I’m good at thinking out what I’m going to say before I say it so the content of the conversation wasn’t hard to make up, and it was mainly a matter of translating it into Spanish. During that process my partners and I built up vocabulary around our topic (the Oscars) and then our conversations became much more comfortable and variable since we could experiment with taking it in new directions. Aside from that, it’s been 2 years since I’ve done any Spanish so I really don’t remember anything substantial that has been helping out.
2. What would you say is the most challenging part of speaking/developing in Spanish? Like I mentioned, it’s been quite a while since I’ve practiced Spanish so getting back into it is challenging. In addition, learning a new language is a completely different venture than learning math or humanities. They usually come easily to me so I don’t really have to study or try hard to understand the basic material, but I do for Spanish. It really levels the playing field.
3. How do you imagine practicing Spanish outside the classroom to increase your vocabulary AND comfortability? I plan on downloading Duolingo and using it as a study tool. I’ve never used an app or online tool in the same vein before, so I’m excited to see how it can help me push myself and my Spanish speaking abilities. In addition, I’m bookmarking the apuntes page on my laptop so it’ll be on my mind everytime I open up Chrome.
4. Please give a shout out to your partner. I actually had two partners: Max and Jack. Jack was super helpful with initially translating what we wanted to say and establishing a strong framework. Max was absent and didn’t get a partner the day they were assigned so he joined our group in the last minute, but he jumped right in and really got into it. He is by far the most enthusiastic member of our group, just look at the video!