Free Spanish Lesson #11 – Think in Spanish & change your identity

Mientras aprendía español, I went to a two-month intensive training course, then went straight to Latin America and lived among native speakers.

It was quite un desafío to immediately communicate only in Spanish after arriving, but it definitely helped my language progression. Después de dos o tres meses of living in the country, I found I was able to understand about 75 -85% of what was being said.

Vocabulario de la semana – Vocabulary of the Week

es uno muy interesante para mí – is a very interesting one for me

para que podamos ver – so that we can see

mientras aprendía español – as (while) I was learning Spanish

un desafío – a challenge

después de dos o tres meses – after two or three months

decidí que – I decided that

iba a tratar de pensar – I was going to try to think

en español – in Spanish

como palabras de vocabulario diferentes – as different vocabulary words

en otras palabras – in other words

en un idioma diferente – in a diff erent language

mucho más fácil – a lot easier

en inglés – in English

encontré que – I found that

cambió – (it) changed

con más emoción – with more emotion

sin embargo – however

(había) ciertas cosas – (there were) certain things

otras cosas – other things

me encanta hablar con – I love to talk with

(la) gente Latina – Latin people (in general)

mi teoría es que – my theory is that

también empezamos – also we start

para apoyer mi teoría – to support my theory

que su personalidad cambia – that their personality changes

he hablado con – I have talked with

el contrario – the contrary (opposite)

que vino aquí – that came here

serio – serious

en inglés – in English

lo ven como – (they) see him as

más serio – more serious

otro idioma – another language

me encantaría coleccionar – I would love to collect

“qué” cambia – “what” changes

gracias – thanks

para mí – to (for) me

experiencia – experience

un nuevo mundo – a new world

y también – and also

hace un tiempo – a while ago

tenía problemas – had problems

los problemas – the problems

soluciones diferentes – different solutions

En otras palabras, it can overwhelm you to try and think en un idioma diferente, however if you just try to think using different vocabulary words (ones in Spanish), it becomes mucho más fácil. Anyway, I was surprised that after a few weeks, I could actually do it and didn’t slip back into thinking en inglés that much.

Encontré que when I hit the point where I was pretty good at thinking en español, my personality in Spanish cambió. I tended to express con más emoción and pitch in my voice. I was able to joke with people in ways I couldn’t en inglés.

Sin embargo, había ciertas cosas tha t were harder to express in Spanish and took a lot of work to try and master. En otras palabras, I became better at expressing ciertas cosas and not as effective at expressing otras cosas.

Me encanta hablar con la gente Latina and joke around with them. They’re great people and fun to talk to. Mi teoría es que we become a little more uninhibited when we become fluent in another language. We’re able to talk to others more freely because we know they don’t expect us to speak their language perfectly since we’re foreigners. También empezamos with no mental blocks (socially) in the new language and country.

I don’t have any hard evidence para apoyer mi teoría, but I do have a lot of empirical evidence (gained by observation and experience.) He hablado con many people who have become fluent in a foreign language and just about everyone I’ve talked to states the same thing–que su personalidad cambia when speaking in their second lan guage.

Now, not everyone becomes more uninhibited. I know of a few people who have done el contrario. For example, one of my friends que vino aquí to the U.S. from South America became more reserved and serio after becoming fluent en inglés. In Spanish he was a fun-loving, joking person with a lot of charisma. Now people lo ven como más serio and less personable.

Moral of the Story: Para mí, learning a new language is almost a magical kind of experiencia where you seem to enter un nuevo mundo. I believe that learning a new lang uage helps you gain brain capacity y también helps you think in a whole new way. Hace un tiempo, I read some research where people tenía problemas and by thinking through los problemas in different languages, they were able to come up with soluciones diferentes they wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.

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Written by David S. Clark President/Director, U.S. Institute of Languages. Copyright © 1999-2011 US Institute of Languages All rights reserved.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.