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If you intend to spend a lot of time in Spain, whether by living there or frequent, lengthy stays, you will want to learn Spanish. For short visits, a few phrases may be sufficient but not for a longer stay and, especially, if you are living in the country. It is difficult to live in the country without speaking and understanding the language, which will help you adapt much faster.

There are quite a few options available today for learning Spanish, and you will need to find the best method for you. What works best for one student may not be the most effective learning method for another student. A combination approach often is best, which may include formal instruction, self study and practical use of the language.

Private instruction or language schools are easy to find, though they can be expensive in some cases. The most expensive method for learning Spanish is private instruction, but one-on-one instruction may be the best method for you as compared to group classes. Nonetheless, if you are not able to maintain a self-study program and keep up with the lessons, formal language instruction whether one-on-one or in a group is probably the best choice.

Language exchanges are another great learning tool which can be found on the internet or in magazines and newspapers. Language exchange is more information learning method whereby you learn through informal conversation rather than curriculum-based. You can also use language exchanges as a supplement to a curriculum program or formal instruction, since any opportunity to speak and listen to the language will be beneficial.

If you are moving to Spain, you may want to check with the local city government as they may be able to provide you with some suggestions on local language programs. Some city governments even offer courses which are often free. Of course, there are language schools in Spain. For instance, there is a Spanish Language School in Madrid, the capital of the country.

Once you have learned the basics of the Spanish language, you will want to fine-tune what you have learned and continue to improve your conversational ability. Making friends in Spain is a great opportunity to converse using your new language skills. Not only will you be able to use your speaking and listening skills, making friends will also help you feel more at home.

As far as formal instruction, you can subscribe to more advanced materials such as a magazine subscription or a cassette. For example, the Puerta del Sol is a bimonthly publication which can not only help with your reading and speaking skills but also help you learn about the culture.

Finally, language or social clubs are a good way to improve your skills. These discussion groups are less instructional and more social and generally meet over dinner. This is a great combination of making friends, improving your language skills and eating a great Spanish meal. Such social situations help you gain confidence in your language abilities outside of the classroom and in the real world.

Jack Blacksmith’s news are found on numerous online sites associated with Spain. You might come across his observations on learn spanish and spanish culture over at his site and many different sources for Spain information.

The way you converse and how you deliver your sentences are equally important as to what you say. Oftentimes, in the course of the conversation we dread the awkward moments of silence. Remember the old adage “silence is golden”. Be comfortable with it , accept the fact that there are really momentary segments of silence in a natural course of a conversation. As a result , you will give off a relaxed , calm aura to the one you are speaking with. Just don’t be too extremely silent though. You don’t want the other person to think that you are not “there”.

What do we say after we said hi? Common sense tells me, to comment and ask on what is here and now. For example, you meet someone at a wedding party, after exchanging hi and hellos, you comment and ask like” I can see the couple come from big families, are you a relative of the groom or the bride?” You can then cue her off to another thread of topic using the keyword of her reply. If she replies” yes I’m related to the groom”. (keyword: groom) and then you can say” I see, I heard Robby (the groom) is from Atlanta, do you live in Atlanta as well?” And you can go on and on using the keywords that she uses. See, how easy it is?

Another strategy is to bring appropriate props with you, to start enjoyable minutes of conversation with someone you want to meet.. And here are a few suggested props:

Telescope- if you go gaga over stargazing, why not take your telescope to the streets one summer night? When a cute and curious guy pauses to find out what you are doing, offer that person a view of the colorful ring around Saturn.

Paints and easel- set up an easel in the park and draw or re-create what you see. You could be interrupted by someone attractive , who may express a want to model for you.

Magazines- you can actually target the kind of person you’d like to meet by carrying a magazine that would appeal to his/her interests. Want an outdoorsy man? Try Field and Stream. Someone with a mechanical bent? How about Motor Trend? A doctor? Pick up New England Journal of Medicine. It’s only a matter of time someone with the same hobby , passion or profession will comment on the magazine you are bringing.

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The value of getting your student or students out of the confines of the classroom cannot be underestimated. Trips and visits not only improve the student teacher relationship, but they are brilliant for teaching a language. You’re ahead as a teacher in every way. The visit should be tailored to the interests of the student – in which case they’ll be involved 100% in the ‘lesson’.

Teaching only happens when you’ve got the student’s attention and they want to learn. My last student turned out to be very interested in historic buildings – we live near Salisbury Cathedral, and so there’s a golden teaching opportunity ‘on tap’. So we left the classroom and visited Salisbury Cathedral. It’s got the tallest spire in the UK, at 123 metres. They started building it in 1220, and topped off the spire by 1330.

