Hello, Learners! When I started learning my first foreign language, I was confident, and my goal was to be fluent in a year. I purchased How-To books and began working through them, happily bouncing from book to book. But after a few months, I was afraid to speak the language. My pronunciation was horrible, and my comprehension was worse, all because I was learning in a disjointed way. I struggled. Later, I realized there were several things I should have thought through before beginning. So, today let’s look at my journey to learning Spanish to hopefully help you avoid one of those mistakes.
Before we go deeper into the whys and how’s, let me explain something, I knew I wanted to learn Spanish, but I couldn’t afford to take a class, so I took the path of self-learning. If you can afford to take courses and want to go that route, this post is not for you. But if you’re considering self-learning, stay with me to learn how I got started on the right path to learning Spanish. Please note that this works with any new language including Japanese.
After five long months of floundering with book study, YouTube, and two months with a tutor, I lost my motivation and eventually stopped learning. I used the time for reflection, aka I wasn’t giving up so easily. I wasn’t fully aware of the implications of what I was learning until I looked at English from the viewpoint of someone new to English. I’ve learned that just like with English, there are differences in the spoken and written language, a difference when talking to an employer or co-workers, family or friends. We even use different words when communicating with strangers. The differences may seem minor to some, but they do exist. Once I took another look at the Spanish language, I was ready to get started because I finally knew what I wanted to learn.
I downloaded an app and began to struggle again. Then, one day, I found my answer while scrolling through social media. I needed to master the alphabet first. Once I began learning the alphabet, focusing on how to pronounce each letter, my pronunciation and comprehension increased exponentially. This was my wow moment, for sure. It was the missing piece. I should have started with the alphabet.
My advice to you, dear learner, is to start with the alphabet. Learn it, pronounce each letter perfectly, learn how to write it, and you will be on the right path to learning your chosen language without hitting a wall or starting over.
Today, I’m studying Japanese. It’s a language I wanted to learn since a teen. I’m using the Busuu app, and practicing how to write Japanese kana characters. I’ve learned several words as well.
Join me on my language journey here in my blog.
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Thank you for taking this journey with me.
