Learning Spanish And The Joy Of Verbs

syngirl said:
How old are your kids? If the basic foundation has been laid for their english then I'd say you're going to be ok if in the short term you reduce their english language input -- that doesn't mean that you necessarily need to reduce their output always though -- maybe you need to mix up the rules more, kids can speak english to you but you're only allowed to speak to them in spanish, kids love having a bit of control so they will probably keep you on your toes teling you "En espanol!"

I do have to say though the most annoying thing is being corrected constantly while trying to express yourself. My husband and I said long ago we'd no longer do that unless it was requested -- because it just gets too annoying. If, after you complete your thought, they correct you, it's slightly less anoying -- but mid-sentence is the worst. I still make lots of mistakes in my spanish and it can drive me nuts when I'm just trying to communicate and someone jumps in and corrects me. The other day I was showing a fellow mum the conversation I had had on paper with the teachers at daycare about whether there were fights going on at daycare -- my son had come home with bite marks on his back and told me he doesn't like one of the other boys "porque me pega en los ojos"! So obviously to me what was more important was showing the message I had sent -- however the mum immediately pointed out that I said Thomas dijo instead of Thomas me dijo -- yeah well, you know what? I also had put the date as the 12th of may when it was the 9th -- I obviously wasn't exactly paying attention when I wrote it! So I think people need to know where the line is for correcting / not and frankly whereas with the example above I held my tongue, had it been my husband who corrected me in that moment because of it being your pareja it can quickly escalate into a fight "that's not the point! listen to what I'm trying to say!" blah blah blah...
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Thanks. My kids are 6 and 3 years old. Both were born in the uk but the youngest came when he was a baby. So the eldest had a good grasp of English and hes still good, although his spanish is better. Youngest understands English but only speaks a few words, its mainly spanish although he is behind other children. Probably the multi-lingual parents is holding him back a little.

I`m actually still at the stage I welcome being corrected, because i`m so basic in conversation I need to and it takes me a few seconds between words to think of the next one. I can pretty much read and understand spoken when its clear or slow. But when someone speaks normally it just goes through one ear and out the other, thats why i`m so frustrated with the whole learning thing, before I came to Argentina i thought i`d be able to hold a small conversation after a year, but its been much tougher than i expected and after a couple of years i`m not even at that stage. Practicing is the key but i just havent had the chance due to work/family commitments. But now i`m really getting to the stage when I`m embarrased to say i`ve been here a few years and i`m not understanding most things said to me.
I think like someone said practicing everyday is so important, I seem to be doing it every few days or when I have a lesson and then I switch off and carry on with work or kids which is having a negative effect on my spanish. I dont think its helped that this spanish teacher started with a book of verbs and has continued with it, i just feel like i have 100s of verbs to learn and all their past, present and future permitations before I can get the confidence to hold a decent conversation. I know thats not the case, but it feels like it sometimes.
It sure aint easy.
 
What I like about the Italian, er, Argentinean spanish is the music.
That peculiar "canzone" music very palatable to my ears!
 
practice is the most imperative piece of the puzzle. Im fortunate to be working with a large group of argentines who are speaking all day (it's not a quiet office - though I'm not sure such a thing exists here, but I prefer it loud and active anyway) and after 8-9 months, I'm doing well, in that I can go out with friends and speak in spanish all night, and i feel like im about to get over that hump in comprehension too, as Im noticing now how much I really am understanding, even when they are speaking really quickly. It's not always perfect and its not always pretty, but its all about little milestones every day. I knew VERY basic spanish when I got here (whatever you can learn from 2 months of rosetta stone) and took a private class once a week for a few months only, so most of my learning has been from listening, speaking, and asking lots of "how do you say xxxx".

Huge round of applause to all of you who have managed without having the work environment, as I can't imagine I'd have learned a quarter as much if it wasn't in my face all day every day.
 
El único secreto para aprender cualquier idioma extranjero es hablarlo, oírlo y escribirlo todos los días sin preocuparse de los errores en las construcciones gramaticales.

Hacerse entender -en vez de hablar correctamente, debería ser la primera meta. Mientras más se habla y escribe, mucho más pulido va a ser el resultado.

Mucha suerte ché!
 
Hello all,

New member here. Am on my way next week to BA looking for a Spanish immersion school for my 16 year old daughter for 4 weeks. Can anyone recommend a good school for a teenager in BA? Really appreciate any input!

Spellkell
 
Yes. Get her private lessons and send her off to live with a family that only speaks spanish.

As a generalization Spanish immersion schools aren't that effective since you attend with a buch of other naitive English speakers and as such results in a poor immersion experience
 
Yes. Get her private lessons and send her off to live with a family that only speaks spanish.

As a generalization Spanish immersion schools aren't that effective since you attend with a buch of other naitive English speakers and as such results in a poor immersion experience
 
If you want to learn a language fast, I've found that having a native speaking boyfriend/girlfriend is the best and fastest method!

All your 16 year old has to do is meet an Argentine guy. ;)
 
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