A Spanish Language Learning Journey
Hello, friends. You may be wondering what this video is about. Well, I’ve always had students who study Spanish out of love for this language and who want to be able to travel to different countries and use it. Similarly, there are students who don’t travel much but see language learning as a gateway to another culture, another style of music, another cinema. On the other hand, there are students who come because they have a goal of total immersion in that culture. This is the case with the student I am introducing to you today.
This is actually a full video lesson (podcast version with transcripts, translation, and vocab word list available by clicking here
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Her name is Joan, she is from Texas, United States, and she has been immersed in the language learning process for many years, so one day I said to her, ‘Why don’t you share your experience with all the people who follow me in videos and podcasts?’ She agreed. So, once again, thank you, Joan, for your generosity.
Like many students, language proficiency is a goal, but not always. There are many people who know they make mistakes and take it easy. I believe this is the best attitude. Mind you, I’m not saying we shouldn’t strive for correctness when we speak. I’m saying we shouldn’t obsess over it so much. I believe this has been Joan’s attitude ever since I met her.
Living in the United States, she encountered the closest Spanish variant, that of Mexico, but she also discovered that there were dialectal variations in Spanish. In fact, in this video podcast, she talks to us about her first immersion learning experience in Ecuador. You’re going to enjoy it, and you’ll also be surprised by what she tells us.
At a certain point in her life, she decided that she wanted to settle down in South Spain as an expat. So, she showed up in one of my classes and said, “I know that among all the Spanish dialects in Spain, Andalusian is not the easiest, but I want to live there.” And so, we began this adventure.
I’m sure that for a person who is already retired, staying in their own country, playing golf, and watching streaming platforms for movies and series on the Internet is much more comfortable than going through all the challenges of living as an expat in South Spain. Not just here, but anywhere in the world! Everything becomes complicated when we leave our country. Bureaucracy is tough, and in the case of Spain, it’s quite inefficient, which can easily make one feel disheartened. However, Joan has gone through that entire process, and although she will certainly experience language immersion difficulties now, I believe that, for the time being, the language immersion benefits outweigh them, despite our absurd bureaucracy and its timeframes.
So now, Joan has a highly valuable experience not only with the immigrant population in the southern United States but also in Ecuador and Spain. In fact, if we were to talk about language immersion success, I believe this is the case considering how she and her partner have quickly adapted to life outside their country. That’s why she can share with us some anecdotes related to the expat lifestyle in South Spain.
Well, I have told you enough. Actually, it’s best if you watch this relaxed conversation and let her tell you herself, don’t you think? Remember that this video has a podcast version which can challenge you even more since you can’t see the movement of our mouths and gestures. In that version, you have the transcript, translation, and a vocabulary list. I’ll leave it for you to click right here.
And you? Are you up for coming and immersing yourself in the culture of people who eat lots of delicious food, filled with people named “Pepe,” speak loudly at any hour of the night, and almost always arrive late everywhere?