Tip 3. Learning Spanish by Talking to Distant Invisible People

With long distance telephone services like Yak charging only 5 to 10 cents a minute, you can speak Spanish with anybody you like.

Try an activity like one of these. You might spend 35 cents a call.

Call up a green grocer in Little Havana in Miami and ask how the weather is or what's on special today.

Call the Colon Opera House in Buenos Aires (Do the online tour first then call to ask how the renovations are going.)

Try calling the Mayor of Mexico City's Secretary about whatever you like. Who knows, if you call during lunch, the Mayor might pick up your call himself. (His name is Marcelo Ebrard; he's very nice).

The point is, of course, that the world is full of people who would love to talk to us and we now have the means to do just that.

Tip 2. Learning Spanish while Talking on the Telephone

Practicing Spanish on the Telephone.


The telephone is a great way to find opportunities to speak Spanish to real people in a controlled low-risk situation. This tip builds on Tip 1. Learning Spanish by Talking to Invisible People, in which we began learning to keep the stress level down by talking to people we can't see.


Tip 2. Accessing Local Spanish Media

In many communities there are local access shows on radio and cable tv. These media are very happy to receive your calls and answer your questions.

Where I live, Saskatoon, we have a Co-op radio station which runs a weekly one-hour show in Spanish, called Radio Luna. You can call them, dedicate a tune, get a birthday greeting
read over the radio. and ask them about activities in the community such as dances, Folk Festivals and Food Fairs. They are happy to talk to people in Spanish and appreciate Spanish Learners' efforts in learning their beautiful language.

Many communities also have small-circulation magazines and newsletters. When you check into these publications keep in mind that there are probably many Spanish-speakers from the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia, and each group in your community may publish newsletters that you can ask about and subscribe to.

Another group to call and practice on is local folk festivals, carnivals, food festivals and so on. Find out if there are Spanish-speaking organizations participating and give them a call to get the details. When you get even braver, ask about volunteer opportunities.

Tip.1. Speak Spanish while Talking on the Telephone to Invisible People

Our last series of four tips on learning Spanish...
concentrated on finding opportunities to speak out loud to yourselves while doing various activities. Those activities do not require the input of another live human and are thus less stressful for you.

The next series of tips...
eases you into the wonderful world of trying out your Spanish on real people. However, to keep the stress level down you can start by talking to invisible people.

Tip 1. Use Local Spanish Resources.

Locally: larger cities have Spanish community centres. Call them on the phone and
ask about events, facilities, activities or classes.

You don't have to go to the events, facilities or classes, your goal is just talk to somebody over the phone in Spanish about something. You might prep a few questions so you don't stumble out of the gate and make them switch into English. People in these positions are delighted to talk to you.

Tip 4. Singing In Spanish

4 Tips on Learning Spanish Every Day.

Today's Tip:

Tip 4. Huevos Rancheros lV: Sing About Eggs

Even if you aren't creating a masterpiece with eggs you can still sing to help you in learning Spanish.


Sing in Spanish while making a meal.

• Start by singing along with a Spanish tune or two.
  


• Try making up Spanish lyrics to a familiar tune.


• Try a little Spanish rap.

Your lyrics don't have to make sense, just play around with the language.

Tip 3. Everyday Spanish Every Day

4 Tips on Learning Spanish Every Day.

Often we would like to speak Spanish but there is nobody readily available to talk to. We can take opportunities to speak Spanish aloud to ourselves while doing our daily tasks.

Today's Tip:

Tip 3. Huevos Rancheros lll: Today I am going to make eggs.

Make your To Do list in Spanish.

As you write down items on your list, talk to yourself about each item. Use tenses and structures according to your current level of Spanish.

When you start planning your outing, you are looking to the future. Use phrases like I am going to buy apples...; I should try a new variety.

As you are doing a task, talk about that with the present and present continuing tenses: I am looking at apples; he is stealing grapes.

As you check off items, pull out your tenses that apply to past activities: While I was looking at apples, a guy was arrested for eating grapes.

