The Journey in Spanish

When I got to the Mission in August, I realized it sucked to not know Spanish. I barely spoke a word of it, other than “hola” and “mucho gusto”. That was literally it, I promise. So it became my mission to learn it.

Okay, more like a “mission” because I continually lost my focus for the entire first trimester. I only learned maybe thirty words for those three months, and that was with my friend and our “Spanish/English” class, and then also working in the coffee shop. But that’s it.

Then came December, when I went to Mexico City for the whole month. The people I stayed with didn’t speak any English. I had to learn fast. Half of the month I was really frustrated because I didn’t have anyone to speak English to. I probably only had six or seven calls with my friends and family (the ones that spoke English, at least) for the month. Everything else, I was forced to speak Spanish. But, hey, I picked it up rapidly after that.

By the middle of the month I could have a so-so conversation with a person. At the end, I could have a casual conversation. Then in January, I spoke to some people only in Spanish–good Spanish. Though I did become lazy for a little bit. I started to stop practicing my Spanish with native Spanish speakers if I knew they could understand me in English.

I kind of started to lose my Spanish. Luckily, I picked up on that pretty quick. That pushed me to want to restart and learn again–learn as much as I possibly could. I practiced speaking only Spanish with everyone I could, and I wrote down phrases, slang, or words that I knew I would be constantly using or rapidly forgetting. I listen to music with Spanish lyrics, and I am currently reading a book that is in Spanish.

And you wanna know something? That hard work has been paying off. At the Mission, we have a lot of groups that come in (pretty much just Americans), and so we need a lot of translators for when we go out on ministries. In trailer ministry, I got to help be a translator. If you recall, that has been one of my main goals at the Mission. I finally did it!

Don’t get me wrong–I still have a lot to learn, but it feels so amazing to know how far I have gotten in my process of learning. There has been one person in particular that has motivated me a lot and has made me feel encouraged in my learning of new languages–and she is one of the best translators at the Mission. She always translating for the leaders, and in classes. Not only does she speak Spanish and English, but she also knows Romanian. 

She has helped me with ways to learn the best, and she’s so amazing as a person, too. Her name is Sierra. 

If you have been wanting to learn Spanish (or, honestly, any language), here is a list of things I compiled that will help you to learn effectively.

1. This might be surprising (especially if you have tried it before), but Duolingo works wonders. You might not think this is an effective tool, but if you use it consistently (and by that, I mean daily), it will help teach you the basics of Spanish. It helps a lot with the grammar, too. The only thing with it is that some of the words (depending on the country you are learning Spanish for) don’t apply. In Mexico, at least. And the only reason for that is because Duolingo teaches you the Spain version, and that is more proper than in countries like Columbia, Mexico, etc.
2. It’s so good to learn slang. It’s different for every Spanish-speaking country/region, but I promise it’ll help. In Mexico, they use a LOT of slang when speaking. It’s important to learn what the terms mean, because you can use the slang all over the country you may be wanting to travel to. Plus, it’s just fun to know. I’ve been told by a lot of Mexicans that I sound more Mexican because of how much of their slang I use.
3. This is fun for me, but I love to listen to Spanish music, especially if I can read the lyrics. My personal recommendation is listening to the Los Angeles Azules. That may just be because I love them so much. But the main reason I recommend this is because when you know the words, or how they are separated so it doesn’t sound like a bunch of jumbled up phrases, it will help you understand the language when it is being spoken directly to you. On top of that, it will help you to know how the words are supposed to sound.
4. Similar to the previous, if you watch a movie. Either set Spanish subtitles with English audio or vise-versa. This technique will also help with learning how words are used, and when they are used. When you get really familiar with the language, I recommend trying to watch your show or movie without subtitles and in Spanish audio, or Spanish audio with Spanish subtitles.
5. It’s always good to have a language dictionary on you, and it’s a lot better than Google translate, which is actually kind of sucky with most translations. That way you can search for words on hand if you are trying to have a conversation with someone.
6. This is probably the best one, but if you have the ability to move to a country where you can learn Spanish–that is literally the best opportunity you will get. Like with what happened with me, I didn’t have the ability to speak my native language. However, the cultural immersion helped me to learn Spanish FAST. Like, in a month. If you can’t do that–then find people that know Spanish and ask if you could practice your Spanish with them.
7. At the Mission, we are blessed to have a translator for every church service, class, and daily devotionals. If you have a similar opportunity to hear a translator, take it. Instead of listening to the English, listen to the Spanish instead. Your brain will still pick up the English, but if you focus on the Spanish, that will help you to learn more. 
8. Have grammar charts with you, or in a place that you go to all of the time. Like, with verb conjugation and verb tenses and sentence structure. That will help you with speaking or writing in Spanish, and understanding sentences better. 

Honestly, those are the best ways to learn. That is how I learned. The best way, out of all of those, is cultural immersion. I promise. And, of course, it will take effort. But in the long run, it’s worth it. Not only is it cool to know another language, but it is so useful and sometimes necessary for situations. Not only that, but if you love people like I do, you just want to be able to talk to everyone. I promise, it’s a lot more fun to speak to Spanish speakers when you actually know what they are saying. Te prometo.