Pause words

When speaking a language, one way to sound more natural is putting in those little linking words that give you time to think. Words like 'er' and 'um' are often used by English speakers, but there are others like 'well', 'then', 'so', 'okay', 'good' which have meanings but can also be used to some extent to fill a gap.

The same is true in Spanish, and learning these can give you the moment you need to choose the next word, letting you sound that bit more fluent. I've learnt a lot of these from listening to real people but also from podcasts, dialogue in books and TV programmes. Some of these are region specific so try to find out what people say in the version of Spanish you want to learn.


Some examples:-

bueno - good
pues - well
pues nada - well, nothing (used for a longer pause)
bien - well
a ver - let's see
entonces - then
vale - okay (in Spain)
dale - okay (in Argentina)
de acuerdo - okay (everywhere, as far as I know)
venga - come, come on
perfecto - perfect
vale, perfecto - okay, perfect

Relax - It's okay to make mistakes

I find that when reading or speaking in a foreign language it is easy to get hung up on the meaning of every word and end up going far to slowly. When speaking this might mean speaking more correctly but it also might make you sound unnaturally slow. It can often be better to just let your tongue run away with you and make the odd mistake in grammar or pronunciation. The person you are speaking to can always ask you to repeat something if they did not understand first time. This might depend a little bit on the circumstances and you probably do not want to talk to friends in the same way you might speak at a business meeting.

Similarly, when reading it can be slow and tedious if you pause to consider the meaning of every word. This is even more true if you overuse the dictionary. If you can learn to 'gist read' the text to get the meaning of it without every single word you will find that books become much more enjoyable.

Pedido - order/ordered

I was halfway through a sentence on the phone today when I realised that I didn't know the word for an order. I knew the verb 'to order' ('pedir') and hence how to say 'I have ordered' ('he pedido') but the noun escaped me. It turns out, after a quick check on Word Reference, that it is 'pedido' - a word I could perhaps have guessed at but didn't. I am not sure if there is any advice to avoid that situation when it happens, although usually it will be possible to think of another way to say something. When asking a more complicated question it is often worth mentally rehearsing it in your head, but it is impossible to do this in a conversation if you want to sound fluent.

French words in Spanish

I mentioned a few days ago the similarities between Spanish and other Latin based languages. French is not as close to Spanish as Italian or Portuguese. but is is the language I learnt at school (a long time ago) so I have often found it useful in guessing Spanish words. Here are a few examples that have helped me.

From the French word 'plein' (full)  I guessed 'pleno' at a petrol station and was understood, even though 'lleno' is probably more common. 'Pleno' would be used more often in a phrase like 'full speed'.

Reading the Spanish newspaper I could deduce the meaning of 'pais' (country) and 'rey' (king), from the French words 'pays' and 'roi'.

On TV, 'canal' means 'channel' in both languages.

Knowing the difference between 'conaitre' and 'savoir' (both meaning 'to know') helped understand the difference between 'conocer' and 'saber' (the equivalent words in Spanish). In both languages the former is to know a person or place ('to be aquainted with') whilst the latter is to know a fact.

Of course there are hundreds of other examples, and even more in other languages.

Using other languages to help with Spanish

If you speak another foreign language already, especially a Latin based one, it can really help with learning Spanish. Like most people who grew up in the UK, I was taught French at school, and whilst at first listen it sounds nothing like Spanish, it is quite similar both in grammar and in the roots of a lot of words. The accent and pronunciation is very different, as are the spelling rules, but there are many words which are basically the same, just following the pronunciation rules of each language. Some words are spelt identically, but pronounced very differently - 'jardin' (garden) for example. This means that it is often possible to guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word from a similar word in another language. It is also quite often possible to guess how to say something, although this will probably work less of the time.

More on this, plus a few examples, in the next few days

What to wear

I have just spent a fortnight in Les Deux Alpes, in France, hence the sporadic posting and break from the blog recently. One thing I learnt is that it is still possible to practice Spanish in a French speaking country. As I was ski training, I was usually wearing either an Andorran ski club jacket, or an Andorran ski school soft shell. Because of this I found myself being spoken to in Spanish by the Spanish skiers in town who recognised the name 'Andorra'. This made it a lot easier to start conversations in Spanish, and I met a few Spanish skiers over the course of my visit.