Tip 2. Learning Spanish by Talking to Yourself

4 Tips on Learning Spanish Every Day.

Often we would like to speak Spanish but there is nobody readily available to talk to. We can take opportunities to speak Spanish aloud to ourselves while doing our daily tasks.

Today's tip:

Tip 2. Huevos Rancheros ll: Where is my egg shampoo?

Talk to yourself in Spanish while you're in front of the bathroom mirror or in the shower.

After my first year of university in Canada, I tried learning Spanish in Mexico City and lived in a pension just down the street from the Canadian Embassy a.k.a. my mail drop. One of the teachers suggested I might try taping labels in the bathroom to reinforce my tiny vocabulary while I talked to myself about brushing things. I taped labels in the bathroom and while I was on a roll, I taped notes to everything else in my quarters.

I was happy with this technique until I arrived home from class one afternoon and heard a lot of giggling in my room. I went in and found one of the housekeepers giving a guided tour of my labels to a few of her coworkers. This is a bed, and here is a chair and over there is a floor, yes a floor...giggle, giggle giggle...you get the picture. To this day I have mixed feelings about the labels but I still use the the talking-to- myself-aloud part.

Learning Spanish Talking to Your TV

Amerigo's Mexican Treasure

Here's a technique I learned from a friend in Mexico city. Her English was excellent, perhaps at an advanced-intermediate to lower-advanced level. She had never taken an English course, never been abroad and didn't have any family or friends who spoke English.

How did she do it?

She watched American soap operas every day. She watched them actively. While the show played she repeated every word out loud as quickly as the characters spoke. At first she could only chime in and repeat the occasional word and just hummed the rest, but after awhile she could repeat almost everything that was said a fraction of a second after it was said.

Of course she understood almost nothing at the beginning, but that's not the point; she kept repeating what she heard. Her aural discrimination, her ability to hear subtle differences among sounds, got better and better. The key to this technique is that in order to repeat what you hear you first have to focus like a laser on the speaker. Your mind cannot drift. When your ear is well-trained your comprehension will improve as will your speaking ability.

How Should I Do it?

First the technique part:
To practice the technique, first try it on an English news broadcast, a movie or even a willing friend who will keep up a stream of speech for you to repeat. When you are comfortable with the technique, use it in learning Spanish.

Now add the Spanish part:
I suggest beginning with a Spanish-language news broadcast. Learning Spanish with news broadcasts offers four major benefits: there is only one speaker; we can see the speaker's mouth and facial expressions; we hear broadcast-quality Spanish which is clearly-articulated and less colloquial; and we are familiar with the characters and stories in the news.

After a few weeks you'll notice a significant difference in what you are able to hear.

Tip 1. Chores are Fun in Spanish

4 Tips on Learning Spanish Every Day.

Often we would like to speak Spanish but there is nobody readily available to talk to. We can take opportunities to speak Spanish aloud to ourselves while doing our daily tasks.

Today's tip:

Tip 1. Pick at least one daily activity and use Spanish every time you do it.

Over time I have applied this to cooking, playing my trumpet, driving, biking, washing the car, doing yardwork and housework. It takes your mind off scrubbing the floor although it would take a milagro verdadero to make it fun.

Make sure you concentrate on just one activity and keep it up for at least a few weeks. This will get you accustomed to the vocabulary and phrases associated with this task. In turn you will begin to think in Spanish, at least for this activity.

This accomplishment will give you great confidence to move on and expand your Spanish to horizontes nuevos.

Build Spanish Facial Muscles With a Comic Strip

Reading aloud gives us a different set of benefits from silent reading for gist. Silent reading only exercises our minds. Speaking aloud is a physical process. When we were children trying to say mama or dada can I borrow fifty bucks and the car keys, we heard what we were saying. This process provides the necessary feedback loop through our ears to help us judge how closely what we say matches what we hear around us. In learning Spanish we need to develop a slightly different combination of muscles in our cheeks, lips, tongue and throat in order to reproduce Spanish sounds.

