Confusion of Speaking Multiple Romance Languages
- Speaking another latin-based language:
- If you speak another latin-based language, don’t be fooled into thinking you have an advantage over any of the other students. You will undoubtedly throw words from other languages into your sentence willy-nilly. Your foreign words start banding together, forming a mini United Nations in your sentence and your conversational-comrade is left thinking you have just suffered a small stroke.
- A trampa* that many latin-based speakers fall into is guessing the word and applying the corresponding accent to it. It might work in some cases i.e. English: Carrot. French: *french accent* ummm Carrot? Oui! Spanish: *spanish accent* Carroto ..? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ No amigos, it’s zanahoria. In linguistics this is often referred to as a “false-friend”.
Check out the link below for common false friends in Spanish and English. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:False_friends_between_English_and_Spanish
Say ‘Adiós’ to English: The Importance of Sticking to Spanish:
- Speaking your native language OR hanging out with Spanish people who want to practice their English with you
- As tempting as it is, don’t take the easy option and speak your native tongue all the time. Don’t get me wrong, you should definitely be social and hang out with people but also make sure that 100% of your time here in Spain isn’t spent in a magical English bubble floating around Malaga.
- Spanish people love to speak English with you. A lot of them have travelled abroad and want to refresh their English. This is a trap. Open the bathroom window and escape. This weekend I went into Zara to buy some clothes and the cashier took one quick glimpse at my credit card and driver’s license and immediately switched to staggered English saying, “For to change the cloth, you must keep the ticket”… I stared at her blankly and said “oohhhh lo siento, no hablo inglés”. I thought to myself, “ZING, Got cha! Time for some grade-a Spanish practice”, then she replied in Spanish “But you’re from Australia, what language do you speak?”
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Lost in Translation: Funny Moments and Lessons Learned While Learning Spanish
Uh oh.
I didn’t think this through…. I smiled awkwardly and scurried out. The shop assistant will never know what language Australians speak….
If you’re already on the path to learning Spanish then you know there are many ways to skin a cat… ‘skin a cat’?! Try explaining that to a non-English speaker- “you know, like you’ve got a cat, and you can peel it’s skin off in a number of different ways” …… um, ok you psychopath. I digress, there are multiple ways to learn a language but there are a few key points that we all agree inarguably impede your learning, in short: drink a little, talk a lot!
TRANSLATIONS
* No es tan malo – it’s not that bad
* tu madre – your mother
*Boludo / Boluda – spanish for ‘moron’ but you will often hear Spanish couples using it affectionately
*Hable – subjunctive form usted / hablar – to speak
*Resaca – Hangover
*Trampa – Trap
