Transcription
Now then, this conversation is the, the final test, the final proof of my challenge, of, of my challenge, that well, during the last 3 months I was learning Spanish and I went from practically zero to the level I have today, that well, in this conversation we are going to talk about how I did it, why I did it, all the details. But for me it was a personal challenge and the goal was not, well, a native level because well, it's impossible with only 3 months, but well, to be able to hold basic conversations with quite a lot of fluency. And the final goal is, well, this conversation with a native speaker on Italki. Well, it's the second, no, the third time that I'm talking with a native speaker and okay, well, that's the, the challenge. Well, can you introduce yourself a bit for the people who are watching this video. Ah, yes, of course. I am Luisa, I am from Colombia, I am a Spanish teacher, I am also an English teacher. I have been, this will be my eighth year, uh, helping people learn Spanish and English. You are an English teacher in Colombia too. I am an English teacher here in Colombia and also on Italki, a Spanish teacher for foreigners who want to learn my language. Okay, okay. Well, uh, I personally chose to learn Spanish because there are many languages. My YouTube channel is not about learning Spanish, it's about, well, languages in general, but personally I chose Spanish because as many, ah, well, particularly in the United States, I studied it, I studied it in school for, well, several years, but to be honest, I was one of the worst, I was one of the worst students in Spanish and I left high school without being able to hold even a basic conversation. Well, the truth is that at the time I prioritized university admissions, that well, I studied systems engineering, so Spanish was not important and I focused a lot on mathematics, sciences, and now, well, 12 or maybe 13 years have passed. So at the beginning of the challenge, my level was, well, practically zero. Wow. And I decided to take it up again with this 3-month challenge and culminate it with this video call. And for me, it was, I felt like it was always a, how do you say? Well, a failure. A pending failure not having learned Spanish. Okay. You mentioned to me, I'm curious, you mentioned to me about your channel, that it's about learning and languages, apart from English, of course, and now Spanish. What other languages, uh, did you learn or can you speak? Ah, I also learned Japanese, which is much more difficult, but my, this can also be an important warning because most people who, well, who are watching this video or listening, are from the United States, well, English speakers, but I am a speaker, yes, they are from the United States and I am a native speaker of French, so, well, it gives me a certain advantage with Spanish, yes? Uh, compared to someone whose native language is English. Even so, in the United States there is an institute called the FSI, which is the Foreign Service Institute, which is responsible for teaching languages to people there and it classifies Spanish as one of the easiest languages for English speakers, ah, with, well, French, uh, I don't know, well, Afrikaans, I don't know how to say it in Spanish, but it's quite easy. So with a sensible program for English speakers, it is an achievable goal, well, to learn Spanish in a rather short period. But well, what I achieved in just 3 months might take people who are watching this video six months, because I am a native speaker of French, but well, 6 months is quite short. It is, yes, it is very little time to speak a language. What was your plan to organize yourself for these 3 months? What did you do? Yes, well, uh, in general, I used five main tools to learn Spanish and the first tool is, well, it's not a tool, it's an activity that a professor, a professor named Paul Nation, whom I interviewed on my channel, ah, calls rehearsed speeches. It's a very, very simple activity, you just have to, well, write speeches or sentences and memorize them. It's very, very simple. And now that, well, I'm talking to you, I'm using many words, many, well, parts of speeches that I have learned. I think this sounds, how do you say?, strange to many, this activity and many criticize this type of activity because nowadays it's fashionable to talk about immersion, well, all these things, saying that memorization doesn't work. But well, this activity is in the book of Professor Paul Nation and it has scientific backing. And I proved that it works, that well, now I am speaking using the rehearsed speeches and the sentences that I have learned. All these speeches and sentences help me to speak more fluently because I can speak with things that, well, structures, parts, and patterns of speeches that I already have fresh in my head, because I know in what type of situation I will use the language. Well, in this conversation we talk about language learning, that, uh, I have learned a lot of vocabulary about this and, well, it's a very underestimated activity, I think. That is, well, the first activity. What do you think of it? It seems a bit strange, doesn't it? Not so much. I always greatly value the power of memorization. It's true what they say about immersion. It's a way for one to learn a language if you are immersed in it, but also when you can't be immersed in the language, I feel that memorization, as you said, is very underestimated. And personally, it's something I use a lot in my classes, like certain phrases, yes, like certain phrases, because many times many students tend to translate directly from one language to another, but