Ready to exercise?

Step 1. Read a few Spanish comic strips and pick one with a moderate amount of dialogue.

Step 2. Read the strip out loud several times.

Step 3. Read the strip out loud in funny voices with funny facial expressions. Go nuts! This trick forces you to use and strengthen a range of muscles you don't use in your normal voice. It will also make you laugh along with everyone else in the library.


Now have fun learning Spanish with comic strips.

The Dreaded Spanish/English Dictionary Affliction

Are You Addicted to Dictionaries?*

Take the Amerigo's test to see if you might have a dictionary problem.


1. - Have you ever decided to stop using your Spanish/English dictionary for a chapter or so, but only lasted for a couple of pages?

2. - Do you tell yourself you can quit using a your Spanish/English dictionary any time you want to, even though you keep using one when you don't mean to?

Using dictionaries while learning Spanish, or any language, is a deeply ingrained need which cannot be changed overnight.

3. - Have you ever hidden extra dictionaries around the house?

Dictionary abusers have a great fear of not having a dictionary at hand and will go to great lengths to have one available?

4. - Have you missed days of work or school because of using a dictionary?

Many of us admit now that we "called in sick" lots of times when the truth was that we were over-tired from reading so slowly with one finger in the dictionary.

5. - Do you have "blackouts"?

A "blackout" is when we look up a word in the dictionary and then have to look up the same word again the next time we see it.


If you answered Yes to one or more of these questions you might have an adDictionary disorder.

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*With apologies and respect to Bill W.

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How to Get the Most Out of Reading Picture Books

Amerigo's First Law of Reading for Fun: Lose the Dictionary.

By show of hands. Who loves picture books? How many like comic books like Condor and Mafalda; or the classic picture books like Tintin and Asterix? They are a boon to learning Spanish.

Why lose the dictionary?

When we read in our first language we never read word-for-word; we always read by gist. Even when the reading is a tough slog we still do not read every word and we rarely look up anything unless we need to for academic or technical precision.

Why do we think we have to look up every single word in a Spanish article? We don't. When learning Spanish, gist reading is equally important but more difficult to allow ourselves to do. Perhaps we feel guilty or lazy. In school when we didn't know a particular word, we were told to look it up in the dictionary. Those pesky teachers' voices are difficult to dislodge from our memories. They should have told us just to carry on and we would figure it out all in good of time.

When we read without a Spanish/English dictionary we are not being lazy. We are gaining a lot more information and understanding than we give ourselves credit for. Without the looming spectre of the dictionary, we can focus instead on the situations and characters in the graphics. Learning Spanish with picture books can be a lot more fun.

So here's something to tell those pesky voices from the past. Silence. I lost my dictionary.

Comic Strips for Learning Spanish

Start Your Day with a Laugh in Spanish

A seasoned speaker knows when to open with a joke. A seasoned Spanish learner knows the same thing. It's a good way to start the day. From a practical perspective, we often remember best when there is some elevated emotional state associated with a situation. Amusement is as good an emotion as any to associate with learning Spanish. Comic strips are especially interesting to us because we tend to identify with the characters and their situations. In trying to figure out the cartoon we can pick up a lot of clues about what the characters might be saying from what we see in the frames. The context helps us to guess at the unfamiliar Spanish words. But we're still not completely sure.

This sets up another effective learning device-the teachable moment. We learn better when our curiosity is aroused. The cartoon images present a puzzle we want to solve. The more we work on the puzzle, the more satisfied we'll be from being able to solve the puzzle and get a laugh out of a Spanish comic strip.

All this was to give you an excuse in case you get snagged reading cartoons.

Learning Spanish for cartoon lovers. My suggestions.

Ronaldinho Gaucho Dilbert in Spanish Baldo Calvin and Hobbes Condorito

Pooch Café Gaturro Pepe Overboard B.C.

I have not been able to find anyone running the Mafalda strip. Any thoughts?

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