Paralee: Why a non-native speaking instructor?
Can anyone comment on why the video instructor Paralee is not a native speaker? She speaks Spanish with a very thick American accent. It would be difficult to learn to speak like a native this way. Why isn't a native Spanish speaker used? Are there any lessons taught by a native speaker?
Thank You
Steve
23 Answers
Well, she is gorgeous and pleasant. It makes it more fun to watch her. This is just for a start. English speakers will probably relate more to her. If you'd like instruction from native speakers, try Destinos.
http://www.learner.org/resources/series75.html
You will find that "putting down" our sacrosanct Paralee in any manner is not a good way to make friends here.
I don't think that he was putting down Paralee at all, but rather, he asked a valid question -- "How can we speak like a native if we learn from an English-speaker?" Paralee does speak with the accent of someone who's first language is not Spanish.
P.s. Steve's post was very polite, concise, and used correct spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. He should get points just for that!
Heidita said:
I got a letter the other day from a Spanish native who I am calling to this thread. I wonder if he would like to comment. His comment on that topic was very interesting.
It was me who wrote her, and I will comment at her request, although I think essentially all I wanted to say has been said already.
Yes Paralee does have a very noticeable US - English accent. I can see how Steve's choice of words may have ruffled some feathers - after all Paralee does a great job, and this is a free service, after all - but the question is valid nevertheless.
What I think is that we need to be clear on what the appropriate use for a given tool is.
Definitely Paralee's lessons are not the best tool if you wish to learn to speak with an "authentic" native accent, whatever that means. The only way to really achieve that is to spend a significant amount of time within the community that interests you.
Paralee's lessons, however, are very good for English speakers who wish to learn correct Spanish pronunciation.
My letter to Heidita had to do with the learning experience of my wife, a Spanish speaker trying to learn English. She has access to a variety of paid tools, some of which include pronunciation lessons in flawless US English, taught by US native speakers.
However, she felt she hit a real breakthrough in understanding when she found some video lessons made in Central America, by someone equivalent to Paralee. To me, it was obvious that this woman's accent was Latin American, and that my wife would not learn US English pronunciation from her. However, the woman spoke very good English, and my wife told me that she liked those lessons because she could understand what the woman was saying, and it gave her important clues about how to say certain things. She just couldn't extract that information as easily from the lessons where the speaker was a native English speaker.
So with that in mind, I think that the value of Paralee's lessons is just that: to show English speakers a way to pronounce Spanish that they can relate to.
Once you learn the basic pronunciation, you can go on to polish your accent in the place that most appeals to you. Your task will be much easier, because you will already have a solid base from which to start.
Rolest dijo:
Firstly, I believe your observation of "very thick American accent" is incorrect.
Paralee does a great job, and her "accent" is perfect.
If we had someone with a "very thick Spanish accent", wouldn't you agree that depending upon which country the person was from, that is the accent we would be hearing?
You may not be aware, but there are MANY Spanish accents. Which country would you prefer that we use for a native Spanish speaker?
We are very lucky that Paralee speaks with a very clear, and clean accent making it very easy to follow along with her.
This is all exactly correct. Paralee is teaching us grammar, not accent. We can pick that up later, but at first it's important to understand what is being said. For that Paralee does a really good job.
I did not know for a long time that Paralee was not a native speaker,and rolest is correct when he says,"where do you want the native speaker to be from" .How many of us can say for certainty that the teachers we had in Primary school were native speakers , my parents were not native English speakers . Our accents will change and flow as we learn , we will not be overly influenced by one teacher alone , don't worry about how well one sounds just get the grammar correct and let the words tumble out , are you going to question every person you speak to and just ignore them if they are not from the Spanish speaking area you wish to emulate? of course not , so enjoy the great work that Paralee does , I sure do , I am very grateful that we get such excellent tuition without cost to us .
HI steve, welcome to the forum
I do think this is a valid question, however, I also think the lessons are really great and done very professionally.
I got a letter the other day from a Spanish native who I am calling to this thread. I wonder if he would like to comment. His comment on that topic was very interesting.
We should also consider, that to be a native, does not necessarily make you a good teacher
I am a Spanish native and teach English. Of course, I think my accent is wonderful, yes, you are right, as we say here in Spain, "NO tengo abuela" 
I would go with Goyo's answer:
Paralee is teaching us grammar, not accent. We can pick that up later, but at first it's important to understand what is being said. For that Paralee does a really good job.
The accent is obviously not the essential part in the lessons, but the explanations are very clear and the lessons are fun, I think once you start doing them...you will get to like them very much.
Welcome to the forum again
Hola Steve-Choi:
Firstly, I believe your observation of "very thick American accent" is incorrect.
Paralee does a great job, and her "accent" is perfect.
If we had someone with a "very thick Spanish accent", wouldn't you agree that depending upon which country the person was from, that is the accent we would be hearing?
You may not be aware, but there are MANY Spanish accents. Which country would you prefer that we use for a native Spanish speaker?
We are very lucky that Paralee speaks with a very clear, and clean accent making it very easy to follow along with her.
You will find that "putting down" our sacrosanct Paralee in any manner is not a good way to make friends here.
I understand your request for lessons by a native speaker, which seems like it would be the best course to develop and improve our listening abilities.
However, after completing the lessons here on SD maybe you can develop your listening skills by watching Spanish TV, movies, and downloading podcasts.