memorizing a complete phrase is much better, because if you try to translate from one language to another, what you are saying in the other language might not make sense at all. So, rather than being able to memorize certain phrases in certain situations is very beneficial. So, I find it very interesting that it is one of the first methods you used. And you have also studied, well, you have learned, uh, English, your video on Italki. I think your English level is very high. How did you learn English? Well, just like you mentioned, here in Colombia, in schools, English is just another subject. So for several years they teach you, well, different grammatical forms, different, uh, types of sentences, but depending on your level of education, if it's an education where it's bilingual or where it's just intensive English, then one can learn a lot or not. In my case, I did not attend a bilingual school, the rest of the English I learned, I learned it on my own as well. And yes, well, I've talked about the first tool, but I used five main tools, so the second one was, well, it's very simple, a physical book to learn Spanish called Asimil Spanish. I don't know if you know this book. No, I really don't. Can you tell me more about it? Well, it's not special, but it's a rather short book with a hundred lessons that, well, in my case, it's approximately one lesson a day and it worked for me. Uh, the third tool, which is very important, was, well, vocabulary flashcards. At the beginning of the challenge, I already had a package of flashcards to learn Spanish that is, well, for sale, but it contains, well, more than 10,000 cards. I think with such a short period as 3 months, it's too much. Yes. And that's why I created a new one with the essentials, the 2,000 most frequent words in Spanish. And well, each card contains a word in Spanish, its translation to English, an example sentence, its translation too, and something that I think is very important, an audio for the sentence, and it has three versions, an audio that is Spanish from Spain, one from Mexico because, well, many are in the United States and most of the people, well, are Mexicans. And the last one is Colombian, which, well, is not necessary for everyone, but in my case, I also used, well, it's a tool, I also used Netflix to, well, as the final test is this conversation. I had to work on my listening comprehension and that's why I watched series, well, a series on Netflix called Narcos. I don't know if you know this series. Yes, yes, I know it. It's very popular in other countries. Yes, okay. Yes, I've talked about it with another professor and he watched it, well, that, what's his name?, Pablo Escobar in this series seems like a very interesting guy, the other professor taught me this, but it's not, well, it might not be exactly like, well, the truth, but the violence, there is really violence in the 80s or 90s, but well, the truth is that the first two seasons revolve around the life of, well, Pablo Escobar and this problem of drug trafficking in Colombia, but my problem was that at the beginning of the challenge it was way above my level and I understood very little, but it was so interesting that I continued. One uses, uh, something called comprehensible input, which is a bit above your level, but not so much that you get lost. And in my case, well, at first Narcos was too much for me, but with the help of the other tools, I understood more and more. I limited myself to an hour a day, well, one episode, and it helped me a lot, even though it was too difficult at the beginning. Have you seen this series? Em, honestly, I've seen very little of it. E, yes, I know it, yes, I know which one it is, but I haven't seen it in its entirety, no? But, but yes, it's a series that is very popular and very well-known, so yes, I know it. My Spanish level is not good enough to be able to, uh, understand all these accents, but Colombian people tell me that the main actor, I don't know his name, he's not Colombian, he's from Brazil. He is from Brazil. Yes, yes. That's something that when it originally came out was a bit controversial because he's going to portray this character who, for better or worse, was very recognized and iconic in Colombia, and he's not Colombian. So, yes, that. And his accent, what was his accent like? Well, the truth is, when you, you are from here, you know and are familiar with the accents of your country, it feels a bit strange. And, for example, I have some friends who are Paisas, which is, well, from where Pablo Escobar is from, and at first it is a bit difficult to connect with something that feels a bit forced, but regardless of that, he's a good actor. So, well, in the end, that passes a bit, but yes, he's from Brazil. And the Paisa accent is an accent from the department of Antioquia. Yes. So, usually our accents are, uh, given by the region you are from. I have an accent from Bogotá, uh, because my department is Cundinamarca. So, this is my accent. If you are from Antioquia, you have a different accent. If you are from the Caribbean, you will have a different accent. From the south of the country, another different accent. We have many, and they are totally different. One from the last. Okay. This, accents are very difficult for me because, well, my original plan was to, uh, practice conversation with tutors on Italki, but well, it's just that my level at the beginning was too low and the schedules were also complicated, and to be honest, I live in Tahiti, which is very far from everything, and sometimes the internet doesn't help. So I looked for an alternative and programmed my own AI