Do you feel down? Not learning enough? Come to Encouragement Island/Isla de Apoyo!

Question

I would like to introduce a new (continuing) thread.

We have a beautiful International Cafe in the forum. We also have our famous "Dunce Corner".

I would now like to welcome you to Encouragement Island or as the locals call it Isla de Apoya.

Do you feel down? Not learning enough? Come to Encouragment Island!

You are safe here. Are you ready to throw your grammar books in the trash? Are you doing cartwheels because you just spoke to a taxi driver in Spanish? Or, are you somewhere in between?

Well this is a relaxing tropical paradise where you can get away from it all. Unload your burdens and we will be here to encourage you. This also transforms into a party island where everyone is encouraged to join in the fun when you have a reason to celebrate learning a new language!

So, come to our little island getaway whenever you are in need of a hug to keep you going or if you are ready to dance until sunrise! There will always be someone here to greet you!

This is not a thread for grammar or vocabulary help, but rather a place for all of us to share in the trials and tribulations of language learning. Spanish and English natives welcome!

• Thank you to Heidi for her support and help with the wording! :) - Nicole-B Jul 1, 2011
• It is so exciting to see who our first guest will be! - Nicole-B Jul 1, 2011
• HI nicki, why dont you put that line in the title? I think it would make things clearer, people might think this is for those whose parents are sick...I mean, in any case, you choose:) - Heidita Jul 1, 2011
• Hi Nicole: Shouldn't it be "apoyo"? Or "ánimo"? Anyway I believe this thread will be legendary.:) - Deanski Jul 1, 2011
• oh - Heidita Jul 1, 2011
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Answer 1

I was in the grocery store about a month ago when a young man spoke to me. He was alone, pushing a cart with only a few things in it. He asked, in Spanish, if I spoke Spanish.

I was so excited that even now I can't remember his words. Mine were un poquito. He was very happy to hear that and he repeated me, Un poquito. He was looking for the cooking oil so I told him veintitrés and looked up at the aisle number hanging from the ceiling so he would know what I meant. Off he went to aisle 23.

I just love a happy ending.

• Hahahahaha! That should be turned into a movie :) - SpanishPal Jul 1, 2011
• I think so, too :) - Sabor Jul 1, 2011
• jejejejejeje - teasip Jul 1, 2011
• That is a great story and just what we're looking for here! - Nicole-B Jul 1, 2011
• Thanks Nicole - Sabor Jul 1, 2011
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Answer 2

Pesta said:

Enough vocabulary was in my head to start, but never enough to finish.

This is a great example for this thread. I think all of us know what it is like to have three or four words to express a thought, but fall short of having all of the words to complete a sentence.

Then you get to the point where you know all of the words but struggle with which order to put them in.

Normally for me, I can come up with what I wanted to say when I am thinking about it later and not under pressure. But actually, the pressure is all in my own head.

Does anyone else experience this?

Last week in Mexico I wavered between feeling like a success story and being a Spanish speaking toddler.

"Look at me, I speak Spanish!"

• I'm actually brunette, but you get the idea. :) - Nicole-B Jul 1, 2011
• Ay, ¡Qué bonita es la niña en tu foto Nicole! - nonombre Jul 2, 2011
• I think that's a common problem for all, Nicole. Notice how toddlers try to form a sentence...thinking, pausing sometimes getting frustrated,. That's how the human brain works - SpanishPal Jul 2, 2011
• Annie, I just grabbed that pic off line. She is a cutie though. :) - Nicole-B Jul 2, 2011
• Being a Spanish-speaking toddler will be a great milestone for me. ; ) - TejanoViejo Jul 8, 2011
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Answer 3

I was in the pub the other day, where else? and I was reading a copy of El Pais I'd bought in the local supermarket. A guy came up to me and said something like ¿Perdoneme por interrumpir le pero eres español?

I replied, No, lo siento soy escocés

The poor guy grinned wryly, "me too!" He's studying Spanish and thought he saw an opportunity to practise.

• That is funny! But you could still practice together. - Nicole-B Jul 2, 2011
• Jeje :) - Amor_y_paz Jul 2, 2011
• This happened to me in Madrid all of the time. When we switched to English everyone was relieved. - JoyceM Jul 6, 2011
• don't switch to English! - elainepnj Aug 3, 2011
• yea,practice makes it perfect..but it's hard to look for someone you can converse with in spanish.lol - lallyceron Feb 6, 2012

Answer 4

Es una muy buena idea! Gracias

Estoy aquí en la Isla de Apoya porque estoy celebrando leer mi primero cuento español, era un cuento para niños aunque.

