Immersed in..English Speakers! Help!
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009One of our long time listeners is a writer in Mexico. Meet, Phylis Collier. She sometimes finds it difficult in some areas to find natives who don’t speak Spanish! That can be real discouraging when you’re trying as hard as Phylis is to learn Spanish.
Hear about how she toughs it out and tries her best to still practice.
“I have been living in Mexico for about three years. I lived in Oaxaca when I first came and my Spanish was coming along really well, mainly because so few people spoke English. However, when I moved to San Miguel de Allende that luxury changed. There are scores of Norte Americanos here and although the upside is more conveniences because of them, most Mexicans encountered in stores, restaurants etc., speak English.
What I do is to go to the Jardin (what they call the Zocalo here) where you find all the Norte Americanos on benches facing the church, and most Mexicans sitting everywhere else. So I sit “everywhere else” and seek out non-English speaking people. I’ve been fairly successful and my goal is to increase my number of Mexican friends.My biggest problem is that most of them speak Spanish very rapidly, and I have to keep asking “por favor, mas despacio”! That’s why I am so happy to have found SpanishPod 101, because while improving my vocabulary it will certainly help train my ear to this language that I love.
I like being able to replay the conversation over and over, until I really understand every word and phrase, and of course, I speak along with it, improving my accent.
I am about to begin classes again, and I can only think that continuing to use SpanishPod 101 will be a strong supplement.
Estoy agradecida!”
Great job Phylis! Does anyone else have a similar situation? What do you do to practice when facing the odds?
Posted by jclemons in Success Stories |
April 4th, 2009 at 1:27 am
I love San Miguel de Allende! We live in Tyler, Texas, but my grandmother goes there every year, and I’ve been with her a few times. Once we stayed at Casa de Colores, and last year on Chiquitos. I can’t imagine living there. We brought a sink and some tile back from Hidalgo last time, so I have a San Miguel bathroom here in Tyler. I can’t wait to go again! I can see how it would be harder to immerse yourself, though–my husband doesn’t speak any spanish, and didn’t have to when we went.
May 23rd, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Dear Phylis,
I taught Spanish many years ago to a group of missionaries. I taught them the same way I taught myself English, through music. I learned many songs from a magazine published in the late 60’s called Hit Parade. I memorized the lyrics and sang along (oh boy, is it “sang” or “sung”?).
Mexican music is precious to my ears. I suggest you learn a few corridos and rancheras. You’ll be surprised at the way your brain begins to acquire an affinity towards the “flavor” of the language..
Best,
Fernando Bernall