What I talk about when I talk in Spanish
Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2019 8:10 pm
Good evening reader of this post,
I should currently be doing anything that isn't this. I should be finishing my unpacking, washing up, tidying my room, brushing my teeth, actually learning the Spanish I want to learn rather than spending hours researching methods and resources which I never ever seem to apply to my learning. Not today, sir. As soon as this post is written I will do all of those things and much more.
I've tried to learn Spanish about seven or eight times in my life. I really want to prove myself wrong since for several years now I've copped out by telling myself I'm only able to learn languages if there's extrinsic motivation in the form of a language class. From afar I've admired those who spend their spare time doing useful things even if they don't enjoy it 100% of the time. I seek instant gratification, but I simultaneously feel pressure exerted by abstract societal constructs and forces I don't understand to be "productive" 100% of the time because reasons. OK, veering off topic a little here, let's segue into language learning... I'm reaching the maturity level where I'm aiming to find a balance between this "productivity" construct and allowing myself to scroll mindlessly through my YouTube and Instragram feed. And with language learning independently without the groundwork of a teacher and the comaraderie of fellow students I think a balance is the very thing I've failed to strike.
So this is my millionth attempt at learning Spanish. And it's been going well because I've found resources I basically like and I'm actually using them. And I'm beginning to manage my own expectations. Also goalsetting. Let's address this.
Goal-wise I've got no plans in the near future to spend any extended period of time in any Spanish speaking area of the world. However I quite fancy learning about Spanish-speaking culture since it encompasses so many different nations and I'm sure through this I can uncover a lot of history and literature which I don't even know the existence of. Language learning has always been the first step into cultural interest for me. If I'd never learnt Russian, I can guarantee my interest in all matters Former Soviet Union would be non-existent today. And I find that so hard to believe. This cultural rather than pragmatic emphasis means I'm not too worried about focusing on what I perceive to be boring practical stuff. I can fill in the gaps later. This also has implications for output skills. I'm basically uninterested in learning to speak very well at this point. It would be nice to be able to use Spanish actively, but I'm telling myself (probably naively) that if I focus on the passive, the active will come to fruition later with little effort on my part. I can make my peace with working through this later down the line since I've got no urgent need for active Spanish skills.
I've been using several main resources so far. The most comprehensive is the second edition of Living Spanish from 1979 which I got in an Oxfam several years ago for 75p. Just today I was in a Waterstones and found the up-to-date version of this book and was pleased to see that the initial chapters actually been amended that much. I also found out the current edition has audio free to access via the Teach Yourself app so I've downloaded that and hope to use it alongside the book. I find the book really nice to use for self study and have completed three chapters so far. I'll probably start chapter four tomorrow.
I've also been using Lingvist whilst out and about (definitely never whilst on duty!). I like the no-nonsense layout of the site since I always found Memrise and Duolingo so cumbersome.
I have a Russian published Spanish grammar book I may add to my arsenal at some point when I can be bothered and I bought a book of Spanish stories for beginners on my Kindle, but that happened this evening so I haven't started working my way through them yet, but I definitely will this week since reading is the one. There's also a few podcasts I've started listening to on Spotify aimed at beginners but I've been pretty negligent about that so far.
So why am I keeping this log? I can't be the only person to have fallen into the trap of spending more time researching methods and resources for a thing than actually doing the thing. I used to spend hours browsing forums such as this one for recommendations and making elaborate study plans with arbitrary margins for "success" calculated by minutes spent on activities plucked out of thin air. I'm hoping with this log I can motivate myself to keep going by tracking the journey whilst holding myself to account and satisfying that urge to waste time pretending to do the thing (Spanish). And my only "rule" is I must do something everyday. And if I don't I must make it a matter of public record on this log. So now I'm actually going to finish unpacking, tidy my room and do my Lingvist flashcards or you'll be hearing from me tomorrow.
Goodnight
I should currently be doing anything that isn't this. I should be finishing my unpacking, washing up, tidying my room, brushing my teeth, actually learning the Spanish I want to learn rather than spending hours researching methods and resources which I never ever seem to apply to my learning. Not today, sir. As soon as this post is written I will do all of those things and much more.
I've tried to learn Spanish about seven or eight times in my life. I really want to prove myself wrong since for several years now I've copped out by telling myself I'm only able to learn languages if there's extrinsic motivation in the form of a language class. From afar I've admired those who spend their spare time doing useful things even if they don't enjoy it 100% of the time. I seek instant gratification, but I simultaneously feel pressure exerted by abstract societal constructs and forces I don't understand to be "productive" 100% of the time because reasons. OK, veering off topic a little here, let's segue into language learning... I'm reaching the maturity level where I'm aiming to find a balance between this "productivity" construct and allowing myself to scroll mindlessly through my YouTube and Instragram feed. And with language learning independently without the groundwork of a teacher and the comaraderie of fellow students I think a balance is the very thing I've failed to strike.
So this is my millionth attempt at learning Spanish. And it's been going well because I've found resources I basically like and I'm actually using them. And I'm beginning to manage my own expectations. Also goalsetting. Let's address this.
Goal-wise I've got no plans in the near future to spend any extended period of time in any Spanish speaking area of the world. However I quite fancy learning about Spanish-speaking culture since it encompasses so many different nations and I'm sure through this I can uncover a lot of history and literature which I don't even know the existence of. Language learning has always been the first step into cultural interest for me. If I'd never learnt Russian, I can guarantee my interest in all matters Former Soviet Union would be non-existent today. And I find that so hard to believe. This cultural rather than pragmatic emphasis means I'm not too worried about focusing on what I perceive to be boring practical stuff. I can fill in the gaps later. This also has implications for output skills. I'm basically uninterested in learning to speak very well at this point. It would be nice to be able to use Spanish actively, but I'm telling myself (probably naively) that if I focus on the passive, the active will come to fruition later with little effort on my part. I can make my peace with working through this later down the line since I've got no urgent need for active Spanish skills.
I've been using several main resources so far. The most comprehensive is the second edition of Living Spanish from 1979 which I got in an Oxfam several years ago for 75p. Just today I was in a Waterstones and found the up-to-date version of this book and was pleased to see that the initial chapters actually been amended that much. I also found out the current edition has audio free to access via the Teach Yourself app so I've downloaded that and hope to use it alongside the book. I find the book really nice to use for self study and have completed three chapters so far. I'll probably start chapter four tomorrow.
I've also been using Lingvist whilst out and about (definitely never whilst on duty!). I like the no-nonsense layout of the site since I always found Memrise and Duolingo so cumbersome.
I have a Russian published Spanish grammar book I may add to my arsenal at some point when I can be bothered and I bought a book of Spanish stories for beginners on my Kindle, but that happened this evening so I haven't started working my way through them yet, but I definitely will this week since reading is the one. There's also a few podcasts I've started listening to on Spotify aimed at beginners but I've been pretty negligent about that so far.
So why am I keeping this log? I can't be the only person to have fallen into the trap of spending more time researching methods and resources for a thing than actually doing the thing. I used to spend hours browsing forums such as this one for recommendations and making elaborate study plans with arbitrary margins for "success" calculated by minutes spent on activities plucked out of thin air. I'm hoping with this log I can motivate myself to keep going by tracking the journey whilst holding myself to account and satisfying that urge to waste time pretending to do the thing (Spanish). And my only "rule" is I must do something everyday. And if I don't I must make it a matter of public record on this log. So now I'm actually going to finish unpacking, tidy my room and do my Lingvist flashcards or you'll be hearing from me tomorrow.
Goodnight