Okay, I finished level one of SaySomethingin Spanish (25 lessons about 20 to 30 minutes each) in about a week and here is my assessment;
Fantastic!
In the past 8 months I have completed and reviewed, a few times, listen and repeat programs, have read over 100 children's books, have read over 200 news articles and a few Spanish texts. (Yes, I count everything and my wife calls me Numbers - No Joke!). I am currently slogging my way through Pimsluer (level B). So, I have exposed myself to a lot of different programs and I have put in the time to finish them. As you can guess, I didn't know if this program would help me.
I was presently surprised!
SaySomethingin Spanish helped me fill in the gaps immediately that I have been missing in other programs. I liked the fact that the material takes you into deep water quickly, but not in a way that overwhelms you. I knew a majority of the words already, however, the construction, placements and usage is what I valued most as I can plug and mix and match later. After the very first lesson I could feel my fluency increase, immediately.
It was that simple. Additionally, the 2x the speed listening sessions for each fifth session is revolutionary. Especially, since a few programs that offer sped up listening, charges for them as a different course and don't include it as a part of training for the actual course they offer. After the 10th listening session I went back to the fifth lesson and it felt as if I could literally grab words out of the air. Each time I listen to them, Spanish I hear spoken elsewhere seems much slower and I like that! After lesson twenty, one of the podcasts I listen to at its intermediate level felt like listening to 'paint dry.' I had to turn it off and jump to the advance podcasts because I didn't have the patience to wait for them to talk so slow. I can't wait to hear 3x speed!
Bravo SaySomethingin!!
Now, I do not know how a raw beginner would fare because I had a strong background coming in. However, I do know that if you have some basic training this course will be perfect for you. I plan to go back over the 25 lessons again in the next two weeks to sear the speaking style it uses into my brain and will be adding it to my regular rotation over the next few months for a refresher.
A few more points:
-I appreciated the length of the pauses that allows you to think about the answer. Many programs do not give you enough of a chance to think and I believe that does the learner a disservice.
-I liked the use of spaced repetition.
-I liked the use of two different speakers (saying it slightly differently).
-Each lesson builds on the next and he encourages you to move forward and not repeat.
-I liked the fact that he encouraged me along the way and let me know I was headed into advanced territory, but would be okay.
-I don't feel marketed to and I feel that I received a fair trade.
-You don't get insulted with material that is too easy...
-I liked the cost ($13.27 equivalent of 9 British Sterling Pounds).
-Oh yeah, I liked the book (H.I.L.T.), which introduced me to the course (free Kindle Unlimited/.99 cents otherwise).
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Nos vemos el proximo tiempo!
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Bakari Akil is a Professor of Communication, blogs for Psychology Today and has authored many books on Communication and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This is his experience learning Spanish.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Karaoke and Learning Spanish - Karoake and Aprendiendo Español
Last year while scouring Youtube for language learning videos, I bumped into this guy, ConcentrationReborn, who helped alter my approach to language. He said he learned how to speak Spanish the hard way, but for his new language, Vietnamese, he learned through Karaoke. He said that after 6 months of Karaoke he had no problems reading, speaking and having conversations in Vietnamese. To verify his claims, he recorded himself singing in a Karaoke bar and read a tome of a book in Vietnamese. Although to me it might have well have been Martian.
In his video, Fluency Training, he demonstrated with a German song how he primed himself by listening and singing along with the lyrics to be ready to learn German when he was ready. He then demonstrated with a Spanish song Mitad y Mitad (Half and Half). The song was catchy and I was hooked. I don't believe he provided the title so I captured some of the lyrics and found the song on Youtube (YT). For the next two days I practiced singing that and a couple of other songs that I found on YT.
My wife, who loves, loves, loves Karaoke even tried to chime in on the songs and was surprised at my sudden interest in Karaoke when I always avoided her when she was in her Karaoke mood at the house. The guy was right! I learned a few things immediately about how certain words were combined and how certain letters are dropped. I then went to LyricTraining and found a couple of songs to practice and spent another two days immersed in mastering those songs. Over the next couple of months I periodically revisited those songs. Later that year when we celebrated Christmas and everyone came over to our house, my wife pulled out her Karaoke mic stand, fired up the projector and everybody started singing Karaoke.
Now, my family had been hearing for a few months that I had started to learn Spanish and I think they treated it just like everything else people tell them about something that's really hard. They will believe it when they see it. Well, when I was asked to sing, I casually said to my wife, "Why don't you pull up Mitad y Mitad. The music started playing and I sung like I was in a Mariachi band. Eyes widened, I heard a gasp, people started smiling and I heard someone say, "I knew you said he was learning Spanish, but he learned it for real!"
