Sasha Fierce -the Alter-ego Technique

 

Pop singer Beyonce recently stated that she had created an alter-ego for herself, Sacha Fierce, to help her overcome  shyness when it came to the sexy dances she usually performs in her videos and performances. This is a good idea to imitate when it comes to learning a second-language. Lozanov, for some the father of the accelerated learning movement, suggested that  students created a new persona when  learning a new language. For Lozanov, students should adopt a name and nationality related to the target language and as they learned vocabulary, create a story of sorts for this character.  This will:

• disconnect any previous negative experience that the student might have had with the learning process.

• Prevent awkwardness when some examples could not be used for the student’s  real life circumstances.

• Create affinity between the student and the culture of the target language.

• Motivate curiosity and self-study.

 

So bring your Sasha Fierce, or Pedro Perez, or Rosa Montoya or elipe Romero or Andrea Sarmiento to your Spanish  practise and zest, imagination and fun to your learning.  

To Be or Not to Be

So you are a busy-responsibility-ridden-adult-Spanish-language-learner. Or are you? Let’s see. You would really, truly like to commit to your language studies, but, well, you know... there’s work, and family and the cricket game and the football finals and the Sunday barbeques. How could you realistically take some time off to go beyond your two-hour class at the local community college? Yes, it may be enriching to seat around and learn interesting fact about Spanish, both as a language and a culture and see a travel video in YouTube about someone’s vacation to Peru, but...but...but what?

 

The answer to you dilemma is simple: either you are a Spanish student or you are not.

 If you are a Spanish student, you’ll watch football in Spanish;  you’ll demand respect for your learning just as painter demands that no one in the family touches his brushes; you’ll read stories from the Spanish-speaking countries to your children in English at bedtime and offer to cook on Fridays Spanish and Latin American meals; you’ll romance your partner  with a slow tango or mellow bolero and you’ll set aside Spanish learning time everyday with the same zeal that a Zen Buddhist meditates at dawn, not matter what. And you’ll do it because you deserve it. Because as a Spanish student you have every right to practice your language craft as a young violinist tortures his neighbours every Thursdays at six. And you’ll neighbours will probably love you after you invite them for some tasty tapas and teach them a few salsa moves. 

Now, if you are not a Spanish student, then relax. Stop paying for costly CDs and courses, admit to yourself that, whilst you like going to Spain, at the end the only thing you are interested in saying is “Dame otra cerveza,” and just hire your tourist guide, bilingual secretary, interpreter and translator, whichever your need may be. Play Sudoku to protect your brain against Alzheimer (though beware that it does not protect as well as learning a second language,) stay in the beaten tourist track where there’ll always be someone who speaks English and embrace who you are. 

There’s no shame in being monolingual, just as there is no shame of dreaming about learning a new language. If you want to take up all the opportunities that come with a second language, then be a Spanish student, and live your learning with all the passion and dedication that you can muster. If you don’t, stop making excuses and find your true call. Just decide who you are and live accordingly.

The Jumping Bean Technique.

 

One of the problems language learners face, especially adult students, is the fact that they know in their minds how to say a word, but somehow what comes out of their mouth hardly resembles the appropriate sound for such word. This is because there is no mind-body connection for the Spanish sound students are trying to produce. It’s a bit like if you had watch a tennis game for sometime: your mind understands what you are suppose to do with the racket, but the first time you try to hit the ball, your arm, hand-and-eye coordination and your feet will be very awkward and it is unlikely that you will be able to hit the ball (although flukes have been known to happen).

 The jumping bean technique can help you create this min-body connection. I have tried it with my students with very positive results and it only takes minutes to do it. First, find or write a long sentence with the new vocabulary you want to master. It would be best if you listened to the correct pronunciation several times before “jumping. Thus, you can use a sentence from a study book that includes a CD or MP3. You could also go to www.voki.com, create an avatar and type the sentence. The avatar will say it out loud and you will be able to hear the right pronunciation.

Now that you have your sentence in front of you, say out loud two times. Now say the fist three words; then the last three. Say the sentence one more; now read it half-way. Read it backwards. Read the first word and then the last one. From the last one to half-way; now say the whole sentence. Transform it into a question, then a statement, then an exclamation. Then the whole sentence one last time. The whole process should take a couple of minutes. Time permitting do two or three sentences at the time. Do this exercise several times a week and you should notice an improvement in the way you pronounce the new vocabulary. Go back to  Voki, create another avatar and this time record yourself saying the sentence. Compare your recording with the previous one, to see how to fine tune your pronunciation. Most importantly, have fun –see it as a tongue twister of sorts  and once you feel comfortable with the vocabulary, add new words to your sentence. Be creative and enjoy your learning!

One, two, ready? Let's learn Spanish!

So you have decided to start the year by taking a Spanish course. Excellent! You have your books or computer program, have scheduled your classes, been looking for sales to Dominican Republic or Cuba, and bough a few Shakira and Alejandro Sanz CDs to get you into the culture. İMuy bien! 

Allow me then to give you a few other suggestions to make the most of your Spanish learning: 


1) Rather than practicing one day for three or four hours, spread this hours around the week to one hour or 30 minute sessions. 


2) Give yourself some reviewing time. It may be a few minutes before starting a new session or set aside two reviewing days during the week. Your brain will remember better if you take the habit of constantly reviewing the learnt material.


3) Create a little ritual before starting your online course. You may sit in the same place, do some breathing exercises to clear your head, have a cup tea to relax or listen to some Spanish or Latin music to get you in the mood. Whatever you choose, get in the habit of doing every time you come to the AVE as a way to train your brain for your "Spanish Learning Time."