I'm here on the Isla de Apoya because I'm celebrating reading my first Spanish story, it was a children story though.

• Children's stories, movies and TV shows are perfect for beginners. That is how we learn as children...little by little. We don't start out by discussing the philosophy of life. - Nicole-B Jul 1, 2011
• Good job Pal! - Amor_y_paz Jul 2, 2011
• One of my Spanish books is for children too: La tortuga Casandra por José Francisco Viso :) - FELIZ77 Jul 4, 2011
• Depsite being suitable to read to children from 6 years (a partir de 6 años) It has some quite difficult words to pronounce: eg atragantándose - FELIZ77 Jul 4, 2011
• I think is "Isla de Apoyo" and leer mi "primer" cuento... :) - Animalescus Aug 14, 2011
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Answer 5

I just have to jump in. That desert island is sooooooooo inviting, and I bet they only speak Spanish there!

Edit:

Okay, time to vent.

My wife and I spent two wonderful weeks in the jungles of Panama last August, at Canopy Tower, a birding and nature eco-lodge. The people who operate this facility are very eco-responsible, and otherwise very friendly, too. They and the birding guides are all bilingual. I took every opportunity to converse in Spanish. The kitchen staff were the best, since they mostly spoke no English.

In hindsight, I did okay, but it was very hard to think of something to say for which I had adequate vocabulary. Whenever I did have something I really needed to say, I froze up. Enough vocabulary was in my head to start, but never enough to finish. I was furious by the end of each encounter.

Forget about any fancy grammar, present tense indicative would have been enough, except for brain-freeze.

Oh, well... today there were construction workers at my office complex peeling wallpaper in the hallways. They were talking among themselves in Spanish, and I understood most of it. Maybe next week, I'll take a few minutes out of my work day, roll up my sleeves, and help them out.

Edit: 2011-07-05

You can't trust these guys. They took a day off. Uffff!!!

Edit: 2011-09-09

They never came back.

• It doesn't matter if you barely speak English, barely speak Spanish or a combination of both. It is just a place to vent your frustrations and to share your victories. - Nicole-B Jul 1, 2011
• Thanks for adding that experience to this post. I think we have all experienced having a bunch of vocabulary in our head, with no idea how to form a complete sentence. - Nicole-B Jul 1, 2011
• I wish you well with your encounter with the construction workers! - Nicole-B Jul 1, 2011
• Ah, the freeze frame ... at my age you begin attributing it to senility. :( - territurtle Jul 2, 2011
• Brain freeze, perhaps you need yet another cup of coffee in the mornings Andy... ? Jeje :) - Amor_y_paz Jul 2, 2011
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Answer 6

Never mind being discouraged about learning Spanish , which I am in spades'

but last year I was in England on holiday and went into a quaint English pub,

I asked for a glass of Cider and was given two Pork Pies , I was so embarrassed

I bought them and ate the flaming horrible meaty packets , so I am for the Island ahora. Here is mine .

• I love your Island Ray! If it is for sale, I just might upgrade. - Nicole-B Jul 1, 2011
• Ray, just call me when you need someone to eat the pork pies for you in your island. - Rikko Jul 1, 2011
• Do you like Pork pies mate , if so you can have my share with pleasure. - ray76 Jul 1, 2011
• To be on this island, I'd eat any pie, Ray.! - Rikko Jul 1, 2011
• I see you can get some good hearty laughs on your island! - territurtle Jul 2, 2011
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Answer 7

The french have a saying "esprit de l'escalier" (staircase wit).

Which means after you've left the party (or many other situations you can imagine) and you are walking down the long staircase, just as you get toward the bottom, you think of the perfect comeback!

Well, whenever I try to speak a foreign language, I am constantly experiencing staircase wit. Long after I've left the scene of giving directions, exchanging polite chit-chat, etc., it seems I always think of a better way to have said it, and all the grammar mistakes I made. Sigh.

I would say this is the main reason for me "freezing." When someone carrying loads of packages asks me where the bus stop is, I know if I just stand there and stutter, they will leave thinking they met the village idiot. And, to be truthful, I sure do feel like they did!!

