Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tip #5 - Start Thinking in Spanish
I remember being a senior in high school and working as a lifeguard at a fairly deserted
pool. While I was sitting and staring at the empty waters, I would speak to myself or think
to myself (to not seem so crazy) in Spanish. I would describe my surroundings, talk about
what I had done and what I was going to do, etc. While I was riding my bike, I would do
the same thing. During any activity when you don't need to talk or think about anything
else, keep your brain constantly going in Spanish to get even more practice in the language.
So get ready to turn off the English and jumpstart your Spanish brain!
Tip #6 - Label your Surroundings/Use Flashcards
When I started to learn Portuguese, I bought an excellent book that included stickers so that
you could label your surroundings. So I had stickers all over my parents' house from the
kitchen to the bathroom that labeled the door, the dishes, furniture, parts of the house, etc.
It was a great, constant reminder of how to say these objects in another language. You can
just make your own labels and stick them all over the house and hope it doesn't bother your
family or housemates too much!
Tip #7 - Use Context clues, visuals, gestures, expressions, etc.
If you don't understand a word that you have heard or read, look or listen to the surrounding
words and the situation to help you. If you are in a restaurant and your friend says, “I am
going to ??? a sandwich.” You can take a guess that she said
order
or
eat
but you don't
have to understand every word in order to understand the general meaning. When you are
in a conversation use gestures, expressions, and things around you to help communicate
your meaning. Teaching English as a second language to young learners taught me this. If
you act everything out, you are more likely to get your point across. If you need to say the
word
bird
and you don't know how you can start flapping your arms and chirping and then
you will get your point across and possibly learn how to say
bird
. It may seem ridiculous
but as I said, you have to be willing to look silly to learn another language and this greatly
helps your language communication and learning.
Tip #8 - Circumlocution
