- Thread starter Marianopolita
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Learning Spanish poll questions
For me it's the grammar for sure. I like to speak Spanish as much as I can, to learn, but I definitely get intimidated not knowing if I'm using correct grammar.
For me it's speaking due to the lack of a reliable conversation partner. In my experience teaching ESL I've also found speaking to be the most difficult hurdle with students. Even good students are afraid of making mistakes when speaking despite my assurance that it's natural and not a source of embarrassment.
For me it's hearing. I get lost fairly easily and can't keep up. Reading and writing are ok with me because there are no time constraints. Speaking, when I have the time to mentally rehearse, is not too bad. But if I don't have the time for like a spontaneous question I tend to revert to Haitian Kreyol.
In my experience, most people appreciate if you make the effort. Try not to let that discourage you from speaking. That is the only way you will learn and get fluent. Keep studying grammar and take advantage of any opportunity you have to speak Spanish.
Exactly. It is natural to get intimidated but also it is the only way to become fluent. The person learning a new language has to find that balance. In the classroom, generally teachers encourage students to speak with classmates in a familiar setting which should be easier than on the street, in a store or on the phone where people tend to go blank and forget everything.
Comprehending especially if people speak fast or if the Spanish spoken is very different from what is considered the standard. You will run into this challenge in the DR, the Caribbean, for some people Spanish spoken in the Southern cone is a challenge to understand. For ex, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
I am not sure I understand why you would revert to Haitan Kreyol since the two languages are disimilar.
My biggest problem with using Spanish is listening. I have a greater than 50% hearing loss. That, coupled with the rapid pace of Dominican Spanish makes listening and understanding difficult.
If the person with whom I'm speaking slows his speech and enunciates distinctly, my level of comprehension improves markedly.
FWIW, the difficulty with rapid speech is equally problematic in English. If the words are not pronounced distinctly I have trouble understanding.
Having studied Spanish in school years ago gave me a grammatical base upon which to build.
If the person with whom I'm speaking slows his speech and enunciates distinctly, my level of comprehension improves markedly.
FWIW, the difficulty with rapid speech is equally problematic in English. If the words are not pronounced distinctly I have trouble understanding.
Having studied Spanish in school years ago gave me a grammatical base upon which to build.
Just because it's the only other foreign language I know. I've caught myself doing it several times here.
Rapid speech in any language is a challenge. A slower version helps one to understand but sometimes that does not help especially if it’s a dialect.
In general, I hear languages very well but one identified challenge for me is understanding people from Scotland and Guernsey, Channel Islands. Many years ago I had clients from Guernsey. After phone conversations I would send them a fax to ask what they said. 🤦♀️
Yes, that makes sense.
What was the reaction because I don’t know any Dominicans that speak Kreyol?
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Our gardener(Dominican) , speaks Kreyol. How well I don't know but Haitians understand him.
Pretty much blank stare is what I get. But when I quickly catch myself I give them my substandard Spanish. More blank stares.
That fairly accurately describes my situation with Spanish. We have an older guy that works as a gofer. He is a campesino from outside of Jarabacoa, fluent in Cibaena. I understand very little of what he says. I understand much of what our secretary ssays with her clear, properly pronounced higher pitched voice. My wife I also understand, as long as she isn't too fast. I don't have to wear hearing aids yet, but I have about 20 percent loss in both ears from my Air Force time.
Writing, for sure.
Some times I see a word in a newspaper and say to myself " dang ! THAT is how it is spelt ?!??!? "
Some times I see a word in a newspaper and say to myself " dang ! THAT is how it is spelt ?!??!? "
I grew up in Denmark with Danish and English as a strong second language as my mother is English. Then German I started learning early in school and was strong in German and lived in Germany from I was 19 to 21. So I thought I was good at languages but in fact I was never strong in grammar and I was lazy. I realized this when I started learning Spanish as a hobby in my mid twenties. Now after 15 years here in the DR I still don’t feel I am fluent in Spanish. I have kind of given up. I just relocated from Santo Domingo to Las Terrenas and in September go back to Denmark for a long time and will just be visiting Las Terrenas when I come back and not planning to use Spanish anymore professionally as I closed my business in Santo Domingo.
Comprehension easy. I simply dont understand Dominican spanish. They dont use all the syllables in the words and its simply a nightmare trying to understand them.
Grammar is a hardest part. Spanish is a little easier for me as my native language is French, but it still takes a lot of practice to be fluent.
The good thing is learning to spell in Spanish is quite easy since it’s a phonetic language. If you go over the rules and look at the examples which includes forming the plural you will be good to go. Being in the DR though will throw you off if you are not fluent in the language because the features of Dominican speech but other than that spelling is easy in Spanish if you know the phonetic rules