• jajaja - Staircase wit - I never knew there was a name for it, but I definitely have a bad case of it. Are there pills that you can take for it? jajaja - IndianaChris Jul 2, 2011
• Si terri y indiana, también sufrio de "staircase wit" :) - nonombre Jul 2, 2011
• I have spoken in Spanish andrethought my words too, I wish I would hadsaid otro instead of otra jeje - Amor_y_paz Jul 2, 2011
• I know how you feel, when someone asks me somthing in Spanish, outside my class, I freeze light a rabbit in headlights. - MaryMcc Jul 2, 2011
• Chris, wouldn't it be wonderful if there were pills -- man could we ever stock up! ;) - territurtle Jul 2, 2011
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Answer 8

Lately I've been trying to make more opportunities to speak Spanish with people around me. I had a brief conversation with one of the workers at my ranch last weekend about what to do about a tree branch that had broken but not quite fallen out of the tree. The other day a woman stopped me on the street and asked me about a house that was for rent in our neighborhood. I was wearing a T-shirt that says Pura Vida that one of my kids brought me back from Costa Rica. She got excited, asked if I had been to Costa Rica, and said she was originally from Nicaragua. I switched to Spanish and talked to her about living in Venezuela back when dinosaurs roamed the llanos.

My biggest problem is vocabulary. I've been reading El Asedio, a historical fiction novel about the siege of Cádiz in 1811-1812. I have to look up several words per page. I'm also getting old, so when I go back to review my own flashcards it seems like I've never seen many of the words before. That old saw about kids being better at learning languages really is true.

• These are great examples Kevin. To help with vocab while reading, I would suggest using a Kindle. If you download a Spanish/English dictionary, you simply have to click on any word in a Spanish speaking book you download and the definition will come up. - Nicole-B Jul 1, 2011
• Realy Niciole , I have a kindle and never new what to do with it , that sounds awsome I will give it a try .. - jennyo45 Jul 2, 2011
• Well Kevin, I face that problem too, looking many words up and then having to do that again the next time you them. I think our minds have a certain quota for storing new words. It's a common problem - SpanishPal Jul 2, 2011
• I hate it when I recognize my handwriting, but not the word. - JoyceM Jul 6, 2011
• All sounds only too familiar.... - Ann-Frances Dec 23, 2011

Answer 9

I need a break on this Island after my holiday in Spain. After all my studies, I totally failed to explain to the receptionist that the cooker in our apartment gave us electric shocks. He looked at me blankly. My husband mimed getting an electric shock and a repairs man was sent up to the apartment very quickly. Next time I shall pack the BIG DICTIONARY instead of that unnecessary thick pullover that took up so much room in the hand-luggage..And maybe leave my husband behind, it's the only way forward.

• "Leave your husband behind..." That is very funny!! :) I will answer this in a separate post above. - Nicole-B Sep 26, 2011
• Uff that is worth a vote for sure ! - pacofinkler Sep 26, 2011
• Ha ha this always happens to me. Spanish is just for the things that we can't mime. That's why i hate talking on the phone so much! - rabbitwho Sep 27, 2011
• Rabbit, the phone really is rather stressmaking. Even smiling doesn't help.. - annierats Sep 27, 2011
• So true, Annierats!! - territurtle Sep 28, 2011
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Answer 10

Well, I can't complain:

My hubby is talking to me again

I had a marriage proposal

Jenny has been to a wedding

Celestino is growing fast and outgrowing big blacky

I learnt some nice slang with my friends on skype

Lovely is feeling good again

I had a Siatsu massage today (I survived )

I bought a Roscón for breakfast for the weekend

I talk with my friends every night.

Jorgito has learnt how to say : butifuuuuuuuuuuuuu.

It has been a good week

• :-)) - pacofinkler Oct 26, 2011
• Thanks for spreading some joy and sunshine around our island!!! I'm happy to hear you are having a good day. You deserve many, many more!!!!!!!! - Nicole-B Oct 26, 2011
• :) - IndianaChris Oct 26, 2011
• way to go H! - billygoat Oct 27, 2011

Answer 11

Here was my entire mastery of Spanish a year ago:

Thanks to 100s of people (even the ones no longer with us) here at SD, I now have a vocabulary over 1,000 words, know the regular conjugation endings, dozens of rules of grammar, lots of helpful phrases, listen to the news in Spanish (and generally understand the topic with the help of the graphics in the background ), and can make myself understood most of the time in Uruguay.

And Post responses in the "Word of the Day" which take me less than five hours to compose, and on occasion actually use the word of the day!! But not today.

Now I just have to get beyond ...

• well done Terri! :) - billygoat Dec 2, 2011
• That is amazing Terri!!! So I guess we both started out with a measly four words/expressions. jeje You are doing great!!! - Nicole-B Dec 2, 2011
• I also appreciate your support and encouragement on our little island! :) - Nicole-B Dec 2, 2011
• Not half as much as I've appreciated visiting your island! It's has always gotten me through the worst of times -- and given me the great joy of sharing moments of triumph with friends like Billy. - territurtle Dec 3, 2011

Answer 12

My cell phone rang the other day and I said, "Hello". The other person said,"Buenas tardes, ¿está Maria?" and it was 9 PM. Forgetting any Spanish I said, "Sorry, wrong number". I wish I could have thought of something better to say.

