Week 6 - Passion Project 2017 - Podcasts

After my bout of sickness last week, I've started up again, and I think the addition of podcasts will really help to increase my ability to understand and speak in Spanish - most of my activities so far have only been about reading and writing.


I had set myself the goal of finding some Spanish podcasts, so that I can continue to learn while I'm driving. I found two that I think will be helpful. The first is a podcast that presents world news in slow Spanish. The website provides a transcript of the podcast, so I can check my understanding or even follow along with the text while I am listening (not while driving, of course!) The second is a more traditional language learning podcast, with units and lessons such as "How to introduce yourself," "How to order in a restaurant," etc. I have chosen to only download the unit review episodes (each unit is 5 or 6 lessons long, with each lesson clocking in from 3 - 4 minutes) The unit reviews are approximately 12 - 15 minutes in length, and I think that my overall language learning skills are sufficiently advanced that the review episodes might be enough to help me improve my Spanish. If not, I can also download the individual lessons!

Week 5 - Passion Project 2017 - A Real-World Encounter

Last weekend, I was involved in a presentation of a piece of theatre. One of my jobs was greeting people at the door, making sure they had a ticket, and giving them any information they needed.

A couple came in shortly before the performance was to begin, and they were speaking in Spanish! I did my best to explain to them what was going on in the theatre, and they were very patient with my rudimentary Spanish... I regretted that I couldn't yet speak to them fluently, and it has motivated me even more to keep practicing and learning!

Overall, I'm feeling good about my progress so far, even though I took almost a whole week off. I was sick, and preparing for a theatre production, and didn't have the energy or brain power to learn any Spanish. Next week is sure to be an improvement!

Week 4 - Passion Project 2017 - Letters and Learning

My task this week was writing a letter to Katherin. I received a new photo of her in the mail this week, which seemed like fortuitous timing and gave me the added push to finish my letter to her. I let her know about my decision to do Passion Projects in class, and that I will also be learning something new this year as part of that initiative.

Katherin

Writing my intentions to Katherin has significantly increased the pressure and motivation to learn Spanish and to continue to practice every day. I think that a lot of our motivation needs to come from inside, but it is also helpful to have a nudge from the outside world to keep us on track sometimes. Knowing that there is a person out there in the world who would be disappointed if I don't follow through on my plans makes it that much more significant.

I took a one-day break from Duolingo last Friday, and I didn't realize how much I would care about breaking my streak! I was on a 14-day streak, and I have had to start over... I'm back up to a 5-day streak, and I'm determined not to break this one! My mom has also decided to start using Duolingo to learn Spanish (she is going to visit my sister in Costa Rica this May, and wants to be able to communicate with people while she is there). It's motivating to have someone else doing a similar Passion Project with me!

PS - "hija" means "daughter"

I have found myself thinking of Spanish words now and then during the day - not so much at school, because I spend a lot of the day speaking French, but certainly at home. I am starting to talk about clothing and food in Spanish (those are the two biggest sets of words I have learned so far) - my husband isn't sure what to make of it! Maybe he will learn some Spanish just by listening to me ;-)

Week 3 - Passion Project 2017 - Plateau

I feel as though I've reached a bit of a plateau in learning Spanish. What I mean by that, is I seem to be doing the same activities over and over and not making much project. I think this is because I am still trying to build up my vocabulary, so I cannot yet really communicate in Spanish - but at the same time, I'm a little bored with building my vocabulary one or two words at a time.

I've been finding it slightly difficult to make time to practice with Duolingo every day. I know that 10-15 minutes is not very long, but some days it feels like more of an effort to take that time. I haven't missed a day yet, however, so I'm feeling good about that!

A 14 day streak is pretty exciting!

Moving forward, I think I need to challenge myself more during those 10-15 minutes. Rather than only doing vocabulary learning lessons, I will make it a priority to do one of the chats, one vocabulary learning lesson, and one review lesson to strengthen the skills I have already worked on. I hope that this will make my Duolingo sessions more motivating and meaningful.