Recently, when my mother-in-law (suegra) visited, I sang it again. Only this time, I had a couple more months of intense practice behind me. She was amazed as well and also made a comment that she didn't know I could speak Spanish so well. I didn't intend for my practice of Karaoke to learn language to become a party trick, but it has. It also showed me that it seems many people don't take people seriously when they say they want to learn another language. However, more than anything else, it has become a tool in my language belt. I like variety so I will not Karaoke for six months straight, but it is in my rotation of activities to keep things fresh and interesting.
Also, after listening to Spanish songs, especially fast ones, spoken Spanish always seems slower to me. Even if the effect is temporary.
Oh yeah, if you do go listen to Mitad y Mitad, make sure to come back and thank me for introducing you to one of the coolest songs ever!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bakari Akil is a Professor of Communication, blogs for Psychology Today and has authored many books on Communication and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This is his experience learning Spanish.
In his video, Fluency Training, he demonstrated with a German song how he primed himself by listening and singing along with the lyrics to be ready to learn German when he was ready. He then demonstrated with a Spanish song Mitad y Mitad (Half and Half). The song was catchy and I was hooked. I don't believe he provided the title so I captured some of the lyrics and found the song on Youtube (YT). For the next two days I practiced singing that and a couple of other songs that I found on YT.
My wife, who loves, loves, loves Karaoke even tried to chime in on the songs and was surprised at my sudden interest in Karaoke when I always avoided her when she was in her Karaoke mood at the house. The guy was right! I learned a few things immediately about how certain words were combined and how certain letters are dropped. I then went to LyricTraining and found a couple of songs to practice and spent another two days immersed in mastering those songs. Over the next couple of months I periodically revisited those songs. Later that year when we celebrated Christmas and everyone came over to our house, my wife pulled out her Karaoke mic stand, fired up the projector and everybody started singing Karaoke.
Now, my family had been hearing for a few months that I had started to learn Spanish and I think they treated it just like everything else people tell them about something that's really hard. They will believe it when they see it. Well, when I was asked to sing, I casually said to my wife, "Why don't you pull up Mitad y Mitad. The music started playing and I sung like I was in a Mariachi band. Eyes widened, I heard a gasp, people started smiling and I heard someone say, "I knew you said he was learning Spanish, but he learned it for real!"
Recently, when my mother-in-law (suegra) visited, I sang it again. Only this time, I had a couple more months of intense practice behind me. She was amazed as well and also made a comment that she didn't know I could speak Spanish so well. I didn't intend for my practice of Karaoke to learn language to become a party trick, but it has. It also showed me that it seems many people don't take people seriously when they say they want to learn another language. However, more than anything else, it has become a tool in my language belt. I like variety so I will not Karaoke for six months straight, but it is in my rotation of activities to keep things fresh and interesting.
Also, after listening to Spanish songs, especially fast ones, spoken Spanish always seems slower to me. Even if the effect is temporary.
Oh yeah, if you do go listen to Mitad y Mitad, make sure to come back and thank me for introducing you to one of the coolest songs ever!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bakari Akil is a Professor of Communication, blogs for Psychology Today and has authored many books on Communication and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This is his experience learning Spanish.
Friday, March 13, 2015
Luego! Luego!
Okay, a cute story. As I have been learning Spanish I have been teaching my daughter as well. She was close to 2 years old when I began and is now 2 1/2. I began by learning commands or small phrases I said in English and then started saying them to her in Spanish.
For instance:
Put that in the trash. - Punlo en la basura.
It is time to change your diaper. - Es tiempo de cambiar su pañal.
Let's go upstairs - Vamos a subir las escaleras.
Now, granted, this was the blind leading the blind in language learning and I am sure at times (if not all the time) I was probably not saying things the way that native Spanish speakers say them, but those phrases came up when I used my translating apps.
My daughter, started following my commands and seemed to begin to understand some of the things I would say to her from the beginning, but she never answered or would say things back to me in Spanish. For example, if I said, "zapato," she would often reply with, "shoe." I began to get frustrated as this had been going on for months.
However, a couple of weeks ago, when she was leaving our bedroom to go find her mother in one of the other rooms, she said bye to me like the dozens of times she does throughout the day. I had been saying adios to her for months with no luck. So this time, I said, "Hasta luego!" -- A slight pause occurred then I heard, "Luego." She then turned her head back to me and waved.
I was stunned and excited at the same time!
When she coupled the wave with the word, luego, it seemed she grasped the concept immediately. But I said it again to make sure. "Hasta Luego."
"Luego," was her response.
That was her first word in Spanish and I could not stop grinning. That night, my wife told me that she was proud of me. She said she had been noticing how much I had been trying to work with her and she was glad that I stuck it out. That made me feel good.
So for the past couple of weeks, my daughter and I have traded goodbyes and luegos. She even said it to both of her grandmothers (with a little urging from me, of course).
I can see now that her learning Spanish is going to happen.
Why?
Porque because! - (Shout out to Bill Santiago!)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hay que tratar, para ganar. - Me
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bakari Akil is a Professor of Communication, blogs for Psychology Today and has authored many books on Communication and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This is his experience learning Spanish.
