Will getting a minor in Spanish prepare me for speaking fluently?

Question

As I am making decisions for college next year, I am trying to decide how beneficial a minor in Spanish will be. I will be earning a minor in German, Italian, and Latin for majoring in music, although I will defenitely not be fluent in those languages. My major goal is to be fluent in Spanish first. Any tips? Thanks.

Answer 1

It will help you, but I don't think that earning a minor degree in Spanish, in and of itself, will bring you to the level of fluency.

The best thing you can do is immerse yourself in Spanish culture. How about a missions trip for a month or two? There are many schools and orphanages in México that could use your help.

But if you don't want to travel, I think do as much as you can to expose yourself to Spanish. There are movies, TV, radio in Spanish, and I do hope you're carrying a bilingual Bible when you go to church, and reading from it daily.

And here is what I'm strongly considering: Finding a mexican immigrant in town, perhaps a pastor, who really wants to learn English very well, and who would help me with my Spanish.

If you think about it, there are many things like that. And I think that's what it takes.

Dios te bendiga

Answer 2

I agree with Goyo.

And here is what I'm strongly considering: Finding a mexican immigrant in town, perhaps a pastor, who really wants to learn English very well, and who would help me with my Spanish.

I would recommend it, in the past I found a mexican "bar buddy" who spoke no english, and we did just that, language trade off... However, I don't recommend learning at the bar like I did, after a while you get too drunk to communicate very well with each other! lol

Answer 3

Thanks for the suggestions. I live in Mexico for 2 weeks every summer(since 9th grade) and do construction work and play in the park with the mexican children. I have found that to be a great source for vocabulary that I may not typically learn in a classroom at school. But this year at school, I am immersed in the AP Spanish/Spanish for Hispanic Speakers class. This means that half of the students in my class are fluent in English and are trying to learn Spanish and the other half are bilingual students that are improving their Spanish grammar and vocabulary to sound more professional. I am able to interact everyday with these students and listen to their conversations as I try to understand what in the world they are talking about. It can be rather entertaining.

Thanks for the advice. I am hoping to get a roommate that will be studying Spanish like me, so that we can practice our Spanish on the college campus. I am still intending on pursuing a minor in Spanish, while getting a double major in nursing and music performance. I can't wait to pick college courses this month for college in August.

Sounds like you've got some good resources. Best of luck to you! - Goyo, DIC 1, 2009