Field Notes for Spanish Learners: The Method

My Method

Let's call it the Crispy Method. The main goal is to learn to speak, to learn conversation. Why?
Well, although I used to study languages for the intellectual satisfaction of it, I now view foreign languages as an interpersonal tool to derive greater enjoyment out of life. I love becoming friends with people from other countries, I love listening to unfamiliar music styles, and I love the challenge of mimicking a foreign accent as closely as possible. For me, speech is the most direct path to excitement when it comes to learning a foreign language.

I'll divide the method into its components:

Conversation
Notice that a small set of words and phrases are used over and over in everyday conversation. Listen attentively and try to identify them. Then, make it a game: deliberately insert colloquial words, phrases, and idioms into conversation every chance you get. For some Spanish examples, look at the "Castellano Phrasebook" post below.

You won't necessarily be able to identify these on your own; you may need the help of a native speaker, maybe even a speaker who speaks your language in addition to their own, to determine the exact meaning. I learned words like tipo and ponele ("like...") from a native speaker who explicitly pointed them out to me, and I only learned este ("um...") after directly asking my teacher Marisa what it meant.

Podcasts
Podcasts for learning a specific language are abundant. They're audio, which means you start developing your comprehension of the spoken language early on. And unlike programs like Pimsleur, they tend to use natural speech rather than stilted dialogues. Podcasts are also an easy way to pick up some extra vocabulary; I find that a few new words/phrases usually stick in my mind after listening. Finally, many high-quality podcasts are available for free.

Language Exchanges
In a language exchange, you meet with a partner and help each other practice a new language. For instance, as a native English speaker looking to improve my Spanish, I would seek a native Spanish speaker looking to improve their English. If you're unable to spend time abroad, you can do language exchanges over the internet using the program Skype and websites like Mixxer or MyLanguageExchange. If you can spend time abroad, I recommend joining CouchSurfing. CouchSurfing (CS) is primarily a hospitality organization, similar to Servas but with greater youth participation. As it turns out, many cities around the world have local groups open to all CS members; in Montevideo, the group meets every Thursday night to talk and mingle. In the Buenos Aires group, there's actually a whole page devoted to finding partners for language exchanges; whatever the local situation, CouchSurfing is a great medium to set them up.

Borrowing from various websites, here are a few things to keep in mind with language exchanges:

• Encourage your partner to correct your mistakes and suggest alternate ways to say things
• Be sure to resist the temptation to "generously" give up all your practice time. It's an exchange, so both partners should spend an equal time practicing the foreign language they're trying to learn

In fact, I've still barely explored the possibilities of language exchanges. As I wrote in my journal:

4/29/10
If I could have 3-4 different language exchanges going at once, like with Viki and her friends, I would learn so fast!

Flash Cards, Pocket Notepad
Barry Farber gives good tips on making flashcards in his book (see the post "How to Learn Any Language" below). They're really indispensable, but they can also be supplemented with a pocket notepad to jot down any new words or phrases as they come up in everyday life. Alternatively, you can carry around a supply of blank flashcards.

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