The best thing about my job is seeing how much progress people make. Most people start out learning Spanish as complete beginners, not knowing barely a word of the language except perhaps “hola” (hello) or “Dos cervezas, por favor” (Two beers, please). However, this soon changes! A lot of people who have private lessons choose to do so because they prefer a one-to-one or two-to-one lesson rather than learn in a classroom full of people which they find too intimidating. They would be reluctant to speak out in front of everyone, therefore get little opportunity to practise the language or to ask questions. Also, they find that in a larger group of people, everyone tends to be at different levels – some know more than others and want to progress faster than those at lower levels who can get left behind and lose interest.
These are the reasons why one of my clients came to me to learn Spanish. She was very lacking in confidence and felt that she would “never master this language”, however, she has now moved to Spain permanently and here is a list of things she has been able to use the language for in addition to the general daily getting-by when living in a foreign country: Continue reading
One of the greatest recent technological innovations has been the invention of video calling platforms such as Skype which has completely transformed the way in which we keep in touch with people across the globe. Communicating with people around the world has never been easier and international companies rely on such platforms every day to communicate with colleagues, clients and suppliers in other countries. This innovative method of connecting with people all over the world is particularly effective for people learning languages.
People who make the most progress when learning another language stick to a regular routine of spending part of each day learning a language. This could be listening to a podcast, reading an article, learning vocabulary, doing grammar exercises. If you get into the habit of setting aside half an hour first thing in the morning or half an hour after dinner you are more like to stick to this than if you do no studying Monday to Friday and then force yourself to do a full 3-hour session on a Sunday. Continue reading
It is so easy to fall into the trap of using the same small set of adjectives to describe things in your speaking and writing. e.g. la pelcula fue buena, (The film was good). Here is a list of adjectives to learn and have at your fingertips to include in your speaking or writing tasks:
agradable – pleasant
amable – kind / friendly / nice
asombroso – astonishing / amazing
bonito – pretty
deslumbrante – dazzling
emocionante – exciting
encantador/a – charming
Continue reading