I haven't yet written to Katherin to tell her about my Passion Project, and that is high on my list of things to accomplish this week. Adding that extra layer of motivation will be extremely helpful for me!

In the middle of writing this blog post, my husband asked if I would like to try a video game that he is really enjoying. It is called Terraria and is similar to Minecraft in many ways. I was ready for a break, so I agreed that we could install it on my computer and give the multiplayer version a try.

What came next was very exciting for me... you can choose to play Terraria in SPANISH! All at once, I was excited about learning Spanish again. I set up my Terraria character (I named her La Erina) and entered the game with Spanish as my default language. I felt gleeful as I tried to navigate the world, and really excited to meet Scott (the first NPC you encounter in the game) - I was able to decipher most of his dialogue, and I plan on speaking to him multiple times within the game so that I can practice understanding.

Week 2 - Passion Project 2017 - Progress So Far

I have been feeling very motivated over the past week to get a good start on learning Spanish. I did a pre-test using Duolingo, and discovered that knowing French was a great help in picking up on some Spanish vocabulary relatively quickly. I have set myself a goal of doing 15 minutes per day, which I think will be manageable. One of the things that I am worried about is setting myself a goal that is too ambitious, and then feeling like I'm failing if I don't meet that goal each day. Fifteen minutes a day is not very long, so I think I'll be able to keep it up!

Here are some screenshots of my progress with that app so far :

I like the fact that Duolingo breaks the learning up into chunks.

There is always a daily goal...

...and the program tracks how strong you are in certain skills

Also, there are "bots" that you can
text with, so you get to practice
having a "real" conversation.

In this chat, I learned how to
order a sandwich.

I've also been looking into Spanish podcasts that could help me to practice my understanding of the spoken language. I found a website with 10 Best Podcasts for Language Learning and another called 9 Great Spanish Podcasts. I'm planning to check out the ones that seem the most interesting and add them to my iPod. That way, when I go for a walk, or while I'm driving to Halifax and back on the weekend, I can improve my listening skills. 

A third strategy that I plan to use is texting with my sister. She has been living in Costa Rica for many years now, and is quite fluent in Spanish. She has agreed to help me to learn by texting with my only in Spanish from now on (unless it is an emergency, of course!) I think it will be very motivating to do this, because I will want to tell her about things that are going on in my life. In order to tell her things, I will have to learn how to say them in Spanish! 

Finally, I plan to write to Katherin (my sponsored child in Ecuador) to let her know about my plan to learn Spanish. I think it will be helpful to know that she is expecting to hear from me in Spanish, and it will hopefully be a motivating factor if I am ever feeling like my goal is too difficult. It will be worth it to be able to communicate with her directly, rather than through a translator.

I think I've made good progress on my Passion Project so far, and I'm looking forward to continuing my efforts to learn Spanish.

Week 1 - Passion Project 2017 - Why I Want to Learn Spanish

I have chosen to learn Spanish as my Passion Project this year. I sponsor a child in Ecuador who speaks and writes in Spanish, and I would like to be able to write letters to her in her own language. I would also like to be able to read what she has written, without relying on the translation that is provided for me.

At some point in the future, I would really like to visit Katherin (my sponsored child). I know that the organization through which I sponsor her, Children International will help me to plan a visit, and will provide a translator. However, I think that it would be best if I could communicate directly with Katherin and her family.

Learning a new language is also a way of opening doors to new types of information, and a great method to keep my brain active. I think it could be challenging in some ways to learn Spanish, since I am already fluent in French and they are so similar. When I have traveled to Spanish-speaking countries in the past, I have found myself trying to communicate by speaking French instead of the very small amount of Spanish I already know. I even say "oui" instead of "si"! I have heard that learning a third language (and a fourth, and a fifth...) is easier than learning a second language, and I hope that is true!

This is a photo of Katherin in May 2016

In order to begin work on my Passion Project, I will need to find some resources that will help me. I plan on using the website Duolingo to support my learning. I also plan on finding a variety of television shows and movies that are originally in Spanish, so that I can work on listening to and understanding native speakers.

Duolingo - Turns out knowing French was an asset in the pre-test!