Lección 0 - Bienvenidos y Las Reglas del Camino (Welcome, and the Rules of the Road)

Congratulations in your decision to learn Spanish. It is the third most widely spoken language in the world (after Mandarin Chinese and English) and the second most commonly spoken language in the U.S. As you know, South Florida, particularly Miami-Dade has a large number of native Spanish speakers and it always comes in handy to have a basic understanding of the language.

Learning Spanish, or any foreign language, consists of two components: learning the RULES of spelling, pronunciation, and grammar, and REPETITION. Experts believe rules should make up 20% of the learning, the remaining 80% is repetition. 

I try to include repetition in each lesson but we won’t meet often enough to make it meaningful, which is why I strongly recommend you try at the same time either Duolingo (which has ads to keep it free) or Rosetta Stone (which you can download for free from the Broward Public Library.). Both have smart phone apps. 

In this course you will learn Latin American Spanish. Please always look for the Latin American edition, not Castilian. I will explain the differences with Castilian as we go along but you should practice and get comfortable with Latin American Spanish. It is what you will hear most in South Florida. The differences in the two types of Spanish is similar to British English vs. American English. Here are simple rules to get the most out of our lessons.  

1.     STOP ME if you do not understand what I’m saying. Say “No comprendo” (I don’t comprehend; pronounced No Com-PREHN-doe)

2.     OR SAY “¿Qué significa <Spanish word(s)>?”  (What does <Spanish word(s)> mean?; pronounced Keh seeg-knee-FEE-kah <Spanish word(s)). For example: ¿Qué significa “gato”?

3.     If I’m speaking too fast, say “Más lento, por favor.” (More slowly, please, pronounced mahs LEHN-toe pour fah-VOHR))

4.     WHEN SPEAKING, if you get stuck, say “¿Cómo se dice <English word(s)> en español?” (How does one say <English word(s)> in Spanish?; pronounced KOH-moh seh DEE-seh <English word(s)> ehn eh-spah-NYOL) For example: ¿Cómo se dice <the sun> en español?

Remember goal is to COMMUNICATE effectively in Spanish. The goal is not to speak perfectly. Please be comfortable making mistakes. You will learn faster this way. The Four Skills to achieve our goals are:

1.     Reading 2.     Writing 3.     Listening 4.     Speaking

These are listed in increasing degrees of difficulty. You’ll notice some will lag behind others as you progress in the course. This is NORMAL. It is expected that Speaking is the hardest. As I mentioned, we will use two techniques to sharpen these skills:

Learn RuRules     and      Repetition

When learning rules, the details matter. You must know and understand each word. When learning by repetition, go for a global, general understanding; don’t worry about understanding every single word. That understanding will improve with time. We will do both types of exercises in class and I will point out what to focus on. We also go over typical scenarios to learn vocabulary: traveling, dining, and shopping.  Please suggest other scenarios that interest you. 

I try to minimize homework, but some is necessary to memorize and understand important aspects of the language. If it’s excessive, let me know. It’s important that you have fun in the process.  Best of Luck and I hope you enjoy the adventure.