Luong: MLO1
When Spanish is spoken, there are many linking words that when spoken sounds like one whole word, but when written, there are two or more words. For example, one could ask, “Comohasestado?” instead of “Como has estado?” This was what I found difficult when communicating with Spanish speakers. I would constantly ask them if they could slow down in our conversations and repeat certain words several times because they were unclear to me. However, once I started communicating more with them on a regular basis, I was slowly able to comprehend what they say.
The first course I took when I studied in Spain was called “Preparatory Language Placement.” I was placed in a 5 week Spanish Language and Grammar intensive course based on my level of Spanish. Knowing that none of my professors spoke English, I was forced to communicate in Spanish with my professor along with the students in my class. I found it very challenging but helpful at the same time. It was very challenging because first of all, I am not a native Spanish speaker and the dialect in Spain is very different than what I’m used to from the U.S., Spanish from Mexico. Not only is the Spanish in Spain fast paced, the dialect in Granada, the city where I was studying, made it more difficult to understand because the natives neglect using certain letters in the alphabet such as the letter “s” and “d.” I found my reading ability to be much more proficient than comprehension. After returning from studying abroad in Spain, I recognized that my listening and speaking abilities improved tremendously since prior to studying abroad.
I believe what really helped my listening abilities was listening to Spanish music, moreover watching telenovelas, Spanish soap operas. Watching telenovelas on a daily basis, I was able to connect the reactions of the characters to their conversations and understand what was happening during each scene. Another component to my speaking and listening abilities was makings friends when I was in Spain whose only communication I had was in Spanish. My former roommate in Spain was Japanese and spoke little to no English. I on the other hand did not speak a word of Japanese. Spanish was our only option of communication and I really enjoyed not speaking English to her. Being in this situation forced me to speak more comfortably and refine my Spanish conversational abilities. I made friends from other Spanish speaking countries as well, such as Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador, and Puerto Rico. I was thrilled to be able to speak with people from different Spanish speaking countries and see the linguistic differences between them.
The first course I took when I studied in Spain was called “Preparatory Language Placement.” I was placed in a 5 week Spanish Language and Grammar intensive course based on my level of Spanish. Knowing that none of my professors spoke English, I was forced to communicate in Spanish with my professor along with the students in my class. I found it very challenging but helpful at the same time. It was very challenging because first of all, I am not a native Spanish speaker and the dialect in Spain is very different than what I’m used to from the U.S., Spanish from Mexico. Not only is the Spanish in Spain fast paced, the dialect in Granada, the city where I was studying, made it more difficult to understand because the natives neglect using certain letters in the alphabet such as the letter “s” and “d.” I found my reading ability to be much more proficient than comprehension. After returning from studying abroad in Spain, I recognized that my listening and speaking abilities improved tremendously since prior to studying abroad.
I believe what really helped my listening abilities was listening to Spanish music, moreover watching telenovelas, Spanish soap operas. Watching telenovelas on a daily basis, I was able to connect the reactions of the characters to their conversations and understand what was happening during each scene. Another component to my speaking and listening abilities was makings friends when I was in Spain whose only communication I had was in Spanish. My former roommate in Spain was Japanese and spoke little to no English. I on the other hand did not speak a word of Japanese. Spanish was our only option of communication and I really enjoyed not speaking English to her. Being in this situation forced me to speak more comfortably and refine my Spanish conversational abilities. I made friends from other Spanish speaking countries as well, such as Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador, and Puerto Rico. I was thrilled to be able to speak with people from different Spanish speaking countries and see the linguistic differences between them.