As a Spanish teacher, I’m always being asked for recommendations about which language a child should take.

This frequently comes up when children are moving up from elementary school – where in many cases, Spanish is the only language offered – to middle school, where they actually have a choice for the first time. And this is what I often hear:

“Joey want to take French, but I think he should keep taking Spanish. I mean, he’s been learning Spanish since kindergarten, and it’s such a useful language ….”

To which I reply ….

Joey should take whatever language he wants!

Parents are almost always surprised by my response, especially since I am a Spanish teacher. And in fact, there are a number of language experts who would disagree with me. Neither one likes to see what was learned in elementary school “wasted” if the child moves on to another language.

But to me, language is about a passion to communicate, a connection to the people, a love for the sound and feeling of the language, an interest in the culture and the countries where the language is spoken.

So as much as possible, you should be studying the language that appeals to YOU.

I don’t want people in my Spanish classes because they think it’s useful or – even worse – that it’s easy. (Hello?? Por vs. para? Ser vs. estar? A gazillion irregular verbs? Subjunctive????)

I want students who want to learn Spanish because they love it, because they love the sound of it, the culture, the music, the people, the poetry, the history, the literature … all of it.

Certainly, we as teachers will always strive to bring that excitement into our classrooms and instill that love in all students. But sometimes, as in any relationship, the heart is elsewhere.

In languages, as in love, el corazón tiene razones que la razón desconoce. The heart has its reasons that reason knows nothing of.

But what about those “wasted” years, the time spent on another language that would be abandoned if a child moves on to another language?

No te preocupes. Don’t worry. I don’t believe any of that time, or any of that language learning, is wasted. In fact, the opposite is true. In languages, anything that you have already learned will enhance what you study in the future – you have programmed your mind to learn vocabulary, sentence structures, and different ways of expressing things. And anything that you study in the future will reinforce what you have already learned – “Oh yes, that’s like what I learned in Spanish,” or “Oh, that’s different from the way you say it in Spanish.”

To reinforce my point, I always point out to parents – whose children, in many cases, started learning Spanish in kindergarten – that I didn’t learn a word of Spanish until 11th grade. I studied Latin for four years, and only after that did I begin to learn Spanish (and the following year, Italian as well). Despite that “late” start, I achieved near-native fluency and now spend much of my day speaking Spanish.

How and why did I become fluent? Because I loved the language, the culture, the people, the music, the food, the poetry, the literature …. all of it. Because I followed my heart and my interests and my passion.

So, which language should your child take?

Ask your child!

About The Author

Ruth Kunstadter makes it easy to teach and learn Spanish by tapping into the incredible resources of U.S. Latino communities. Visit Ruth at http://www.chispaproductions.com to find more ways to inspire children to love languages!

© 2006 Ruth Kunstadter, Chispa Productions LLC

This article may be reproduced in web sites and publications provided the whole article is reproduced without any change, including the byline and bio above.

Technorati Tags: Learn Spanish Online

6 Keys to Help You Learn Spanish Online
 by: Patrick Jackson

Six Keys to Help You Learn Spanish Online

This article consists of six tips to help you learn Spanish online. If you follow these six tips, you can be sure that you will learn to speak Spanish online much easier.

Key Numero Uno to Learn Spanish Online:

“Stay motivated”

I think everyone that studies a foreign language will experience a time when they are becoming less and less motivated. You may feel that you are losing your desire to learn Spanish online around the same time that you have reached a plateau.

If you feel that you are losing your desire to learn to speak Spanish online, try planning a trip to a Spanish speaking country. Since you will want to get the most out of your trip, this should motivate you to study.

Here’s another tip to help you stay motivated and to make you want to learn to speak Spanish online. Find a native speaker that you are romantically interested in. Since you will probably want to impress him or her with your Spanish, this should motivate you to keep studying and make you want to learn Spanish online. You will also notice that you are making progress quicker by practicing your Spanish with a native speaker and that should also motivate you to keep studying and practicing Spanish.