tutor, because I am a programmer, and well, it's not the same as a human tutor, but it has advantages, it corrects all the errors, one by one, that perhaps a human tutor sometimes tends to overlook to not slow down the pace of the conversation, which is normal, and it's also always available 24/7. In the case of my application, which is called Island Koala, which, well, the name means nothing, but well, it's a one-time payment, so the way it charges is you pay once and then you have it, so it can be economical in the long run. In my case, I don't pay anything, nothing. Obviously, it benefits me to use my application, but I used it until the end and it helped me a lot for, well, oral expression, uh, listening comprehension, and even writing and reading. It's very useful, it's very complete. I want to ask you, during these 3 months, well, you used your own tutor, uh, with artificial intelligence, but how often, uh, did you schedule sessions with native tutors to practice and see your progress, uh, with native tutors? Well, the truth is that I did, on the day, well, I don't know, halfway through, uh, say on day 45, uh, I had a doubt, can I sustain a conversation with a native speaker for 30 minutes, because until that moment I had not taken, uh, classes with Italki teachers? And well, I had a doubt and to measure it, I booked an hour with a Colombian professor. The conversation was all in Spanish, 100% conversation. Halfway through, my conclusion was that I had improved and could speak a little, but I lacked a lot of vocabulary to understand everything. The truth is that I fell into a trap that I myself have talked about many times on my channel, which is that, well, my native language, which is French, and also English, which I already master, are very similar to Spanish, and so I thought that by just watching Netflix and my Spanish book, uh, it was enough to learn enough vocabulary, but no, my vocabulary was not enough. But during this entire 3-month challenge, uh, uh, only once have I spoken with a normal, native professor, not just once, no? Okay. Wow. That's impressive. I just want to say that everything you've said, the way you've said it, and that it's your second time holding a conversation, is impressive. Your level is incredible. Thank you. Impressive. Yes. Yes. And well, we've talked about the five tools, well, uh, the rehearsed speeches, flashcards, Netflix, tutoring, and the book. Yes, we've talked about these tools, and well, today is the final test. Personally, I am quite happy with what I have achieved in just 3 months. But my biggest limitation is, I think it's listening comprehension and vocabulary, that well, now we are talking about language learning, that well, in my flashcards I have many words on this topic, but well, with group conversations, specific topics, unknown accents, it becomes very complicated for me. And well, my level, I would say, is maybe a B1 in the European framework, meaning that I can hold basic conversations on general topics, but well, on specific topics it becomes very complicated for me. Well, you've only had 3 months, there's a lot of vocabulary you can learn in such a short time, but it's with time and depending on what focus you give to your learning, you did it with languages, but then you can do it in different situations, business situations, more social situations. Even in three months you can learn a lot, but if you continue learning in the same way, will you learn in the same way? Will you continue or will you stop and then reduce the intensity a bit? Well, from now on, I don't know if I should continue with Spanish, or, well, repeat the challenge with another language. Uh, I don't know, well, tell me in the comments, but I can continue with Spanish and, well, we'll see how far I get in six months, a year, or I can, well, change languages, something, well, maybe more difficult, and, well, I don't know, I don't know, but yes, all the resources I've used in this challenge are not, well, the tools are not sponsored, the book and the tutor and all that, so I will leave, uh, all the links to the resources in the description of this video, but well, I don't know, I don't know if I should continue with Spanish. What do you think, Luisa? I think it depends on the goal you want. If you want to say, like, no, I want to be fluent in Spanish, to be able to function in any field, then continue, but you have an incredible level to be able to hold a conversation, to be able to speak to me in different tenses. I understand everything perfectly, I understand you very well, and if that's your goal, that's fine too, and you can move on to another language. So, also depending on what you want, it makes me very happy. Yes, it's impressive, really. Thank you. And you, well, your accent, well, I've used, uh, Narcos a lot to study, so the accent is not unknown, but I was a little scared because I didn't know if people in Colombia had, well, different accents, but your accent seems quite normal to me. Okay. Yes, it's a slightly more neutral accent, and with accents, even I go to some regions of my country and sometimes I don't understand what they are saying to me. So, not understanding accents happens to all of us, even those of us who speak Spanish. So, yes, it's not something one should stress too much about. Rather, the more you become familiar with it, the easier it will be to understand. It's okay. Okay, well, Luisa, thank you very much, it was very interesting. And, well, for the people who are watching this video, tell me in the comments, uh, what should I do? Continue with Spanish or change languages? Thank you very much. Yeah.