This weekend, my wife and I went to the movies to see the Wedding Ringer at the local mall. We had some time on our hands before the movie, so we stopped by the Books-A-Million. My behavior was noticeably different this time. Usually, I make a beeline to the Language section and start searching for Spanish books to study. This time I looked for the Libros in Espanol.
I skipped over the children's books and instead started to look at the novels. One of the first ones I picked up was a John Grisham novel. Lo and behold, I could understand most of it without any problems. I would venture 80 percent. I want a smooth read so I will not start reading books like this yet, however, I was more than happy that I could read a book like that. I predict that at my current rate of learning I should be able to read books like this in about 4 months. I am also close to being able to read regular news articles without out having to constantly look up words and terms. I figure I will be able to have no problems with that by August.
This is a major breakthrough for me as I having been working non-stop on learning to read Spanish (and in other aspects to).
After learning that I was almost novel ready I went to the Spanish section. I ended up buying Ingles para Conversar. Why would I buy a book written in Spanish that teaches English? Well, this book is amazing! It uses Spanish to explain American terminologies, sayings and expressions. It also tells you how to say something in many different ways. I find that most Spanish instruction books in English only teaches you one way at a time. I love the fact that this book tells you five different ways to say something and I learn the natural way of saying it in Spanish as well. It is also full of pictures, conversations and doesn't use the standard word lists that bore me to tears. Also, there are no, "Where is the bathroom?" type stuff. It is realistic.
Anyway, I am ripping my way through the book.
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Gracias para visitando mi blog. Hasta pronto!
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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.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Verbling! First Spanish Class online - and I took no prisoners!!!
Okay, it has been two months since I have posted to this blog. In that time I have done so much with my Spanish training that I am getting tired just thinking about it. Yet, that will have to wait for future posts and I will just start with my present adventures.
Yesterday, I had my first online Spanish lesson. After months of looking at the Verbling website, which offers language classes and tutors 24-7, I finally decided to try it out. They have two major plans. You can choose 10 classes a month for $19 monthly or you can pick the unlimited plan for $49 a month. I chose the $19 plan. As I have to carefully carve out time for something like this due to work, a wife and a two year old, 10 classes a month is more than enough for me.
I signed up for a class at 7AM and the theme would be Jeopardy. In Verbling you can have up to 9 students in a class and they use Google hangout to run them. In the classes that I watched on Youtube before signing up there were usually four or five people in each class and mine ended up being no different. There were four of us that showed up at the beginning and another guy popped in 20 minutes later.
The instructor seemed easy going and had an air of experience about him. Since it was a beginner class, he used both English and Spanish. After the intros he explained the rules of the game and the categories. Some of the categories were - tener - saber vs. conocer - ir...
To be brief, I ended up winning the game. Now, I didn't go in with the intention of winning, but when it became apparent that I could win I did everything in my power to do so. I also learned a few things such as I need to brush up on saber and conocer. Overall, it was a good experience. I was able to speak a little Spanish, hear it spoken live and interact with a native speaker. Even though in the past two months I have had quite a few conversations in Spanish (I will tell you how I managed that in future posts.), each time it feels as if I am new to the battlefield. I have to remember to relax more when first engaging with native speakers.
Verbling seems like a great tool and they offer many classes throughout the day so I will be able to use it to my advantage. I was wary of doing the Google Hangout thing, but it felt natural and I was comfortable. I already have my next class picked out so I am looking forward to it.
--------------------------
Ha sido un tiempo, pero todo es bueno. No noticias es bueno noticias!
---------------------------
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.
Yesterday, I had my first online Spanish lesson. After months of looking at the Verbling website, which offers language classes and tutors 24-7, I finally decided to try it out. They have two major plans. You can choose 10 classes a month for $19 monthly or you can pick the unlimited plan for $49 a month. I chose the $19 plan. As I have to carefully carve out time for something like this due to work, a wife and a two year old, 10 classes a month is more than enough for me.
I signed up for a class at 7AM and the theme would be Jeopardy. In Verbling you can have up to 9 students in a class and they use Google hangout to run them. In the classes that I watched on Youtube before signing up there were usually four or five people in each class and mine ended up being no different. There were four of us that showed up at the beginning and another guy popped in 20 minutes later.
