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| BOLIO Senior Member United States Joined 4660 days ago 253 posts - 366 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 297 of 344 09 February 2015 at 7:59pm | IP Logged |
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6Feb15
Listened to 30 minutes of audio book 25 minutes Iversen word list 7Feb15 30 minutes Unit 32 FSI 15 minutes review Unit 22 fsi 60 minutes Spanish Movie from the 70s (I understood very little) 15 practiced greetings / initial interactions with strangers with my wife 8Feb15 30 minutes fsi 30 minutes writing a story I will post to Lang8 30 minutes reading/Listening 9Feb15 Today I had a painting crew come to my house. My wife was at work but I thought it would be ok. They speak some English but I thought I could handle it. I asked the boss, "¿Puedo practicar español contigo?" This is where all my hard work would pay off. I would dazzle them with my abilities! However, my mouth and mind refused to work. So, I start spitting out sentence fragments and unconjugated verbs while making primate type gestures. However, I got warmed up a little and was starting to feel a little more comfortable. We had removed all the paintings and such off our walls and some of the holes in the wall we did not want them to paint over and some we did. I meant to say, "Aquí,por favor, no puedes pintar sobre los hoyos en la pared." I said "oyas" vs "Hoyos". I don't think oyas is a word. He corrected me which was nice. Also, I told him, "No me gusta el color pero me gusta mi esposa. Y mi esposa le encanta el color de la pintura." He laughed but started speaking so quickly that I was unable to understand much of anything he said. Of course I am picking out words as they fly by and I am translating them to myself. He is looking at me like I am the village idiot. I realize that the little internal mental exercise I do with myself(mentally translate) is not being done internally but externally. I can only imagine what I sounded like. His assistant started speaking and all I got was "Entiende unas palabras." The boss' response was "cálmate". I think the helper was saying, "Oh, he can't speak Spanish. He only knows a few words." So, I did what any grown up would do. I left with my tail between my legs. But before I did, I looked at the helper and said, "Voy a regresar más tarde." Take that you helper. It was as if Gabriel García Márquez himself had said it. I jumped in my vehicle and put on an audio book and vowed to never translate another word of Spanish. Then I remembered that if I do not translate then how do I learn the words? . Edited by BOLIO on 16 February 2015 at 11:43pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| epictetus Groupie Canada Joined 3884 days ago 54 posts - 87 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 298 of 344 10 February 2015 at 1:57am | IP Logged |
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Great story! It's always a struggle when trying to convince them that it's worth their effort to understand you or not switch to English. Brute force (not
giving up) often works. Yesterday I was speaking with a Guatemalan-American and I spoke Spanish while he tried to speak English. Ultimately, I had the upperhand and tilted the conversation in my favour :) It seems you kept your head high and pushed forward which is awkward at times but helpful/necessary. A favourite article of mine addresses the complexity of the problem when dealing with 2 or more languages: Language Power Struggles - Sinosplice Keep at it. Edited by epictetus on 10 February 2015 at 1:58am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| BOLIO Senior Member United States Joined 4660 days ago 253 posts - 366 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 299 of 344 25 February 2015 at 5:16pm | IP Logged |
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It has been a couple weeks. Just checking in for a bit.
My studies have been quite good actually. I am forcing myself to think more in Spanish throughout the day. If I am at work and I am not doing anything terribly time sensitive, I will try to form all my thoughts in Spanish. When I do not know the appropriate word I just say it in English and move on. I still have real problems with Direct and Indirect Object pronouns together. I get that the first one is the object that is receiving the action and the second one is the object itself. He buys it for you (polite). Él se lo compra a usted. When I read it now, I get it. However, when I try to speak it or write it then I usually forget the "se" and it comes out Él lo compra a usted. But it is getting a little better. FSI...The struggle is real. We move onward and upward. Just slower than I should. I really enjoy finishing a Unit. :) Most of my time is spent reading while listening to audio books, pdfs etc. Anything with a text and matching audio. In addition I watched one of the resources listed by Stelle in the TAC Spanish thread. It is a very short series called "Frágiles". It was goood and I was able to follow most of it. I would watch it once with English subtitles and then again without. I am searching for another series without too much sex and violence so my child can watch with me. As always, I wish you well in your studies. BOLIO 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| BOLIO Senior Member United States Joined 4660 days ago 253 posts - 366 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 300 of 344 12 March 2015 at 4:35pm | IP Logged |
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I hope everyone is well.
Spanish is moving along. I am moving even slower through FSI. I actually back tracked to lesson 24 and am determined to work through each course until I can respond in the given time. I was working the UNIT three times and most of the responses I could get in a timely manner but I would move on regardless. I was feeling very much like I did with Assimil. Towards the end of Assimil, I was either going to finish it or set it on fire. :) I realized if I do not master the FSI material, I was going to have to go back and do most of it over anyway. I remind myself that there is no end date to my studies. On to brighter notes, I love reading while listening to the material via audio. It relaxes me to no end. I love it. Also, I have found youtube. I know it is only a decade plus old but I recently found it for Spanish. There are songs, clips of movies, cartoons, etc for my learning pleasure. Also, I use it for certain subjects that I have trouble producing like indirect and direct object pronouns together and preterite vs imperfect (there is a long list but these are two examples). Also, vimeo.com gives me short clips of familiar movies that have been dubbed in Spanish as well as some original content. All the best, BOLIO 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| BOLIO Senior Member United States Joined 4660 days ago 253 posts - 366 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 301 of 344 31 March 2015 at 7:06pm | IP Logged |
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Woooo Hoooo!!!!
Mexico here I come! Leaving in three weeks to San Cristobal de Las Casas. I cannot wait to get back there! Also, we are going to visit Puerto Arista while we are there. It is a smaller beach town in the state of Chiapas. We have several friends and family who will be there with us. From a Spanish stand point, I cannot wait to see my progress. I am spending at least two hours a day on Spanish until we leave for the trip. I am working hard to converse with different people on a daily basis. It is still difficult and does not feel natural but I am getting a little better at understanding. I have a long way to go but I am getting closer every day. I hope everyone is enjoying their studies. All the best. BOLIO 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Crush Tetraglot Senior Member ChinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5867 days ago 1622 posts - 2299 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Esperanto Studies: Basque | Message 302 of 344 01 April 2015 at 6:35am | IP Logged |
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Oya is not a word, but olla is (pronounced the same), which means pot (that you cook in). And going back to indirect objects, in the sentence "Y mi esposa le encanta el color de la pintura", here you have "mi esposa" as the subject of the sentence when it should be the indirect object: "Y a mi esposa le encanta el color de la pintura."
Have fun in Mexico! Ah, and i think i've mentioned them once or twice before, but for good series that you can watch with your child i'd recommend the Spanish dub of Avatar: The Last Airbender (Avatar: El último maestro aire/La leyenda de Aang) and El Chavo del 8. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5377 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 303 of 344 01 April 2015 at 2:25pm | IP Logged |
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Yes, second for El Chavo. My son still likes the cartoon version and he is too old for cartoons now.
1 person has voted this message useful | |
| BOLIO Senior Member United States Joined 4660 days ago 253 posts - 366 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 304 of 344 03 April 2015 at 3:21am | IP Logged |
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I was telling a coworker about Language Transfer and took them to the site. I noticed they now have 90
lessons!!! That is awesome. I loved the first 20 and I am completing all 90 before my trip to Mexico. Much of the info is review but I like the way he explains concepts and patterns. If you are new to Spanish or are looking for a place to start then look no further in my opinion. BOLIO 1 person has voted this message useful |
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