Learning the Language

Me at the Basilica dedicated to the Spanish Civil War

The view at Valle de los Caidos

Last week was great! I got to go with my group to El Escorial and Valle de los Caidos on Friday, both of which were fascinating. Traveling around Spain has been a blast, but it's about time to get to the nitty gritty of why I am here-- Spanish! That being said, I'd like to display a glimpse of my language/mental adventure instead of talking about the physical adventures.

In the beginning...

Before coming to Spain I had taken four and a half years total in Spanish courses and was really soaking in my class. I learned basic grammar and vocabulary to the point that I was about at a third-grade reading level.

Upon the night of my arrival I think I used just about everything I knew (granted I did have jet lag, but I'm not sure having a good night's rest would've helped much.) My host family, who are fascinated with America and NYC, was very excited to greet my two roommates and I that night. We introduced ourselves and talked about the differences between Alcala de Henares/Madrid/Spain in general and the U.S.A.

The whole first week was a fiasco in learning about the bus system, because we not only had to learn to take public transportation on a regular basis but also how to do it in a foreign tongue! Needless to say we spent most of our first days lost in the streets after asking locals where we were although we could hardly understand a word. I remember thinking the people spoke so, so, so fast!

All I have to say about my first week is that it was all a blur.

The trial and error...

After about my first three weeks of getting used to Madrid, my classes and my surroundings I had a strong desire to get crackin'. So I tried to speak Spanish as much as I could, especially out in public. There's just one problem-- the second I opened my mouth everyone knew I was an English speaker. I didn't realize my accent was still strong although my teachers always congratulated me on my diction in my oral exams! When they saw that I knew English although I was clearly speaking Spanish, the locals would respond in English. This was either because they were learning English and wanted to practice it (which I love to do at home) or because they were tetralingual and were thus impatient with me speaking a language I'm not fluent in.

At first this made me very frustrated because I was trying to be a good student! So then I came up with a clever solution... I posed as a German! After all I really am a quarter German in my ancestry, so why couldn't I pull off being from Berlin? However this posed a lot of problems because, as you can probably guess, I only know two words in German while many educated people know at least a few sentences.

All I have to say from that approach is that it should never be done because you'll get yourself into more trouble. 

After many instances I found my solution! When people start talking to me in English I always respond in Spanish, no matter how broken it may be. If the conversation is a little complicated or extensive then I simply explain that I am a foreign exchange student trying to learn. After that the Spaniards completely change their attitude. Sometimes they've found it flattering that I want to learn their native language.

Everyday tactics...

The best ways to learn, I’ve found, is to talk to the locals in a stress-free environment, making sure that they realize you are not fluent yet. However finding exactly who to talk to can be quite a challenge. I have it lucky because I can talk to the members of my host family any day I wish, but even then you can only learn so much from talking to only three people.

Here are some of the easiest kinds of people to talk to:

·      Children. If I can make sure the parents knows I’m not a pedophile, then I talk to kids as much as possible. Reason being that they are on your level of comprehension! They speak simply and don’t judge you as harshly, which really gives me the fuzzies inside.

·      People that you have something in common with. So far those who I’ve connected with are fellow members of my faith and immigrants from the New World. For example while my friends and I were in McDonalds in Madrid sitting on a table with a local when we asked her a few questions about how to say a certain phrase. That opened the whole can of worms of why we were learning Spanish in Madrid and where we were from. When we told her we were from the U.S.A. she got very excited about it and said that she was from Paraguay—as if Paraguay is any closer to America as Spain! Regardless, we shared the common thread of being outsiders and embraced the fact. The least it did was facilitate conversation.

Here are some of the hardest kinds of people to talk to:

·      Old people. They have very, very, very thick accents and have a hard time understanding foreigners’ accents. It’s even worse when they have gravelly voices. I don’t suggest talking to them right off the bat.

·      Groups of people at the same time. Sometimes when I talk to several people at once I feel like I am getting bombarded by words. It’s just confusing!

Another habit I’ve gotten into that has helped me a TON is keeping a “librito de vocabulario” and a pen with me at all times. It is surprising how easy it is to forget new words if you don’t write them down to look at later. Plus it is a great way to record the little moments of the day. Afterwards I put them in a vocab list in Word.

To be continued…

Obviously I still have infinitely more to learn, so if I find new tactics I will be sure to let you know!