Get Out and Practice!

Once you have a grasp of Spanish I think it is important to use it in the real world.  Every day I try to find a place to practice and speak some Spanish.  It may be a restaurant, a tienda (shop), or simply inflicting it on some casual acquaintance.  One of the places I’ve found where I can get a lot of practice is at a Topeka organization called VIDA.  VIDA teaches English as a second language to non English speakers, and in Topeka that means Spanish speakers.  Now the point of this program is for the Spanish speaker to learn English, but I’ve found that my knowledge of Spanish has been helpful as I teach them English.  Last night we discussed some similar sounding words in English; there, they’re, their and so forth.  We laughed and it reminded me of a mistake I made early on in Spanish.  Reading a story there was something about “pintar cabello”, but I interpreted it to be “pintar caballo”.  The first means to dye one’s hair, the second would be something like dying or painting a horse.  We all got a laugh as I related my story.

My point is there are many opportunities to practice your Spanish outside of the classroom.  Topeka has two or three panaderías (bakeries).  I like to take my grandchildren to the panadería for galletas (cookies) and pan (bread).  I encourage them to engage the dependiente (sales clerk) to ask questions.  

There are Spanish clubs, “Meetup” has many listings (http://www.meetup.com), for example in Kansas City there is ¡ClaroKC! (http://www.meetup.com/ClaroKC/).  Most cities of any size and many university towns have similar groups.

Shawnee County also has learning Spanish classes through the Parks and Recreation Department.  They are pretty basic, but one can attend and practice speaking with the instructor at whatever level you’ve obtained.

I eat a lot at one particular Mexican restaurant.  Both here in Topeka and when I travel I have my favorites.  But in those restaurants certain waitresses (camerara, mesera)think I’m a little strange, but work with me in my Spanish.  Frequently I’m reading something in Spanish and when I run across an idiom they can tell me what it really means.  I appreciate them, refer to them as my teacher (maestra) and tip them generously for their help.   

You will make mistakes.  Learn to laugh at yourself.  After your attempt replay it in your mind.  What did you want to say?  What words completely vaporized when you tried to recall them?  How might you have conjugated it differently?  Replay it a couple of times in your mind so that the next time you have an easier time of it.  But above all, get out there and do it!