Ok, I’m not THAT old! But sometimes when my Spanish studying isn’t going very well, I feel like an old dog.

Seriously, I am studying Spanish every day. I am trying to do my own Immersion Course since I know that is the fastest way to learn.

• Even though I have never had the TV on unless I am actually sitting down to watch – I have the TV on one of the two Spanish language channels a lot of the day.

• I listen to Spanish CD’s – some that I’ve had for years…and I realize I am picking up more of the lyrics than I used to!
• Language learning CD’s and podcasts – walking the dog, gardening or cleaning house I listen to the MP3 player, and I listen to CD’s in the car. Since the closest town to us is a half hour away I get a fair bit of exposure this way. I always repeat the lessons out loud.
• I do pretend conversations in my head. This is usually triggered by an interaction like going to the post office or a store. I then replay the conversation but working it out in Spanish.
• I get movies from the library – Mexico travel ones are great, but also Spanish language ones (Santos Peregrinos) or Mexican topics (Nacho Libre.)
• We TIVO and watch Fuera de Serie – a half hour travel show every day. The hosts travel the world interacting with Spanish speakers wherever they are. I am going to start TIVO-ing a half hour of daily news, too.

If my Spanish language competency was rated on a scale of 1 to 10, I’d rate myself at a 2. I’d be curious to hear from people how they’d rate themselves – and if they are in a Spanish-speaking country now, what change in competency did they have once they made the move.

-Nancy