The instructor seemed easy going and had an air of experience about him. Since it was a beginner class, he used both English and Spanish. After the intros he explained the rules of the game and the categories. Some of the categories were - tener - saber vs. conocer - ir...
To be brief, I ended up winning the game. Now, I didn't go in with the intention of winning, but when it became apparent that I could win I did everything in my power to do so. I also learned a few things such as I need to brush up on saber and conocer. Overall, it was a good experience. I was able to speak a little Spanish, hear it spoken live and interact with a native speaker. Even though in the past two months I have had quite a few conversations in Spanish (I will tell you how I managed that in future posts.), each time it feels as if I am new to the battlefield. I have to remember to relax more when first engaging with native speakers.
Verbling seems like a great tool and they offer many classes throughout the day so I will be able to use it to my advantage. I was wary of doing the Google Hangout thing, but it felt natural and I was comfortable. I already have my next class picked out so I am looking forward to it.
--------------------------
Ha sido un tiempo, pero todo es bueno. No noticias es bueno noticias!
---------------------------
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.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Spanish Workshop! - "You've Gotten Much Better!"
Okay, I attended my third Spanish workshop this weekend. It is the third one in two months. Nothing says dedication like attending a workshop. Two hours of working on a foreign language is hardcore!
The regulars were in attendance (15 in total) and they seem to be a serious group of characters all motivated to learn, maintain or share their knowledge. People seem to come from all backgrounds and I have seen people from 10 to 70 years old.
We started off by introducing ourselves and sharing why we were learning Spanish (en espanol). Then we had readings followed by questions (all in Spanish). Following that, we all had to answer a question about how we celebrated holidays and what countries we have traveled to.
Highlights: I engaged the instructor in a conversation and didn't bail when I felt a little nervous. I asked him about his job and he asked me about mine. He was drawn away, first, by someone who came up to him.
That's what I'm talking about!
When I read out loud, today, it was was much smoother than last time. (I have a new issue though. I have to reconstruct my voice to sound natural. Since I mimic the instructors on audio, my voice sounds like a radio announcer when I read.)
Also, a guy who I saw a month ago told me three times how much I had improved.
Three times!
I shared with him that I had been reading children's books and studying an audio course since I last saw him. I didn't share that I had probably completed two semesters of college level work in the past 30 days. It is a wonderful thing to be able to study as much as I have and have the passion to continue (even when frustrated).
Low points: When we introduced ourselves and on one of the questions, instead of just talking and using the language as I know how, I focused too much on not making any mistakes. I felt like a newbie both times.
Overall, it was a very solid day.
---
Hoy, fue un dia de buen desarollo. Estoy agradecido!
----
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.
The regulars were in attendance (15 in total) and they seem to be a serious group of characters all motivated to learn, maintain or share their knowledge. People seem to come from all backgrounds and I have seen people from 10 to 70 years old.
We started off by introducing ourselves and sharing why we were learning Spanish (en espanol). Then we had readings followed by questions (all in Spanish). Following that, we all had to answer a question about how we celebrated holidays and what countries we have traveled to.
Highlights: I engaged the instructor in a conversation and didn't bail when I felt a little nervous. I asked him about his job and he asked me about mine. He was drawn away, first, by someone who came up to him.
That's what I'm talking about!
When I read out loud, today, it was was much smoother than last time. (I have a new issue though. I have to reconstruct my voice to sound natural. Since I mimic the instructors on audio, my voice sounds like a radio announcer when I read.)
Also, a guy who I saw a month ago told me three times how much I had improved.
Three times!
I shared with him that I had been reading children's books and studying an audio course since I last saw him. I didn't share that I had probably completed two semesters of college level work in the past 30 days. It is a wonderful thing to be able to study as much as I have and have the passion to continue (even when frustrated).
Low points: When we introduced ourselves and on one of the questions, instead of just talking and using the language as I know how, I focused too much on not making any mistakes. I felt like a newbie both times.
Overall, it was a very solid day.
---
Hoy, fue un dia de buen desarollo. Estoy agradecido!