For instance:
Put that in the trash. - Punlo en la basura.
It is time to change your diaper. - Es tiempo de cambiar su pañal.
Let's go upstairs - Vamos a subir las escaleras.
Now, granted, this was the blind leading the blind in language learning and I am sure at times (if not all the time) I was probably not saying things the way that native Spanish speakers say them, but those phrases came up when I used my translating apps.
My daughter, started following my commands and seemed to begin to understand some of the things I would say to her from the beginning, but she never answered or would say things back to me in Spanish. For example, if I said, "zapato," she would often reply with, "shoe." I began to get frustrated as this had been going on for months.
However, a couple of weeks ago, when she was leaving our bedroom to go find her mother in one of the other rooms, she said bye to me like the dozens of times she does throughout the day. I had been saying adios to her for months with no luck. So this time, I said, "Hasta luego!" -- A slight pause occurred then I heard, "Luego." She then turned her head back to me and waved.
I was stunned and excited at the same time!
When she coupled the wave with the word, luego, it seemed she grasped the concept immediately. But I said it again to make sure. "Hasta Luego."
"Luego," was her response.
That was her first word in Spanish and I could not stop grinning. That night, my wife told me that she was proud of me. She said she had been noticing how much I had been trying to work with her and she was glad that I stuck it out. That made me feel good.
So for the past couple of weeks, my daughter and I have traded goodbyes and luegos. She even said it to both of her grandmothers (with a little urging from me, of course).
I can see now that her learning Spanish is going to happen.
Why?
Porque because! - (Shout out to Bill Santiago!)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hay que tratar, para ganar. - Me
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bakari Akil is a Professor of Communication, blogs for Psychology Today and has authored many books on Communication and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This is his experience learning Spanish.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Two new books just arrived! - ¡Dos libros acaba de llegar!
Okay, two books have just arrived that I have been anticipating! While searching on Amazon for libros en español to read earlier this week, I found this little book by Alan Galán titled, ¡Qué Cosas Dice Mi Abuela! (The Things my Grandmother Says!) No, it isn't a profanity laced diatribe like the book, S#@% my Father Says. This book is for children aged 4-8 or pre-k to 3rd grade and it has words of wisdom for little tykes learning to read.
However, that is not why I bought the book. I bought it, because, when I read the first couple of pages the words flew off the pages and I understood them in a way that made me feel good. I understood most of it, but the parts I didn't understand was written in a way that I could guess easily what I missed. I have read over 100 children's books and not every writer is capable of doing this, so I got excited. It has a solid paragraph on every page and yes, I will probably finish it 5 or 10 minutes. But, I reinforce my ability to read in all types of ways so I don't view this as a bad investment ($2.99).
Finding this gem of a book made me hungry for more so I searched for every book Alan Galán has ever written and I came across this book Mondragó: La gran prueba, Libro 1. It's about a little boy who gets a dragon for his birthday and runs into a whole lot of trouble afterward.
Now this book is 142 pages and is written for juveniles or could be considered YA. I have scrupulously avoided books like these because I have been gradually trying to build my reading skills up by taking baby steps. But this guy's writing style translates well to his YA books too. I found that I could easily understand the part that I sampled on Amazon so I figure I will not have a problem for the rest. I abhor having to continuously check the dictionary or having to always resort to a contextual understanding. I like to fully grasp what I am reading.
This is a new challenge for me, but I need to start reading denser books, especially since I am going to be tackling a John Grisham novel this summer. I am up to the task though, as I read Spanish articles and study Spanish everyday.
It's time to crack them open and see what's happening!
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Gracias por leyendo este. Nos vemos en mi próximo entrada!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bakari Akil is a Professor of Communication, blogs for Psychology Today and has authored many books on Communication and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This is his experience learning Spanish.
However, that is not why I bought the book. I bought it, because, when I read the first couple of pages the words flew off the pages and I understood them in a way that made me feel good. I understood most of it, but the parts I didn't understand was written in a way that I could guess easily what I missed. I have read over 100 children's books and not every writer is capable of doing this, so I got excited. It has a solid paragraph on every page and yes, I will probably finish it 5 or 10 minutes. But, I reinforce my ability to read in all types of ways so I don't view this as a bad investment ($2.99).
Finding this gem of a book made me hungry for more so I searched for every book Alan Galán has ever written and I came across this book Mondragó: La gran prueba, Libro 1. It's about a little boy who gets a dragon for his birthday and runs into a whole lot of trouble afterward.
This is a new challenge for me, but I need to start reading denser books, especially since I am going to be tackling a John Grisham novel this summer. I am up to the task though, as I read Spanish articles and study Spanish everyday.
It's time to crack them open and see what's happening!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gracias por leyendo este. Nos vemos en mi próximo entrada!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bakari Akil is a Professor of Communication, blogs for Psychology Today and has authored many books on Communication and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This is his experience learning Spanish.
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