We heard the choir practicing during our visit. We read signs, graves and memorials – there’s one of the original copies of the Magna Carta on view at the Cathedral too. A small aside: the Magna Carta room was closed when we got there – I resolve to PLAN these visits better next time! During the visit we walked and talked at the student’s pace and to his agenda. Words were learned and questions asked (by both of us!).

The Cathedral would be suitable for any level of language ability, from teaching numbers, dates and comparatives (oldest, tallest and so on) to British history and even spiritual discussions. Having enjoyed that visit, we also went to Winchester Cathedral: older than Salisbury, and the longest in Europe. Jane Austen is buried there. More questions, more topics for discussion – and all about something that fascinates the student. When fascinated, the brain is clearly engaged: and when the brain’s engaged, then learning happens! I’ve got two great Cathedrals, what have you got that you can use with your students? Think about it!

Andrew is a qualified TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teacher, with 15 years experience of the global Automotive Industry as a Sales manager with an International component and systems supplier. For more information about learning English with Andrew at his home in the UK, visit the Lets Talk 2 website.

TEFL Techniques: My friends the stick men Any good language teacher (or so I have been taught!) should be able to make a lesson out of anything, anywhere. I am coming at this article from the perspective of a teacher of English as a Foreign Language, but this technique is universal. The blackboard, flip chart or white board are the teacher’s principal tool – the student needs to see the words he or she is trying out, to understand the shapes and spelling. Obviously it’s useful for writing lists, times, timetables and ideas, but at a more basic level it’s main inhabitant is my friend, the stick-man! Consider the versatility of a small circle, attached to a vertical line, which in turn is crossed not far below the circle, and at the bottom of which are a couple more lines like the top two lines of a triangle. There’s my man! You know the rest – introduce a triangle and you’ve got his wife. You can use this device for language teaching in so many ways. Basic body words are all there (along with indicating your or the student’s own ‘parts’!), so are a variety of verbs (with a little imagination and a few extra short lines: think about the Olympic sports international symbols for a moment), and so are articles of clothing (give your friend a hat, trousers, shoes etc.), relationships (give the family some children), and even pregnancy, death, sickness, marriage…. The possibilities are as broad as the teacher and student’s imaginations. You don’t need to be an artist at all, the ‘sticks’ are the frameworks for the imagination, and the imagination is where then desire to learn comes from: we teachers need that desire in our students in order for our classes to bear fruit.

Andrew is a qualified TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teacher, with 15 years experience of the global Automotive Industry as a Sales manager with an International component and systems supplier. For more information about learning English with Andrew at his home in the UK, visit the Lets Talk 2 website.

One of a ‘toolbox’ of teaching techniques that I use with my overseas students in my role as a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) is our local paper! When you consider this, remember that I’m talking from the standpoint of an intensive, one-to-one, course, but I am sure that this would work equally well in a small group situation. Our paper arrives early on a Thursday. On both of the weeks he was with us I gave the paper to our student at breakfast and asked him to have a look through (this particular student was pre-intermediate level), finding three articles or advertisements that interested him. The idea was then for him to bring the stories to our ‘classroom’ for discussion: here’s what happened! Week one saw him choosing three brief articles. The first was an article about a musician returning to her home town for a concert, the second a piece about a local artist offering to teach people at home, and the third a regular slot from the local branch of the Dog’s Trust advertising an individual animal. In each case my student was able to tell me a few things about the content of the article, and by looking at each in a bit more detail, the exercise gave me an opportunity to assess his English level (what did he clearly understand?; what was he struggling with?).

Giving him the opportunity to pick the content was also a good strategy, as I was getting an idea of what sort of things interested him. I knew about the music – that’s what he’s studying at home – but the art and the dogs, that was a good cue for me. I was able to follow up the interest with visits to a gallery to see the artist’s work (which we didn’t like), and also a visits to see the dog at the kennels. The key here is that the teacher has got to find the buttons to press to get conversation going. From conversation comes vocabulary, confidence, and practice – all the things that the teacher wants to get across! Week two’s paper saw the results of a week’s immersion in my language: he chose the headline article (about the closure of local police enquiry offices); we considered an advertisement for a job at a local (world famous) tourist attraction; and we discussed a review of a classical concert which took place during the previous week. Again, the paper stimulated words, grammar, phrases, sentences, points of view. What makes this tool particularly useful is that it keeps the course content fresh, and, most importantly, is based on the interests of the student. When the student is trying to understand the English for something that interests him or her, THEN he will want to learn: and teaching a student who wants to learn is the only kind of teaching that’s going to work well!

Andrew is a qualified TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teacher, with 15 years experience of the global Automotive Industry as a Sales manager with an International component and systems supplier. For more information about learning English with Andrew at his home in the UK, visit the Lets Talk 2 website.