4) Do the pronunciation exercises more than once. Write down the words and paste them on your bathroom glass and repeat them every morning at different speeds; try to imitate the Spanish accent as best as you can; exaggerate even. All this will help create a mind body connection and will train your jaw, tongue and mouth muscles to speak Spanish.

5) Do not be afraid of making mistakes. Learn from them. Repeat the activity as many times as necessary in a mindful way: look for clues and patterns. You don't have to understand everything at the beginning. Look for the basic meaning. More importantly, don't put yourself down. You are never too old or busy to learn Spanish. You just have to find you pace and enjoy the challenges.

Who's Afraid of Talking to the Loclas?

One of the things learners soon face in their journey to a new language is stage fright. They may understand what they are hearing, and in their mind they know exactly what they should say, but the fear of not being able to pronounce the words correctly, or express themselves properly or just sound a bit silly can turn the learner into a virtual mute. I used to be the one of latter one. When we first move to the USA, I knew a few English phrases, such as “My name is...”, “I’m fine, thank you” and “My pencil is yellow”.  My English teacher had been a lovely British lady, and, being these the dark days before cable and satellite TV, she had been my only reference to the English language.  So you may imagine my shock when I encountered the sing-a-long accent of the American south. If these people were speaking English, then I must have accidentally learned Chinese in school, because I could not understand a word they were saying. And it was in such circumstances that I started Middle School, after 6 years sheltered under the protective wings of a nun-run primary institution.

 So there I was, in a gigantic new school, in the middle of a sea of children who mysteriously disappeared when the bell rang.  A teacher came to me, babbling something which I understood to mean “why are you not in your classroom” and to which I answered with a blank stare. He took me to the principal’s (head teacher’s) office and after a few minutes of them asking my name and where I was from and me not answering, afraid I would get my words mixed-up, they send for someone, who I hoped, would be the Spanish teacher.  Instead, a Hindu girl entered the room and started to talk to me non-stop, and whatever she was speaking, Spanish it was not. Then it hit me.

Although I think I look pretty much Latina, the truth is that people all over keep mistaking me for someone from India. As the girl kept on talking, I realized that unless I clarify where I was from, nobody would be able to truly help me. So after a month of selective mutism, I opened my mouth and muttered: “me speak Spanish; me from Venezuela.” And surprise, surprise: nobody laugh at me. No one corrected me or frown-upon my poor grammar. The people in the room sighed relieved, called the Spanish teacher and sent me to my classroom. That day I introduced myself, asked for apple pie at lunch time, became part of a study group and met the girl who would be my best friend for years.  During that whole year, while I learned English painfully (no ESL classes, just total immersion learning) not at a soul mocked my accent, refuse to repeat when I said that I didn’t understand or made me feel stupid because of my Tarzan-like fluency. And in my experience, that still true for most language students.

Most native-speakers you will encounter will be happy to lend you a helping hand with your second- language acquisition. Some may be more humorous than others, and there will the occasional language Scrooge. But all on all, natives are pleased when foreigners do the effort to learn their language and most of them will show you patience and give you suggestions on your pronunciation and usage of the language. I have yet to meet the first person who thinks that a language learner is “stupid” or “silly” just because they are not proficient in their second language. If anything, most natives feel admiration for a person (especially and adult) that takes the time and trouble to start something new. So don’t be afraid to make mistakes in front of other people. Your tutor or teacher is there to guide you; your classmates are walking your same path; the locals appreciate your efforts in more ways that you can imagine. Every time you use your second language, no matter how roughly or imperfectly, you are telling them that you care: about their culture, the nation and their community. And that can only generate good-will and pave the way to true friendships.

Reflections

There is a great emphasis now-a-days on “natural” language learning, on acquiring a second language the way children learn their mother tongue, almost by osmosis, with hardly any thought in the process. While there are many positive things to say about the natural method, to follow it in its purest form may take away, I think, one of the advantages we have as adults: our capacity to analyse. It is through observation and reflection that you can fully grasp the mechanics and spirit of language. There are many ways to do this. Try to identify patterns as you learn new words and expressions. See the vocabulary in context. Look carefully at illustrations that may accompany a text and see how they relate to it. As you learn grammar rules, notice how natives really use them (or not) on a day to day basis. Imagine yourself as a detective and look for clues. Acquire original resources - that is, books, magazines, newspapers, songs, movies and TV shows made in Spanish speaking countries and see the new words in their natural element. Do speakers use grammar as taught in your course-book? What reactions do certain words seem to evoke?

Translation has fallen somewhat out of fashion when it comes to language learning. Yet, translating as literally as possible may help you see and understand better the thinking underlining the language. It shows you differences and similarities; it may shock you or give you an “Aha!” moment. When I was a pre-teen back in Venezuela, my friends and I would spend hours translating our favourite songs from English to Spanish and we would puzzle as English seemed to be a backwards language. In Spanish you usually say the noun first and the adjective second, whereas in English it is the other way round most of the time. Once I noticed this, I had little problem inverting my adjectives when I started to write in English.

Learning about the culture is also another way to help your language learning. As you find the source of sayings, you will not only repeat a particular expression like a parrot : you will also be able to identify it when it is just hinted at, and understand its use in context. So think about your target language; ask yourself questions and have them answered, if not right away (like in the middle of a class-drill) then later on, at a more appropriate time. Sometimes it’s easier to just accept some facts (like that H is mute in Spanish.) But many times it pays off to ponder, to find alternatives and different uses, to compare and contrast, to go in depth. Remember, every time you do this, you become an active participant in your leaning process; an equal-share partner with your teacher; the one true pilot of your language journey.