----
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, October 1, 2014
Dealing with Insults (Que hacer con los insultos)
The title of this post is also the name of one of the books I just finished. It is one of a series of books for kids aged 8-12 that deals with issues many kids face, but may have never received advice on how to deal with them.
I must admit that I didn't agree with all of the advice. I learned early that to respond to an insult with a clever comeback usually kept people at bay and some rivalries developed into friendships. Of course, that approach is not suitable for all occasions, but it saved me a lot of grief when I finally learned how to deliver a proper comeback.
However, placing my personal feelings aside, I loved the structure of the book and the writing. The book was 22 pages long and it had English on the top and Spanish at the bottom. The paragraphs averaged 7 lines of text per page. I read most of the book without having to refer to the English portion, however, there were a good number of words that were new, such as:
herir - to hurt
autoestima - self-esteem
lidiar - deal (Una buena forma de lidiar...)
lastimar - to hurt
fastidiarse - annoy
bravucon - bully
One thing is bothering me though. Increasingly, reading is becoming easier. The messages are becoming clearer. Yet, I know that a lot of it is due to context (pictures - clues from the entire sentence, etc.) and not necessarily my knowledge of words, grammar or syntax. It is eating me up, a little, that my ability to understand may encourage me to think I know more than I think I know.
I am reading increasingly difficult texts, however, I often wonder if someone who has never studied Spanish (and is native to English) could read the same material with no problems. I know better, but sometimes it is amazing how fast I am picking up the ability to decipher, read and understand text.
Agradezco que hacer tiempo a leer este. Hasta proximo tiempo!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
I must admit that I didn't agree with all of the advice. I learned early that to respond to an insult with a clever comeback usually kept people at bay and some rivalries developed into friendships. Of course, that approach is not suitable for all occasions, but it saved me a lot of grief when I finally learned how to deliver a proper comeback.
However, placing my personal feelings aside, I loved the structure of the book and the writing. The book was 22 pages long and it had English on the top and Spanish at the bottom. The paragraphs averaged 7 lines of text per page. I read most of the book without having to refer to the English portion, however, there were a good number of words that were new, such as:
herir - to hurt
autoestima - self-esteem
lidiar - deal (Una buena forma de lidiar...)
lastimar - to hurt
fastidiarse - annoy
bravucon - bully
One thing is bothering me though. Increasingly, reading is becoming easier. The messages are becoming clearer. Yet, I know that a lot of it is due to context (pictures - clues from the entire sentence, etc.) and not necessarily my knowledge of words, grammar or syntax. It is eating me up, a little, that my ability to understand may encourage me to think I know more than I think I know.
I am reading increasingly difficult texts, however, I often wonder if someone who has never studied Spanish (and is native to English) could read the same material with no problems. I know better, but sometimes it is amazing how fast I am picking up the ability to decipher, read and understand text.
Agradezco que hacer tiempo a leer este. Hasta proximo tiempo!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
A commute is good for one thing...
Man, I hate my commute!
It is 45 minutes at best and usually, it is 1 hr and 15 minutes w/traffic at its worst. There is only one thing that I can hang on to in order to stay sane and it is listening to my Spanish CDs. I practically seared the Berlitz Passport Spanish into my brain by listening to all 12 tracks every day for three weeks. I play Vocabulearn CDs until I can barely think in English. I keep my Assimil tracks on repeat.
It is that serious!
I am a professor, so I look at everything in four month increments. I expect my Spanish to be vastly improved by the end of the fall semester due to my commute listening habits. Further, I will admit that my listening habit decreases when the weekend starts. It's hard to stick to audio media when I can watch TV or read a book.
I know I would not have listened to the Berlitz Passport CD as much in my house. So thanks to my commute I can now rattle off phrases such as:
Hola. Quisiera pedir desayuno por favor. Quisiera cafe con leche y azucar, huevo rancheros, sin picante, pan dulce con mantequilla y jugo de naranjo por favor.
I have most of those phrases from that CD locked and loaded.
I will not let my commutes be in vain!
