Well, August seems to be heading into a month of much learning advice.

But, hey, it’s intended to be of help for you as a committed language learner!

Today I want to share with you an idea that may seem far-fetched upon first reading it, but it’s something that can help you a great deal in your Spanish learning.

It has to do with acting your words. Just as actors immerse themselves in their roles to effectively convey emotions and intentions, as language learners you can benefit from adopting a similar mindset.

Let me state my case.

Feel what you’re saying

The standard at which we calibrate our foreign language speaking persona has a huge impact on how we sound in terms of fluency. If you don’t feel comfortable using your target language, it’ll be in the air, so to speak.

Obviously, before you feel what you’re saying it’s essential that you understand what you’re saying, but very frequently a student knows the words and forgets to attach an intention to them or underestimates its overall importance.

Every day interactions leaving out all type of interjections in conversation automatically lose their authenticity. You’d never have a conversation in your L1 that flat.

Speaking of that, the Argentinian Spanish Phrasebook can be a really helpful guy in your quest:

Sign up to the newsletter and download your FREE Argentinian Spanish Phrasebook! CLICK HERE

Stage fright

Next, there’s the question of stage fright. Of course, stage fright is just as real when you’re a language learner. The fear of making mistakes and the anxiety of being right or misunderstood can put unnecessary spanners in the works.

Acknowledging that making mistakes is an inevitable aspect of the learning journey enables you to shed your self-consciousness and focus on the joy of connecting with others through your target language.

Some time ago I recommended cold practice as a way to deal with this as well as possible.

Enjoy the ride, my friend!

Accent and pronunciation

Learning a language, but specially picking up an accent is an imitation game. You may or may not have heard about SHADOWING, but in case you haven’t let me tell you this: shadowing has to do with impersonating the speaker you’re listening to. Following their exact pronunciation, rhythm, intonation and word stress. I also discussed this in my article on Learning Spanish with podcasts.

In order to do a good shadowing practice, you need to get in the skin of your language model. Otherwise you’ll miserably fail at it.

This side of any foreign language is far more relevant if you have an intermediate or advanced level in your L2. When you’re a beginner it’s much more important to focus on what’s been said above in this article and leave this for later.

Never forget you’re crafting your Spanish speaking self.

Connecting your words to the emotions involved is your most natural way of being in your native language, so why shouldn’t it in your target language? We can all embody it.

Hope this helps,

Good luck in your Spanish learning!

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You might also want to read these articles:

• Expressions with MIERDA
  As a sequel to our previous post, today we focus on MIERDA and its multitude of meanings.
• The body and bodily functions
  A handy list of things we all do but rarely (care to) learn in a foreign language.
• Spanish Class | SNL
  A fun sketch from Saturday Night Live where students are in class ‘learning’ Spanish.
• How to go about with reading in Spanish
  In this post I want to make you want to read, even if you feel you’re not ready for it.
• Implied subject
  This post deals with a little tweak that can make your Spanish sound more natural —dropping the subject pronoun.
• Start Shadowing now!
  Today I’ll get you started with shadowing, so your Spanish speaking skills go through the roof.

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