Of course, this tip only applies to single people or other people without a significant other.

Key Numero Dos to Learn to speak Spanish Online: “Don’t Be Afraid of Making Mistakes”

Make lots of mistakes. And then after you have made lots of mistakes go make some more mistakes. And then go make some more mistakes.

Many people are afraid of making mistakes when learning Spanish online. If you really want to learn to speak Spanish online, then you have to accept the fact that making mistakes is part of the learning process. The more mistakes you make, the quicker you learn to speak Spanish online.

If you are not making mistakes, that’s probably an indication that you are not making the effort to learn Spanish online.

Some people will try to learn to speak Spanish online by ONLY listening. Their reasoning is that once they learn enough Spanish that’s when they will begin trying to speak Spanish online. But I can I assure you that it doesn’t work that way. It works in reverse.

That is, once you start trying to speak Spanish and making mistakes that’s when you will begin to learn to speak Spanish online. Not the other way around.

So go ahead and make mistakes. The mistakes aren’t there to embarrass you. The mistakes are there to help you master Spanish.

Key Numero Tres to Learn Spanish Online:

“Focus on how to speak Spanish” Don’t focus on “why Spanish is Spoken the way it is”

Many people have sent me emails with questions such as why is it “me gusta” (I like) instead of “me gusto” or why is it “me toma” instead of “me tomo”

Of course, I could easily answer these questions. (And I do) But the objective is not to try equate everything in Spanish with English or your native language.

Accept the fact that Spanish grammar is different from English grammar. And focus on the objective of any language — which is to communicate effectively.

And in order to communicate effectively, you only need to understand and be understood. It is not necessary that you understand each and every grammatical facet.

Trying to do so will only hinder your learning and make it difficult to learn Spanish online. Imagine trying to teach a 4 yr old the definition of a direct pronoun vs. an indirect pronoun. We would never attempt such a thing. But the 4yr old child is still fluent in his or her native language.

So make your goal to understand and be understood. Focus on “how to speak Spanish” Don’t focus on “why Spanish is Spoken the way it is.”

Key Numero Cuatro to Learn to Speak Spanish Online:

“Master the Fundamentals”

Many people spend their time learning a bunch of Spanish vocabulary that they could go a life time and never use. That’s because the words are hardly used in normal everyday conversation. If you want to learn to speak Spanish online without Wasting anytime, I advise you to master the fundamentals. When I say the “fundamentals” I am referring to the basic vocabulary and basic grammar.

I know adults that have studied Spanish for a few years and they know thousands of words in Spanish. Although they may be proficient in Spanish, I would not consider them fluent. On the other hand, a three or four year old native Spanish-speaking child can speak Spanish fluently. It is not because the child knows thousand of words in Spanish. The child may only know about a thousand words or less in Spanish. But the child has mastered the fundamentals.

Mastery of the fundamentals is what separates the proficient from the fluent.

If you really want to learn to speak Spanish online make it a priority to master the fundamentals.

Key Numero Cinco to Learn Spanish Online:

“Take Advantage of downtime” Finding time to study can be a challenge. Many people just don’t have the time to sit down and study. But who said that you have to be sitting down? If you are waiting in line at the bank or waiting at the doctor’s office, turn on your mp3 player or ipod and listen to an audio Spanish lesson.

If you drive to work everyday, that’s an excellent opportunity to practice your favorite audio Spanish course. If you like to jog or exercise on a stairmaster or treadmill, bring your mp3 player or ipod with you and listen to your favorite audio Spanish course

Instead of watching the 10′ clock News. Watch “Las Noticias” Instead of watching a movie on HBO, watch a movie on HBO Latino.

So to those that say “I just don’t have the time to learn Spanish online.” My response is that you can make excuses or you can learn to speak Spanish online. But you can’t do both. The choice is yours. Key Numero Seis to Learn to speak Spanish Online:

“Become an Imitator”

Some Spanish courses do not put much emphasis on pronunciation. I think that is a big mistake.

