If I had it to do over again
The following are a few changes I intend to make in my attempts to learn Spanish. These are based on the past two weeks I have spent in Mexico. I know language experts will not like this, but I believe these study techniques may help me to survive and appear less conspicuous in the population.
First, listen carefully to other people speak in the region. Pay particular attention to their choice and use of verbs (i.e. andar vs. caminar, montar vs andar). Verb selection appears to vary significantly from region to region. Listen also to their sentence construction and use of nouns and pronouns. Nouns vary most of all dependent on regions.
Second, focus your study on verbs and conjugations. Since nouns often vary, verbs seem the most important in sentence construction. Concentrate on verbs most often used (i.e. tener, poder, hablar, dar, querer), then expand your study to include the verbs used most frequently in the area of communication and study. If worst comes to worst, I was surprised I could reasonably communicate using body language and infinitives.
Third, be sensitive to the listener’s body language. I made regrettable mistakes with well constructed sentences that were taken the wrong way due to cultural differences. You can quickly tell if something is wrong. Do you best to recover. For example, I was trying to say “this is my favorite chair” as a matter of conversation to describe the chair where the listener sat, but the listener heard “get out of my chair”. A quick recovery corrected the problem, but be aware of cultural differences.
Fourth, have several sentences and structures in your mind. Focus on polite phrases, using words like “quisiera” and “podrías”. As much as possible, stay in the present and preterite indicative. Some most useful structures for me were “tener que” and “hay que”.
Fifth, don’t be afraid to use the language. For me, mistakes were not seen as obstacles, but speaking in English only, even using an interpreter, around people who only speak Spanish sometimes resulted in unwanted social circumstances. Plan your sentence before you start and hope for the best.
I invite your comments on these recommendations.
4 Answers
That number 5 is the main thing I think! Personally I also find sometimes because you're concentrating so hard on using the language correctly you have a big grumpy looking frown on your face, and people misinterpret this as unfriendliness. If you smile warmly no matter what crazy thing you say to them they'll know you didn't mean to offend.
I've had lots of experiences in shops where people are very rude to me because I'm frowning when I speak to them. Gah!
Great notes Dogwood. I think your first point is fabulous, and as I have traveled from place to place, I have always noticed many variations on verb preference. It is great advice to 'fine tune' how you speak based on where you are. Of course, all your points are great, especially 5. People rarely will be judgemental on the level of your skills if you are bold enough to try, and are usually appreciative of the effort.
Dogwood, there are a lot of "language experts" whose entire lives are spent behind university walls, so I wouldn´t worry about their reaction to your own techniques. We are all different and therefore should use what works best for us - something "methodologists" don´t seem to get. You immersed and you communicated, and that´s what language is all about.
I would only ad to your list that noticing the difference of vocabulary used among different levels of education of people in the same region will help you communicate better as well.
"You done good!"
Welcome back, Dogwood. That is great advice. I am going to focus on the verb conjugations, polite phrases, predicate and present. I need ot get more familiar with usted form. Thank you, Dog.
