Posts

Native vs non-native teacher.

    I   have   met   several   people/prospective   students   who   have   asked   me   whether   it   makes   a   difference   if   one   is   taught   a   foreign   language   by   a   native, or   non-native   speaker   of   the   target   language. In   other   words, is   it   better   to   have   a   native   or   non-native   speaker   of   a    language   as   a   teacher?. The   answer   I   have   always   given   is   that   it   doesn’t   matter   whether   the   teacher   is   a   native   or   non-native   speaker   of   the   language. The   important   thing   is   for   the   teacher ...

Never compare your challenges to somebody else’s.

    One   thing   I   can   assure   prospective   language   students   is   that   they   will   face   some   challenges. They   may   be   minor   or   major. And   this   is   normal. One   of   the   biggest   mistakes   a   person   can   make   is   to   compare   their   situation   to   somebody   else’s   without   first   analyzing   it   critically. This   is   what   makes   it   unwise   to   do   so. Let’s   look   at   the   following   analogy, here   are   two   students   who   are   having   a   difficult   time   with   conjugations. At   first   glance, it   seems   like   a   straight   for...

You don’t need a dictionary (at the beginning).

  Just   like   a   wise   traveler, any   good   language   student   will   take   stock   of   what   they   need   to   succeed   in   their   studies. This   is   usually   done   at   the   beginning   prior   to   enrolling   for   the   class. At   some   point, every   language   student   will   have   to   use   a   dictionary   in   their   studies. From   experience, I’d   like   to   point   out   that   a   dictionary   isn’t   really   necessary   at   the   beginning, and   this   is why.   You   see, at   the   beginners   level, one   is   just   laying   a   foundation. This   is   where   someon...

Spanish/English phrases (select) related to Coronavirus.

Gloves – Guantes Symptoms – S í ntomas Virus – Virus Infection – infecci ó n Breath – Respirar Wash – Lavar Hands – Manos Touch – Tocar Wipe – Limpiar Throw away – Tirar Sanitizer – Desinfectante Sanitize - Desinfectar

Some English/Spanish words relating to Coronavirus.

English.                                                                                        Spanish. Pandemic                                                                            ...

Spoken versus written language.

        I   have   had   people   come   over   to   me   and   tell   me   that   they’re   interested   in   learning   a   foreign   language. They   go   on   to   say   that   they’re   only   interested   in   learning   for   example, the   spoken   version   of   Spanish   or   French   only. This   makes   sense   and   seems   straight   forward   because   languages   exist   at   the   written   and   spoken   levels. However, a   closer   analysis   of   their   intention   reveals   a   totally   different   perspective. Usually, what   these   prospective   language   students   mean   is   that   they ...

Take classes in sequence.

  Now, taking   classes   in   sequence   may   sound   like   the   automatic   thing   to do, but   I   have   seen   students   taking   college   level   classes   who   did   the   exact   opposite. I   never   got   to   know   what   led   them   to   make   that   choice, but   I   highly   advise   against   it. The   students   I   encountered   had   taken   higher   course   levels   before   completing   the   preceding   level. One   had   enrolled   in   Spanish   102   ahead   of   101   and   the   other   student   had   taken   Spanish   202   ahead   of   201. The   two   reached   out   to ...