There have been many experiments with teaching languages, both at school and to adults.  Recent tendencies appear to be to avoid at all costs boring old grammar and the rules of language, and concentrate on conversation, useful phrases, and so on – ‘to stop the pupils getting bored’.  I even have to endure an advert every day on the local radio run by an American guy who seems to think that if he teaches his pupils of English the 1000 – odd words that end in “-tion” which are the same in Spanish except they use “-ción”, then that is enough to get to grips with the language!

I say, that is just not possible.  If you learn a sentence off by heart, or a series of phrases, like “my name is..” and “how much is..” and “two beers please” that’s great!  But you are always going to be stuck with your limited sentences – you just can’t venture beyond them. 

Language is like a series of building blocks.  If you know how to put the blocks in the right order, instead of just being able to build a wall, you can build a whole house, a bridge or a sky-scraper!

The building blocks of any language are many, but the most important and the basics are VERBS, and then lots and lots of VOCAB!  I say, take time, and lots of it, to embrace the way verbs are conjugated, and you will find you can go beyond those fixed-learned phrases and sentences and make your own! 

So here’s my advice on the basic building blocks of Spanish:

1.  Learn how to conjugate the -AR, -ER and -IR regular verbs off by heart (instead of the phrases)

2. Practise one or two verbs each day.  It is very hypnotic to chant “yo como, tu comes, el come….” when in the shower, or taking a walk with the dog, and the more you repeat, the easier it’ll be for your brain to remember and quickly find the right conjugation when in conversation.

3.  Learn the really irregular verbs (those juiciest ones!) by heart – SER is a cracker!  And IR!  The juciest irregulars are always the most commonly used and essential verbs in life – that’s why they are the most irregular.

4. Write down every new word you learn in a vocab book.  Learn the new ones each day and go over them all regularly.  Practise combining your new verb conjugation skills with your new vocab and test it out on the locals!

5.  Don’t rush it.  DON’T start on past tenses until you have fully mastered the Present tense. 

5. Above all, enjoy the learning process.  Make it a part of your daily life and love every minute of it!

Spanish Language Practice

IR – to go

Yo voy
Tu vas
El/Ella/Usted va
Nosotros vamos
Vosotros vais
Ellos van

When practicing, shorten it by taking out those pronouns and just repeat over and over again:

voy-vas-va,  vamos-vais-van

SER – to be (permanent being)

soy, eres, es,  somos, sois, son

You can even sing them! 

 Mail this post

Popularity: 26% [?]

Technorati Tags: learn Spanish, Spanish, Spanish language, Spanish learning tips, Spanish school

When we came over to live in Malaga, our two boys were 9 and 5 years old.  I remember a Spanish friend of ours in the UK said to me, best to take them over before 11, before they make real, lasting friendships and before their education gets too complicated.

Our kids, Mikel and Julen were lucky, because they had been brought up hearing us chatter away in Spanish constantly, so they were always going to be bilingual.  But we have many clients whose children have come here as late as 12 years old, and had little or no problem adapting and picking up Spanish or integrating with the local children.

There are a limited number of private English National Curriculum schools, which is an option every parent seriously needs to consider, as future job prospects, whether in Spain or elsewhere, are bound to be more plentiful with written English qualifications.  There are also a number of Spanish national curriculmim ‘international’ or ‘bilingual’ schools where lessons are in English and Spanish.  However, my children are doing fine in the Spanish state system and despite one or two negatives, I would say that on the whole their level of education is excellent and they certainly work the children very hard indeed.

Here are some things to think about when making that difficult decision:

1) Are you planning on settling in Spain forever, or for a few years?  If you are here temporarily, disrupting your children’s education by switching to the Spanish system may be damaging

2) Where are the ‘bilingual’ schools located?  A downside to sending kids to a non-local school is that they will find it much harder to make locally based friends of their own age.  But getting your kids involved in local after-school activities could help to integrate them.

3) If you are worried about the cost of private school fees, but are afraid that at a state school the kids won’t get the extra tuition and support they need, think about getting them extra private tuition in the afternoons – there are plenty of excellent private teachers and support ‘academias’.

4) If you choose Spanish state education, work with your children on their written English.  When they get to 14 or 15, enrol them on a distance learning GCSE English course, which you can register for on the Internet.  Allow at least 2 years before they take the exams, to get them up to speed.

5) Finally, keep your kids thinking ‘international’!  Just because you’re here doesn’t mean that they should think their only option for their own future is here in Spain.

Spanish Language Practice

Escuela – School (up to age 11 or 12)  This is Educación Primaria

Instituto – Secondary School (12 to 18) Educación Secundaria
At the Instituto, children do a 4-year course, equivalent to GCSE, at the end of which they get a certificate, or qualification in ESO (Educación Secundaria Obligatoria)
From 16 to 18 they can stay on to do “Bachillerato” (Equivalent of A’Levels)

 Mail this post

Popularity: 20% [?]

Technorati Tags: children, children in Spain, Education, education in Spain, Spanish school