My first foreign language in school was Latin - a great language to prepare you for any university. But then we moved, and the only language offered was Spanish. I found Spanish more fun, because people in West Texas actually spoke it, where as Latin was mostly just reading and learning complex grammar.
It always amazes me that people talk about taking a language class in high school, then graduate without actually being able to speak any of the language. After a year or two pass, they can't seem to speak a word of it. In our classes, the teacher always made us practice actual conversations, and I believe that helped to make the language stick.
During high school, I had two labor-type jobs, so I got to work with several Spanish speakers. I can't repeat many of the "colorful metaphors" that I learned, but it was a good experience. It actually did help reinforce what I was learning in school.
Our high school Spanish Club sponsored an annual trip to Mexico city each summer. At the end of my junior year, my parents and I went, and it was another boost to learning Spanish. From a nearby Junior College, I even got three hours college credit for the trip.
When I went to college, I took CLEP tests - advanced placement tests for Spanish. They actually awarded me 14 college credits from my test results. Wow - that saved me one entire semester in college.
In college, I didn't major in Spanish, but almost got a minor. If I remember correctly, I had one class in conversational Spanish, and two classes in Spanish literature. I was also involved with Spanish Clubs and Honor Society on campus.
Then, back in the early 1980s, I tried some French, Portuguese, and Hebrew, using the Pimsleur system. After trying other courses that didn't work, I was very impressed with how easy Pimsleur was. I made two trips to Brazil, in which I was able to "convert" my Spanish into Portuguese by learning a few additional words.
In 1995, I was a consultant and got a job offer in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Being single and living by yourself is not the optimal way to learn more Spanish. But on the job, I was able to put a lot of Spanish to use, even though it wasn't a requirement.
So after trying dozens and dozens of language books, courses, tapes, CD, and software programs, I became sort of an expert at what works and what doesn't. I created a software program to teach the Hebrew alphabet, and now I'm focusing again on Spanish. We have just created an online Spanish learning center, have brought in some great talent to build lessons and answer questions in the forums. - 14915
It always amazes me that people talk about taking a language class in high school, then graduate without actually being able to speak any of the language. After a year or two pass, they can't seem to speak a word of it. In our classes, the teacher always made us practice actual conversations, and I believe that helped to make the language stick.
During high school, I had two labor-type jobs, so I got to work with several Spanish speakers. I can't repeat many of the "colorful metaphors" that I learned, but it was a good experience. It actually did help reinforce what I was learning in school.
Our high school Spanish Club sponsored an annual trip to Mexico city each summer. At the end of my junior year, my parents and I went, and it was another boost to learning Spanish. From a nearby Junior College, I even got three hours college credit for the trip.
When I went to college, I took CLEP tests - advanced placement tests for Spanish. They actually awarded me 14 college credits from my test results. Wow - that saved me one entire semester in college.
In college, I didn't major in Spanish, but almost got a minor. If I remember correctly, I had one class in conversational Spanish, and two classes in Spanish literature. I was also involved with Spanish Clubs and Honor Society on campus.
Then, back in the early 1980s, I tried some French, Portuguese, and Hebrew, using the Pimsleur system. After trying other courses that didn't work, I was very impressed with how easy Pimsleur was. I made two trips to Brazil, in which I was able to "convert" my Spanish into Portuguese by learning a few additional words.
In 1995, I was a consultant and got a job offer in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Being single and living by yourself is not the optimal way to learn more Spanish. But on the job, I was able to put a lot of Spanish to use, even though it wasn't a requirement.
So after trying dozens and dozens of language books, courses, tapes, CD, and software programs, I became sort of an expert at what works and what doesn't. I created a software program to teach the Hebrew alphabet, and now I'm focusing again on Spanish. We have just created an online Spanish learning center, have brought in some great talent to build lessons and answer questions in the forums. - 14915
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