Improve your language skills!
Skills we practice
Each of the four main skills is important in order to progress.
Many students of a language only practice reading and writing in a new language and never progress past beginner or early intermediate levels.
The result is that possibly after several years of learning, learners can hardly hold a conversation or understand a native speaker.
How we practice
The way we practice is similar to a class lesson. Each lesson is in the form of a post.
Each post has an agenda at the top.
Typical agendas will in include:
- an introduction
- a vocabulary list
- flashcards related to the content
- a reading (story, song, poem, etc.)
- audio to accompany the reading
- a link to recording software for you to read, record and compare
- Comprehension activities about the reading (aka homework)
- A related fun activity, such as crossword, word search, etc.
Translations
Did you notice the language changer in the menu?
It works by simply clicking on the flag to change the site’s language.
In some cases the language is not meant to change, such as in the vocabulary, flashcards and games, and those are unaffected.
It is important to note that currently this site uses Google Translate to instantly switch between English and Spanish. (While its use is discouraged in the classroom, Google Translate has improved significantly).
Using this type of translation has a few benefits. First, the user has control to change languages. Second, content can be produced faster. Third, it allows for contributors of articles not to be concerned with the technology in building content.
The downside is there may be errors in the translation. For practice, this is an acceptable trade-off, at least in the short-term. A future enhancement will a manual translation to ensure accuracy.
Try changing the language …
About
Hi, my name is Steve. I am a licensed Spanish teacher and a certified ESL instructor. Welcome to my site.
I’ve noticed my Spanish skills slipping a bit, so I’ve decided to do an A-Z review. The review that I have chosen is distinctly different than the one used to learn Spanish.
In school, I learned Spanish by memorizing and practicing grammar and vocabulary. Unless one loves grammar, it is a boring way to learn.
Knowing what I know now, that way seems counter intuitive.
Rather, the approach here will be to acquire Spanish through reading and listening actual content that I present with explanation and activities.
Feel free to join me in my quest to improve.
