Learning Spanish Part Nine : Still Looking For That Horse

What do we know so far? We found the best approach to language learning is to learn Spanish the very same way you learned your native tongue. Lots and lots of intensive listening without speaking comes first. This is how you learned your native language. This is how children instinctively approach learning a second language.

By the time speaking comes, you will have mastered the fundamentals of the target language. You will know how to use parts of speech before you know what those parts of speech are even called. You have got to find a way to mimic this process. You have to find a way whereby you can learn Spanish in the same manner in which you learned your native language.

This is what it means to start with the horse and not the cart. To start with the cart?the traditional way in which foreign languages are taught in the United States (and virtually all over the planet)?will make you a good interpreter of written text but you will not develop speaking skills. To start with the cart could possibly short-circuit your speaking ability forever.

So how does one start? Does one go back and become a child again to learn Spanish the natural way? Is it even possible to come anywhere close to finding a method of language learning that mimics the natural, child-like manner in which we learned our native language? There is.

I know you?ve been thinking the whole time you?ve been reading that this sounds more and more like a sales pitch. If that is what you have been thinking, you are absolutely right. Let me assure you I have no financial interest in what I am about to share.

My interest is this: Americans are expatriating to Mexico in record numbers. They are transforming entire cities into something quite un-Mexican. It is because Americans cannot or will not learn the language. The consequence of their Spanish illiteracy is that they congregate into American enclaves and create ?Little Americas? all over Mexico.

I want that to stop. I am convinced it can if Americans learn Spanish in a non -threatening, natural, fluid, and almost child-like way. That is my interest and is my motive for sharing these methods with you.

Remember this quote from a previous chapter:

?In a study by Petoskey, 1974; Winitz, 1981; J. Gary and N. Gary, 1981, they postulated that the most effective methodology for the adult learner of a second language is one in which listening (that ?period of silence?) before any speaking is done.?

There is a home study course that does exactly this. There is absolutely no speaking in the course. There is just listening. This course mimics that ?period of silence? which research shows children go through when learning their native language. First, there is intensive listening and observing. Then, there is the association of sound, word, sight, and actions that teach you the necessary vocabulary and grammar long before you begin to speak a word of Spanish. The course also takes into account that, as an adult, you have distinct advantages over children because of your more advanced brain development.

?International Linguistics Corporation, founded in 1976, develops and markets premier foreign language teaching programs for children and adults. The language materials reflect the most modern developments in language research and are thoroughly tested at different educational sites before being placed on the market. The language programs are recommended by educators and individuals, and have been used successfully by schools, home educators, and individuals in business and public affairs since 1976. All books are developed so that they may be used for self study and for classroom instruction.? (Used with permission)

The Learnables: The best website for ordering that will give you a comprehensive preview of the courses as well as the best prices is: http://www.learnables.com/

NEXT: Even More Horsing Around

Doug Bowerhttp://www.zyworld.com/theolog/Page1.htm