Whilst on this occasion my choice of clothing was a complete accident, it made me realise that deliberately wearing something Spanish, particularly with the name of a Spanish speaking place on it, can be a great way to meet Spanish speakers who happen to be in the same part of the world. This obviously won't be a lot of use in Spain itself, but it might be quite useful in places where a lot of Spanish people go on holiday.

Learn from music

Songs can be a great way to learn Spanish. If you translate the chorus from a familiar song from Spanish into English the chances are that those words will stick in your head for a long time. For example the verb 'bailar' - 'to dance' has been with me since I learnt the meaning of the opening line of 'La Bamba'

Para bailar la Bamba - To dance the Bamba

I also will always remember 'marinero' (sailor) and 'capitan' (captain) from the line

Yo no soy marinero, soy capitan, soy capitan - I am not a sailor, I am a captain, I am a captain

Of course there are many more Spanish songs out there, or songs with Spanish parts. Pick your favourites, or search some out on You Tube. If you are stuck for ideas I plan to post the occasional Spanish album review on this blog in the future.

Using Chat

Image: Michal Marcol / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Conversing in Spanish can be difficult - you have to think fast both to phrase your own thoughts and to understand the other person, and it can be harder to work out new words without seeing how they are spelt. Writing to somebody in Spanish gives you time to think, but it can be tedious. There is less leeway to make gramatical errors, and the lack of interaction and feedback can be discouraging.

Halfway in between the two is chat. Whether it is Facebook, MSN or any other instant messaging service it doesn't matter. If you get the chance to chat to a Spanish speaking friend then take it. It really is the best of both worlds. You get interaction, feedback and corrections for your mistakes. The grammar is less critical than in a letter. You don't have to think as quickly as when speaking, and you can see what the words look like. There are still a couple of downsides though - one is that it can be hard to enter special characters - ¿ ¡ ñ á é ú í ó. There are ways around this which I plan to cover in a future post. Other downsides are that you might have to get used to the Spanish version of text speak - q for que etc. and that it won't help much with your pronunciation.

Confusing verbs

Two verbs I tend to confuse in Spanish are amanecer (to dawn) and amenazar (to threaten). This is something that my Spanish friends can find highly amusing of course, but I have heard of many people having similar problems with certain pairs of words. Everyone has their own mental blocks when learning a language, and you will find your own problem words as you go along.

For me, the solution is to identify the problem words and come up with a way to remember or distinguish them. With my example above, I think of the verb 'to menace' as being similar to 'to threaten', and look for 'menace' with an 'a' in front becoming 'amenazar'.

Talk to people

The only way to get really good at speaking Spanish is to speak it. Lessons, books, TV, the Internet and so on are all great for learning words, phrases, comprehension and grammar, but the only way to speak fluidly is to speak a lot. 

If you are in a region of Spain or Latin America where there are a lot of English speaking visitors it can be hard to speak Spanish to the locals, as they all speak English and want to speak it - either to practice or because they theink they are being helpful. Sometimes the best thing is to just persevere. If you keep speaking Spanish they might figure out that you want to practice and go along with it. Sometimes it feels like a battle of wills - a competition to see who will drop back into their own language first. Sometimes it is worth explaining that you want to learn Spanish and ask the other person if they mind speaking Spanish even if it makes the conversation slower. Only one person has ever complained to me that they wanted to speak English instead, because they wanted to practice it.

It is also worth seeking out Spanish speakers, rather than hanging out with the English all the time in a new place. Many people are happy to help out with learning their language, and will appreciate a little help in learning English in exchange.

I think the best advice it to treat every Spanish conversation, or exchange as an opportunity rather than a hurdle, and learn what you can from it.

Reading to Learn

Reading is a great way to learn Spanish, but it can be hard to find suitable books to get started. One approach is to find books you are already familiar with in English. That way you have a good idea of the level of difficulty, and of the general plot of the book which makes it easier. I always felt that I wanted to read real Spanish books, rather than translations, but I have to say that to begin with it is easier to stick to familar authors. Popular choices are favourite children's books, especially those like Harry Potter which appeal to adults as well. The advantage of these is that they are written in easier language and are often shorter (not the later Harry Potter books though). When you start to read in Spanish it will be a slow process, so a shorter book makes it easier to stay motivated until the end.

That said, there is a wealth of Spanish literature out there, some of it very good. I find it an incredibly rewarding experience to read a Spanish novel in its original language. Starting tomorrow I plan to write an occasional series of reviews of Spanish novels to help pick out some good ones for Spanish learners of different levels.

