Voices en Español

Think again. A healthy human brain can learn a new word in less than 15 minutes. The key is repetition. Not saying the word over and over again but hearing it repeatedly. According to new scientific research, a person needs to hear a new word 160 times within a 14-minute period in order to remember it.

That’s a lot of repetition and it doesn’t seem like a particularly fun way to learn a language. But at least it gives one hope that becoming comfortably proficient in a foreign language is possible, even though it may take thousands of hours to get there!

“Can’t learn a foreign language? Not true, say scientists” - Daily Telegraph

Americans are obese, gas guzzling, patriotic show-offs.

All Hispanics are Mexican, and to be Hispanic you have to have tan skin, shiny black hair and a last name that ends in -ez. (Lopez, Perez, Rodriguez, etc.)

Human beings have a nasty little habit of sizing up other people, reaching a conclusion and having that conclusion become the “truth” about that particular group of people. Many of us are guilty of this. Even those of us who pride ourselves on being open-minded and progressive.

Check out this fascinating speech by Chimamanda Adichie, a Nigerian novelist. In it she talks about “the danger of the single story,” the stereotypes that people use to define other people. The video below is almost 20 minutes long but it is definitely worth watching. If you can’t watch the whole speech, fast forward to 8:30 where she talks about visiting Mexico and her reaction to being there. (Also, if you click on the subtitles tab, you can read the speech translated into Spanish. Very nice.)

“I remember walking around on my first day in Guadalajara; watching the people going to work, rolling up to…the marketplace, smoking, laughing. I remember at first feeling slight surprise, and then, I was overwhelmed with shame. I realized that I had been so immersed in the media coverage of Mexicans, that they had become one thing in my mind: abject immigrant. I had bought into the single story of Mexicans and I could not have been more ashamed of myself. So that is how to create a single story: show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again, and that is what they become.”

As of today, Sunday, January 2, 2011, it is against the law to smoke in bars and restaurants in Spain. Yes, you read that right. It is now illegal to light up inside of Spain’s bars and restaurants.

If you’ve ever been to Spain you know that the smell of smoke inside of bars and restaurants was part of the ambiance. A night out for dinner and drinks was a guarantee that you’d return home smelling like you had smoked two packs of cigarettes. It was bad, real bad.

It wasn’t just at night or during social gatherings. Years ago, in Spain, it was the most normal thing in the world for people to smoke inside office buildings, university classrooms and even in doctors’ offices and hospitals.

In 2006 the Spanish government passed anti-smoking regulations prohibiting smoking inside office buildings but giving bars and restaurants a pass. Only large eating establishments had to provide non-smoking areas. Since the majority of bars and restaurants in Spain are small, mom-and-pop owned locations, compliance with the 2006 anti-smoking regulations was lax.

But as of today, all eateries, regardless of size, have to ban smoking.

The reactions on Twitter have ranged from serious to happy to angry and annoyed by the new law. Here are a few tweets:

@MrNynox Por mi genial la #leyantitabaco más que nada por la comodidad de cenar comida y que no venga incluido humo así gratis.

@mividalopez: El prohibicionismo siempre ha demostrado q las ‘leyes virtuosas’ solo generan corrupción, delincuencia y más Estado policial.

@elGabriel: Me voy a echar una siestecita, si los socialistas no tienen inconveniente.

@kurioso: 3 millones de personas dejarán de fumar con la nueva #leyantitabaco. No encuentro argumento capaz de rebatir que eso no merezca la pena

@muyinteresante: En vigor nueva #leyantitabaco. ¿Sabías q el humo del tabaco impregnado en paredes daña la salud? http://bit.ly/bGcFyA

@sergi_rs: Asociaciones de vecinos quejándose del jaleo que organizan los fumadores a las puertas de bares y discotecas, en 3, 2, 1,…

@nosoydolly: Las denuncias por fumar en lugares prohibidos podrian ser anonimas.” Y AHORA QUE ME DIGAN QUE ESTO NO ES LA INQUISICION. #leyantitabaco

@jgaricini: ¿Se podrá fumar dentro de las redes sociales?

Despite all the griping and grousing from smokers and business owners about the law, this is the type of law that benefits everyone in the long run. Five years from people will laugh at the memory of a time in Spain when smoking in bars, restaurants, hospitals and office buildings was acceptable and considered the most natural thing in the world.

In what amounts to one big fat “oh, never mind,” the Real Academia Española (RAE) has reversed its position on previously proposed spelling changes.

Earlier this month, the RAE announced it was issuing new spelling rules for the Spanish language in December. Among some of the more curious changes were renaming the letter Y “ye” (instead of i griega) and dropping the accent marks from various Spanish words. (Click here for more details about the previously proposed changes.)

At a meeting over the weekend, the RAE officially ushered in these new rules but then they did something unexpected. They said that the most unpopular spelling changes will now be considered optional, and that both forms (the old, traditional way plus the new rules) will acceptable.