• Hola querida - ¿pero la próxima vez serás lista, no? - nonombre Jul 2, 2011
• Hola amiga :) - Amor_y_paz Jul 2, 2011
• How do you say Sorry, wrong number in Spanish? - Luzbonita Jul 4, 2011
• that's sad - Dakie Jul 4, 2011
• Next time: "Lo siento, tiene numero equivocado" - Silvia Jul 4, 2011
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Answer 13

So last night, I had my first dream in Spanish - I forget the details, but a fluent Spanish speaker was talking with a non-fluent person, and I ended up translating - I can't remember what it was all about, but what I remember most is waking up....

---

When I woke up, I was extremely worried, almost panicking, and the phrase that was running through my mind was:

Oh no, no puedo recordar como hablar en inglés

Of course, I was able to remember after I woke up a little, but I was very worried at first...

jaja - I just thought is was a funny story, thought I'd share....hopefully I will start dreaming more in Spanish, of course without the scary ending

• Chris when we begin to dream in Spanish we have made a HUGE step forward - pacofinkler Oct 5, 2011
• lol, that was a funny story - Goldie_Miel Oct 5, 2011
• I actually had my first dream in spanish this night, as well. I was in China, supposed to have learned chinese, but when I started to speak with them, I spoke spanish :P - inridk Oct 6, 2011
• I congaratulate you! You're doing ever so much better than I am, ojála, to dream in Spanish.. - annierats Oct 9, 2011
• Great! I hope someday to dream in spanish, too. But isn't it supposed to be "cómo" rather than "como" ? - jgundy Jan 8, 2012
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Answer 14

Kevin said,

That old saw about kids being better at learning languages really is true<

---

Sorry, Kevin, but don't agree with this - I think kids have the "potential" to be "better at learning languages" but quite often they don't have what us oldies have - persistance and enthusiasm - to me these traits win "hands-down" over a young brain

• Hi Annie :) I hope enthusiasm beats alzheimers jejeje :) - Amor_y_paz Jul 2, 2011
• ditto:) - Silvia Jul 4, 2011
• I'm with you Annie! I'd like to that there are a few benefits that come with my advanced maturity! - MLucie Jul 6, 2011
• Rock on Annie , and another benefit is the ability to say NO and then laugh , no more guilt or regrets. - ray76 Dec 14, 2011
• booooooooooooo. Give us young ones all the advantages you can. We need it... - Pinolero Jan 3, 2012

Answer 15

Feliz

I seem to be at a crossroads or turning point right now and wonder whether It was all worth the effort after many years since many other new people here have developed a much more natural style of speaking and writing Spanish than I have probably in much less time.

It is obvious if one cares to look at the threads that I am the person you are talking about. As I have openly admitted many times, my English (particularly grammar) is not always the best and I actually welcome corrections if I have made a mistake - which I very often do!

However, Feliz, you completely dissected my post and got it wrong. What I said to you was please only correct my English if you are 100% sure that you are right.

From the above quote I can perhaps now see why. Well let me tell you this: Yes, ok I've only been learning Spanish for a year or so, but I have many many gaps in my knowledge. I am NOT in competition with anybody - only myself. I am motivated and determined to continue improving as much as I can.

I am very lucky to be given lots of, quite personal at times, help from some very respected native Spanish speakers on this site. I do admit, I tend to tailor many of my phrases and sentences to syllabus that I have been learning with the help of these people.

Feliz, please do not take any of this personal and I would encourage you to keep on going. As the very wise Pacofinkler said, Spanish is a journey and we all continue at our own pace. Also, as Heidita will tell you lol, it was only a couple of days ago I was considering putting my level back to beginner! Keep your chin up - no hard feelings on my part.

• Okay thank You Billy :) - FELIZ77 Dec 14, 2011
• You are welcome. I look forward to the day when we can laugh about all this...... in Spanish of course!!!!!! Take care. - billygoat Dec 14, 2011
• Obviously the remark that I made above which you have quoted only refers to my Spanish not to my English - FELIZ77 Dec 14, 2011
• Yes I hope so Billy :) - FELIZ77 Dec 14, 2011
• Seems a tempest in a teapot caballeros ! we love you both - pacofinkler Dec 14, 2011
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