One last tip - try not to use the dictionary too much when reading - it makes for a slow and frustrating experience. It is not essential to understand every word, as  long as you can get the gist. I only look up a word if it is key to the meaning of a sentence, or if it appears several times.

Please, like, and dodgy translators

When first learning Spanish I put the simple word 'please' into the translation app I had on the old Nokia I had at the time (I don't think they were called apps back then, but I can't remember what we called them). The translator popped up with the anwser 'gustar'. Now this is technically correct but definitely not what I was looking for, nor what anybody would be likely to be looking for as a translation for 'please'.

As any beginner student of Spanish knows, 'please' is 'por favor', meaning 'for favor'. However in English there is also a verb 'to please' which translates as 'gustar'. It isn't that common a verb in English but in Spanish it is used all the time to express liking. If I like something then I can say it pleases me, and in Spanish that is the only way to say it.

For example -

me gusta pan = I like bread (bread pleases me)
nos gusta bailar = they like to dance
le gustan las montañas = he likes the mountains
¿que te gusta comer? = what do you like to eat?
no me gusta la comida = I don't like the food
me gustas = I really like you

Be careful with the last one - this implies being attracted to someone. If that isn't what you want to say then use 'me caes bien' instead.

Using the library

There is a wealth of useful material out there when it comes to learning Spanish, but a lot of it can be pretty expensive. The Michel Thomas course I reviewed a couple of weeks ago is one example - it is not bad value for money but it is still quite a lot to spend if you are not sure whether you are going to benefit from it. Personally I love Michel's style of teaching, but it might not suit everybody.

Fortunately there is a place where you can try out these courses for next to nothing, as well as read a reasonable selection of Spanish books for free. I am talking about the often overlooked local public library. My local library back in the UK (and it was a fairly small one) had a selection of Spanish audio and video courses from Michel Thomas, Linguaphone, the BBC, Berlitz and Pimsleur amongst others, as well as plenty of reference books on grammar etc. and a selection of novels in Spanish. This really is a great resource for learning Spanish (or other major European languages) and one that I think everybody should support.

I haven't visited libraries in the rest of the English speaking world, but would welcome any comments from readers about the library system in their part of the world.

Using TV and Films

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Watching films and TV can be a great way to learn and practice your Spanish. Once you reach a level where you can follow a Spanish film without subtitles it is very satisfying (although obviously some films are easier than others). However if you just throw yourself in at the deep end and try to watch a Spanish television channel or film it can get very frustrating very quickly if you do not understand enough to get the gist of what is going on.

Fortunately, modern technology gives you more options to help you out - namely a selection of languages for both audio and for subtitles. For me, the easiest way to watch the television and still learn some Spanish is to watch English programmes or films with the subtitles in Spanish. Many Spanish language channels and lots of DVDs offer this option and it is an almost effortless way to expand your vocabulary. Just read along in Spanish and work out how the English phrases are translated. It is great if you want to learn a few more colloquial phrases as well, although bear in mind that the translations are probably equivalents rather than literal.

If you want to challenge yourself more, I find watching Spanish programmes with Spanish subtitles very useful, as it helps me with any words that my ears miss. I find it is sometimes different to separate the words when people speak quickly, so subtitles can really help.

You may have noticed that I didn't suggest watching a programme in Spanish with the subtitles in English. This is because this method never worked well for me. Perhaps because I am more of a visual than an aural type of learner I find it really hard to concentrate on the Spanish audio if I can see the English translation in front of me. That is not to say that you shouldn't try it - we all learn differently after all, and what works for me is not what works for everybody. The great thing is that with a few presses on a remote control you can try all the combinations and see what works for you.

Keep it interesting

With learning Spanish I found that the easiest way to keep motivated was to keep it interesting. I didn't want to sit down with a dictionary learning verbs for hours, but doing it for five minutes now and again is not a great chore. The best thing for me was to use as many different learning methods as I could find but in small doses. I would find some resource on the net, use a course like the Michel Thomas Method reviewed yesterday, listen to a podcast, watch a little TV, read the newspaper, dip into a dictionary or simply chat to people. When it becomes tedious to learn is when you stop doing it, so don't let it become tedious.

All the methods I just mentioned work equally well for beginners or advanced learners, but obviously you need to adapt the difficulty of what you do to your level. As a beginner, browsing the newpaper headlines and matching them to stories you know about already from the English news can tell you a lot. As you get more advanced you will try to read more and more of the paper, but you don't have to stick with it beyond the point of boredom.