La tortuga gana porque el sigue caminando.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
It is 45 minutes at best and usually, it is 1 hr and 15 minutes w/traffic at its worst. There is only one thing that I can hang on to in order to stay sane and it is listening to my Spanish CDs. I practically seared the Berlitz Passport Spanish into my brain by listening to all 12 tracks every day for three weeks. I play Vocabulearn CDs until I can barely think in English. I keep my Assimil tracks on repeat.
It is that serious!
I am a professor, so I look at everything in four month increments. I expect my Spanish to be vastly improved by the end of the fall semester due to my commute listening habits. Further, I will admit that my listening habit decreases when the weekend starts. It's hard to stick to audio media when I can watch TV or read a book.
I know I would not have listened to the Berlitz Passport CD as much in my house. So thanks to my commute I can now rattle off phrases such as:
Hola. Quisiera pedir desayuno por favor. Quisiera cafe con leche y azucar, huevo rancheros, sin picante, pan dulce con mantequilla y jugo de naranjo por favor.
I have most of those phrases from that CD locked and loaded.
I will not let my commutes be in vain!
La tortuga gana porque el sigue caminando.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Weekend of Espanol - A Tally!
A perk of my job is that I do not have to work on Fridays. So my weekend begins Friday (or Thursday afternoon). That means I have plenty of time to work on my Spanish. Of course, that is when I am not watching our two year old, taking care of our lawn/house, running errands...
That aside, here is what I accomplished this weekend:
5 lessons in Spanish text and audio (Spanish)
2 children's books (read)
2 comics strips in Spanish (read)
3 episodes of a novella* (watched)
Watched an episode of UFC Latin America (en Espanol)
Viewed 3 episodes of a Spanish podcast (4 minutes each)
*Started a new blog about my Spanish journey - Habermelo Dicho!
I was a little bummed out about my progress this weekend until I realized that I accomplished quite a bit.
Y que tenga un buen dia!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
That aside, here is what I accomplished this weekend:
5 lessons in Spanish text and audio (Spanish)
2 children's books (read)
2 comics strips in Spanish (read)
3 episodes of a novella* (watched)
Watched an episode of UFC Latin America (en Espanol)
Viewed 3 episodes of a Spanish podcast (4 minutes each)
*Started a new blog about my Spanish journey - Habermelo Dicho!
I was a little bummed out about my progress this weekend until I realized that I accomplished quite a bit.
Y que tenga un buen dia!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
E-bay Spanish
My wife is going to be irritated with me!
Since I re-started my Spanish journey, I have always checked out children's books from the library. I didn't feel like paying $3.99 to $8.00 for books that I would probably finish in 10 to 30 minutes. Plus, with my goal of reading 100 children's books in Spanish, that would easily mean hundreds of dollars.
However, this past weekend, I decided to look for some Spanish products on e-bay and lo and behold, I bumped into cartloads of children's books. Let me get to the point, I bought 85 Spanish books for kids for $35 and $6 shipping and handling. The books are for kids aged 8 to 12 and are perfect for me. They cover a range of subjects, ranging from Henry Ford, Ghandi, astronauts, The Trail of Tears, etc., etc.
So not only will I be able to read, I will also learn or refresh my memories on a few things as well.
Now, I have to find out where I am going to put 85 books.
Yo soy feliz que tengo la capacidad de comprar libros y utilizar el Internet.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Since I re-started my Spanish journey, I have always checked out children's books from the library. I didn't feel like paying $3.99 to $8.00 for books that I would probably finish in 10 to 30 minutes. Plus, with my goal of reading 100 children's books in Spanish, that would easily mean hundreds of dollars.
However, this past weekend, I decided to look for some Spanish products on e-bay and lo and behold, I bumped into cartloads of children's books. Let me get to the point, I bought 85 Spanish books for kids for $35 and $6 shipping and handling. The books are for kids aged 8 to 12 and are perfect for me. They cover a range of subjects, ranging from Henry Ford, Ghandi, astronauts, The Trail of Tears, etc., etc.
So not only will I be able to read, I will also learn or refresh my memories on a few things as well.
Now, I have to find out where I am going to put 85 books.
Yo soy feliz que tengo la capacidad de comprar libros y utilizar el Internet.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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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