I was going to subtitle this: “Or: Learning to Make Mistakes and Laugh at Myself!”
One of my 12-year-old’s favorite stories about me making mistakes in Spanish is about the time when I was in high school and I said to my teacher, “Estoy muy embarazada!”, which I meant to mean “I’m so embarrassed!” But “embarazada”, as some of you might know, is what is known in language learning circles as “a false friend” – a word that sounds like a word in the other language, but that means something very different!
“I’m embarrassed,” in Spanish, is, “Estoy muy avergonzada!” (or avergonzado, if you are male). So what did I tell my teacher? That I was very pregnant! Oops!
Such mistakes are inevitable when one is learning a new language, and to do so successfully, one must be willing to make those mistakes, laugh at oneself, and enjoy the process. Not one for being comfortable with or enjoying making mistakes, I’m way outside my comfort zone learning a new language at 50!
One of the first things I did when we arrived was reach out to my contacts here and ask for recommendations for Spanish teachers, and I was very fortunate to find Cristina Ramos and her small business, SevilleELE. I’ve been in a small group that meets weekly for a 90-minute lesson, but I also try to take advantage of all of Cristina’s other offerings – conversation clubs, game days, historical lectures (that one was WAY above my head!). Progress is slow – I’m old, and there are SO many verb tenses (and curse you, irregular verbs!!), but I can read more signs now, and can occasionally pick out a few phrases from conversations on the bus or on the street. And I try to THINK about how I would say things in Spanish as much as I can.
While I’m learning, I’m taking great advantage of DeepL – my favorite translation app. I’ve used to make doctor’s appointments, talk with handymen, and create messages for the parent WhatsApp groups at my boys’ schools.
As I was preparing to leave for Spain last summer, my cousin Sheri, who has a lot of experience living overseas sent me a message that I have returned to over and over again. She wrote, “I’ve found it takes one year to get my bearings and my language up to mere survival level, and one more year to feel truly comfortable in another country.” As an impatient person with sometimes unrealistic expectations of myself, I could not have gotten a more timely or important message! I’m embracing the mistakes and learning to laugh when I do. It’s all part of the process!
Whether you speak Spanish already or don’t but are willing to learn, we can help you start the process of getting here! Email us for more information.