The ideal situation would be a teacher (in a one-on-one) situation who A) was born and raised speaking the precise dialect that interests you (assuming that you actually have a particular preference) B) is fluent in your native language (whatever that may be) so as to be able to answer your inevitable confusions (when you ask "Why doesn't Spanish work like English [or whatever]?) C) Have (a lot of) experience with people whose first language is (whatever) your is and who tried to learn Spanish. (similar to the foregoing but simply understanding your language is not enough, one also needs experience in dealing with the problems/difficulties of language learners.) Knowing two languages may not equip one to understand the difficulties that speakers of one and learners of the other may encounter. Certainly, native proficiency in a language does not imply competence to teach that language.
It should be equally obvious that in anything other than a one-on-one situation, your goals will not exactly match those of your fellow students. Perhaps you plan to go to Peru and another student intends to go to Mexico/Venezuela/etc. You wish to join a drug cartel and someone else hopes to translate poetry/novels. Your different goals will affect the flavor of Spanish that you wish to learn.
Perhaps you have been lulled by advertisements of "one-stop-shopping" (one package will teach you exactly what you want to learn). In the real world, this is not the case. If you want something tailored to your specific needs, you''ll need to do some mix-and-match shopping (grammar from one source, pronunciation from another, specific vocabulary/idioms from a third, etc.)
Steve-choi wrote:
Can anyone comment on why the video instructor Paralee is not a native speaker? She speaks Spanish with a very thick American accent. It would be difficult to learn to speak like a native this way. Why isn't a native Spanish speaker is used? Are there any lessons taught by a native speaker?
Thank You
Steve
Hello Steve, I think you raise some very good points, but all I can tell you is what I think. First off, you can learn basic Spanish from anybody, regardless of thick accent or not. Paralee does have a 'thick' American accent, probably affected greatly by being in the southern United States. I think it is more pronounced because she is speaking very slow for teaching purposes. When she speaks at 'normal' speed the I think her accent is not nearly as 'thick'. It all sounds good to me. However, for the purposes of the videos here on Spanishdict.com, the content is focused on grammar and not pronunciation. I know a lady (American) that learned Spanish in Ecuador and is fluent in Spanish. She lived in Ecuador for years and her Spanish sounds great, but she still has her own personalized American accent. I'm just sayin', we all have one.
You are correct, it would be more difficult to "learn to speak like a native" if you're not hearing a native speak. However, you are not going to find the content quality of the videos on this site in any other place, especially when you consider the price. I would recommend that you take the excellent grammar lessons here, then find a few native speakers to befriend and talk with, then you will have the best of both worlds.
Um, there may be lessons taught by native speakers somewhere, but they may cost money
I guess the only $.02 I have left, thanks Marianne, 
is that people have said they can still here my "southern accent" and it, in truth, can still be "thick". I do not take it personally and I surely don't think it's a put-down. I can agree that it would be difficult to pinpoint a "correct" Spanish accent as there are many and thank God for that!! The diversity is what is awesome about language (Southern U.S. dialect vs. say the NorthEast U.S. dialect---way different!!). I feel Paralee is an awesome teacher and has and still continues to teach proper grammar very well!! Thanks for your post Steve! As for possible sites to hear native speakers here are a few--rsnay eluded to Destinos, good site and here are some more... link text link text link text link text link text link text link text
I personally preferred having someone who isn't a native speaking as a beginner. For one thing, it gives me the message that yes it is possible for me to learn the language. And for a beginner, I think a native would be frustrating. You don't have the ear yet.
I think you need to learn the grammar and vocabulary first, and then later you can fine tune it. I find that once I know the vocabulary, I can usually start developing my comprehension of what is spoken.
My Peruvian neighbor offered to teach me Spanish, and I inwardly groaned even though I appreciated the offer. I have to concentrate when he speaks English, and when he speaks Spanish...it pretty much sounds like "woo-woo-woo-woo" to me. And other Spanish people claim they don't understand him, even though Spanish is his first language. Apparently, though, he speaks "home-boy" Spanish.
While I hope to understand other native speakers, I don't really want to speak Spanish like a native. I want to be fluent, but I want to obviously be someone who speaks the language as a second language. While sometimes this invites rudeness, I would rather it be known I'm not a native so that if I make a mistake--they will put it down to my being a foreigner than my being an idiot.
I really find it amazing that you would be able to detect her accent, unless you are already fairly experienced in Spanish or are, yourself, a native Spanish speaker.
For a laugh...do the exercise on this page ... during the exercise they demonstrate a "heavy English accent."
And, yes, I took the phrase "thick American accent" as somewhat a put down initially, but had to get over it before I commented...as that certainly might not have been your intention. It's not your fault that the phrase can have the feel of a put down. I'm not even sure why I would take it that way. I have frequently commented on non-native English speakers, "Oh he has a thick Russian accent" or whatever and meant no disrespect to the person. In fact, I enjoy distinctive, non-native English accents (certain Native American accents, Russian, and German, in particular). I also enjoy good stereotypical British, Irish, Scottish, and Australian English accents...but those are all native English accents.
I'm sure she has an American accent. I don't know about "very thick" though. Seems like a very thick accent would include pronouncing all Rs like Americans do -- that is, hablar would rhyme with car, and rey would start off like we say red. It would also include using schwa sounds in unstressed syllables and pronouncing e like we pronounce a in gate (more like eh-ee). Zs would be pronounced like we say zebra. B and V would be pronounced like in English. Oh, trust me, she could do so much worse.
She learned Spanish and, for whatever reason, decided to share her knowledge by making free video lessons. I found them quite helpful for getting started as far as basic grammar and vocabulary went. To listen to native speakers, I watch DVD movies with the Spanish language track activated.
There are native speaker videos out there...here's one on YouTube, for example.
Hi Steve!
Paralee has done a great job! we all agree for sure and we are all more than thankful, but... I agree with you.
My guess is that when SpanishDict started no one expected it would become such a huge community....