If you really want to be understood, you must try to mimic native speakers.

Have you every experienced someone that asked you for directions or some other question and you were unable to assist the person because you didn’t speak her language. And then you suddenly realized that the person was actually speaking English but her accent was so thick that you thought the person was speaking another language.

The same thing happens to Spanish ears. If you do not develop good pronunciation, you will not be understand.

If you say the word “dad” in Spanish and you do not stress the appropriate syllable, a native Spanish speaker may think that you are talking about “french fries.” To English ears the difference may be very subtle. But to the Latin American its the difference between “dad” and “potatoes”.

So focus on mimicking native Spanish speakers.

I hope that you enjoyed these 6 Tips to Help You Learn Spanish Online and that they truly help you in your journey to learn to speak Spanish online.

Patrick Jackson

About The Author

Patrick Jackson is a self-taught speaker of Spanish and the founder of the Learning Spanish Like Crazy method. You may publish this article online or offline so long as the article is not altered in any manner, including, but not limited to, this section which contains the URL of the author’s web site. Learning Spanish Like Crazy makes it quick and easy to learn Spanish. Download free audio Spanish lessons and get your 6 day Spanish mini-course visit: http://www.learningspanishlikecrazy.com/

Technorati Tags: Learn Spanish Online

Ok so you might find the next few links interesting. These are from around the web, just random snippets that I’ve picked up in my reading, but I found some very cool information in them. You might too. Here goes…

How To Learn Spanish, Learn Spanish All Here In One Place

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Technorati Tags: Learn Spanish Online

Technorati Tags: Learn Spanish Online

Hey Readers! I’ve been comin across some crazy stuff the past few days from a few different blogs around the web which I just had to share with you. Check em out below…

Learn To Speak Spanish Online – 4 Tips To Have You Learning In No Time

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Hope you enjoy the read as much as I did and please if you have something to say, use the comments form below to let everyone know your thoughts.

Have a great day!

Technorati Tags: Learn Spanish Online

If you’ve ever wanted to learn to speak Spanish, then you’re in luck because learning another language has never been easier. The internet has made it easy to access information anytime we choose and from any computer with internet access. The marriage of the internet and language courses has made learning Spanish online fast, easy, and affordable.

Learning Spanish can open doors and create travel, relationship, and job opportunities. In addition, because it’s an intellectual pursuit it keeps the mind active.

When you learn to speak Spanish online you combine all of the best and most effective learning techniques onto one affordable and convenient platform.

When I learn to speak Spanish online what are the benefits?

When you learn to speak Spanish online, you get it all. If you’re a visual person, the images will enable you to make a visual connection with the language. You also get to hear the language which helps you master correct pronunciation.

Rocket Spanish is the best online Spanish course I have found. The course also includes interactive games which make learning fun and enjoyable.

What are the advantages of learning Spanish on the Internet?

When you learn to speak Spanish online:

• You learn at your own pace instead of following someone else’s schedule

• You don’t have to worry about waking up with an alarm and making it to class on time

• You don’t have to purchase books to drag around with you

• You won’t have any travel costs as you would with offline classes

• You can study from the comfort of your own home

• You will get the MP3 version of the audio portions to download and play on your MP3 player

• You are not bound to a particular location and can study anywhere

• It’s much more affordable than college tuition or a private tutor

• Learning is faster and easier because you can review the lessons as many times as you like and the lessons are interactive

Learn Spanish on the Internet Like a Rocket

Rocket Spanish is a complete course that takes you from the beginning to the advanced level.

The down loadable version of Rocket Spanish can be purchased for around $100. It includes interactive games that make learning both fast and enjoyable.

When you sign up for the FREE 6 day Spanish course you can get a taste of how it some of it works. If you’d like to check it out, click on the resource link below to get started with a free lesson.

Debby Wier is an internet marketing specialist who also blogs and writes articles on a wide variety of topics. She believes that learning additional languages creates unlimited opportunities for travel, business and personal relationships.