Studying a new language is way more fascinating when learning from a native teacher. Why? Because who’s more exposed to the language than a native speaker?
Without further ado, here are some awesome facts about why you should definitely pick a native-teachers-only Spanish school:
1. First and foremost important one: Slang & cultural references.
Yes.
The best part of learning a new language with a native teacher is, ultimately being able to understand firsthand what other native speakers are typically communicating when they are not being “proper” while talking. How many times have you read or heard a sentence (or a word alone even), looked it up and found that it has up to three separate meanings? This situation is intimately linked to culture and the fact that languages are alive. While people use a language to communicate with each other they are constantly changing it. Think of the concept of “cool” and think how many terms there are in English for the same concept depending on the generation of the speaker. The same happens in Spanish. All this is pertinent especially if you’re currently in an advanced stage of the language. All this fresh knowledge will most definitely be provided by a native speaker. They can educate you on the necessary understanding of the language, so it becomes part of you, spontaneously.
The same can be said about cultural references. A native speaker will have a vast amount of knowledge on pop culture, for example, that they can impart onto you. Sometimes when explaining a topic, the teacher will be reminded of something and will share a song, or a clip of a TV show to back up the topic being studied. Learning this way is certainly more fun but also it will be more impactful. You will most likely remember the lesson when audiovisual material is involved.
2. Secondly: Invested time
Having your teacher be a native speaker doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll learn right away. However, this can significantly reduce the actual time that it’s going to take you to improve and learn new vocabulary. Perhaps not at the beginning, but setting rules like “only speak Spanish during class” can be incredibly helpful. Firstly, this way, the student is not relying on their mother tongue to communicate and they are forced to use the words and expressions they have learnt up until that moment. This presents unique opportunities to correct some mistakes the student might not even know they are making. It also presents to possibility to practice body language to explain things when verbal communication isn’t enough to understand what’s being said, definitely facilitates the learning process, therefore making a way faster good-quality progress.
While learning a second language, lots of people begin to lose motivation quickly when confronting the complexity of the language. The building of the linguistic bridge between the student’s mother tongue and the new language is arduous. Interacting with native speakers will inevitably encourage students to continue learning more vocabulary and pick up more grammar structure.
3. Thirdly: Understanding the target language
Chatting with native speakers will, slowly but surely, increase your ability to understand them! They tend to speak way faster than non-native speakers, so understanding what they’re saying can, sometimes, seems impossible at first. For this exact reason, we think it is always a good idea to shift between teachers with different accents.
Having teachers from different Spanish-speaking countries or regions makes it easier to get familiar with any common native speech habits. Next thing you know, you won’t find it challenging to understand your target language outside the classroom and will be able to communicate successfully.
4. Ultimately: Motivational approaches
Based on your affinities and passions, the teacher could recommend related material as movies or books, which will derive in a personalized incentive. Slowly but surely, you’ll begin to associate what you’re currently studying with what you previously had learned and will enjoy the process of learning much more. This will encourage you to build more and more motivation towards acquiring the new language.
These, and many more, are some reasons why picking a native speaker as teacher when learning a new language is the best option you can consider. You will, eventually, be capable of speaking more like a native and understand native-level speech. This will make holding a real conversation much easier and will reduce the intimidating factor, and it will become a gratifying experience.
If you would like to try for yourself, contact us and book your Spanish Classes here in Toronto!
