The chief problem for most Americans who want to learn Spanish but who don’t succeed is the Affective Factor. Plainly put, this means the emotional issues; that is, adults become freaked out at the thought. The fear of getting put on the spot and embarrassed is just too much to bear.
I’ve talked to plenty monolingual American and Canadian expats in Mexico who do not learn Spanish. They are, therefore, forced to live in the various Gringolandias because they are too fearful of learning Spanish. They self-perceive the problem as their “advanced years” or, as one cantankerous old coot put it, “I have too lousy of a disposition to learn Spanish.”
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The Clock Starts Ticking
Starting tomorrow morning, you’re going to practice English, Spanish, French or other foreign language. For the following 6 days, for 8 hours per day, you’ll work on grammar, pronunciation, watch videos and listen to audio materials. You’ll write short notes, grocery lists and play games in the target foreign language. All well and good – BUT – a week from today, is it really reasonable to think you’ll be fluent in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Chinese or any other foreign language?
Of course not.
Could you learn a lot?
Yes.
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The chief problem for most Americans who want to learn Spanish but who don’t succeed is the Affective Factor. Plainly put, this means the emotional issues; that is, adults become freaked out at the thought. The fear of getting put on the spot and embarrassed is just too much to bear.
I’ve talked to plenty monolingual American and Canadian expats in Mexico who do not learn Spanish. They are, therefore, forced to live in the various Gringolandias because they are too fearful of learning Spanish. They self-perceive the problem as their “advanced years” or, as one cantankerous old coot put it, “I have too lousy of a disposition to learn Spanish.”
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Maybe the most important aspect of Stephen Krashen’s theories of second language acquisition is The Input Hypothesis. This explains how someone learns a second language. The hypothesis deals with acquisition of speech and not the learning of formal grammatical rules and cold memorization of vocabulary words.
When you seek to learn a language different from your native tongue, if you are receiving “input” that is slightly above your ability in the second language, then you will proceed along a natural order in becoming proficient in spoken fluency. If you are at level “A” then what you need is input that is slightly above level “A” in order to progress. But, the input must be comprehensible.
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Have you ever had the idea of learning Spanish? By now you should know that the language you have intentions to learn is one of the most widely spoken languages around the world, specially in the Americas where more than half of the continent’s population speaks Spanish, mainly from the Rio Grand bordering Mexico to “Tierra del Fuego”, down there at the bottom of the continent in the outskirts of Antartica.
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Learn How Speak Spanish Without The Frustration
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I read the following online on a site supposedly devoted to learning fluency in a second language:
“Language is like any other skill or aptitude: some people are proficient in languages, while others are better at math, science, or music. Everyone has the potential to learn, but the fact is that some people are just more capable of learning language than others.” – About.com
Trying to acquire a second language as one would try to learn math, science, or music is so predominate, so pervasive in the minds of Americans that this sort of statement is posted on a site that purports to be an authority on second language acquisition.
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How Do I Become Fluent In A New Language?
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Everyone can learn Spanish fast when exercising good studying habits. Those that need the most help studying Spanish are the ones who can always find a reason not to study. This art of excuse making is known as procrastination, and can be lethal to one’s knowledge of the Spanish language if it gets the best of them.
Here are a few ideas for this large niche of anti study experts.
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Spanish Language Study Tips For Procrastinators
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