Why the reversal? The public outcry against the spelling changes was intense and caught the RAE completely off guard.  A couple of Facebook pages sprang up to protest the changes, some of them openly mocking the RAE. There was also tremendous chatter on Twitter and on various blogs about the changes.

But what probably got the RAE’s attention and caused the organization the most embarrassment were the prominent and distinguished Spanish authors and scholars who publicly criticized the changes as ridiculous and unnecessary. The RAE, blindsided by the criticism, probably felt like it had no other choice but to compromise and soften its initial stance that the rules were set in stone.

Gone are the days when an institution like the RAE can make pronouncements like this from its ivory tower and expect there to be no challenge to its authority.

So what does this mean? It means you can continue with the old spelling rules and pronunciations still be correct and current.  Bye-bye to the “ye” pronunciation of the letter Y. We hardly knew ye.

Earlier this month I asked you, the readers of Voices en Español, for your suggestions of Spanish language schools and programs. You responded with several glowing recommendations! (¡Muchas gracias!)

Here’s what you said:

Austin Cooper writes: “I have two schools that I recommend. The first is Cristina Serra in Denia, Alicante, Spain. I spent two weeks here and stayed with a host family and I had a great time. Denia is a really cool place to visit and has a nice small town feel. The people are super friendly and the Spanish is very easy to understand.

The second place is CEICA in Arequipa, Peru.  I spent one week there also with a host family. The culture is fascinating and the food is excellent.”

Terry Hull is keen on Instituto Chac Mool in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. “Spent two weeks. Outdoor classes in a nice environment, great family host!”

Tricia, another Voices en Español reader, has also attended Instituto Chac Mool (twice!) and took her family with her. She writes:

A reader writing under the pen name”Hola Holanda” made an intriguing suggestion:  “Probably this one would be more suitable for advanced Spanish speakers ready to take their Spanish to a next level: Casa Lamm – Centro de Cultura in Mexico City.”

Martha Kowalak-Perez recommends Instituto Hispanico de Murcia in Murcia, Spain. She’s studied there twice. “Class sizes were small, Classes were challenging to my intermediate skills, teachers were very skilled, and the city is beautiful!”

T.J. DeGroat writes that he had “very positive experiences” at InHispania in Madrid and International House in Mexico City (Condesa neighborhood). “The Madrid school, not surprisingly, attracted more students, mostly twentysomethings. Teachers at both were good…At International House I was there for 5 weeks and felt really comfortable. I only ever had one other student in my “group” class, so it wound up being a great deal – super personalized instruction for the group-class price.”

Anna Preziosi suggests AIFS – American Institute for Foreign Studies. “For college students that is very good. I did my junior year in Salamanca and then – and even now – the program is very good.”

Loren McWethy highly recommends the Habla Ya! language academy in Boquete, Panama. “They have really nice facilities, inexpensive prices, and very professional materials. I found that the teachers were good at identifying weaknesses and finding materials that could specifically address these weak areas. I’ve been to a number of language schools and this place was by far the best. I did a week of classes focused on Medical Spanish but had I known it was so good, I would have stayed longer. The school also has a lots of activities, community…and the town of Boquete is really chill and fun.”

Louise Choquette is a study abroad veteran.  She writes, “I have attended 6 different Spanish-language schools in Latin America and I can unconditionally recommend the Proyecto Linguistico Quetzeltenango located in Xela, Guatemala.

I can recommend them because they have very experienced teachers on staff, who actually have teachers’s qualifications. They are also dedicated at making the rest of the world aware of the political and social conditions and the inequities of this world. They reinvest their profits to make their communities a better place (programs for children, electricity, schools, etc.). They supplement their program with meaningful activities such as presentations by people who experienced the war, local artisans and visits to community-based initiatives.

They also have a new option offering distance learning through Skype. I am currently taking such lessons and find them very helpful.”

Have any more recommendations of Spanish language academies? Post them in the comments below. Gracias de nuevo to all of you who have contributed already. The information is very helpful!

The Real Academia Española has announced that in December it will publish a new volume of  spelling rules for the Spanish language. It’s the first spelling update the RAE has done since 1999, which was the same year that the ll and ch were officially dropped as individual characters in the Spanish alphabet. Among the new spelling changes are the following:

• The letter Y, formerly called  “i griega,” will now be called “ye.”
• The letters B and V  will be called by their formal names “be” and “uve” and not “b alta, b larga, b corta or b chica, all common ways of referring to those letters in Latin America.
  
• The prefix “ex” will be attached to words without a hyphen. For example: exnovio, exmarido, exdirector, etc.
• The words guión, truhán and sólo will no longer have an accent mark (la tilde).
• The letter Q will only appear in Spanish when it is paired with the letter U and followed by either the vowels E or I.  (For example: quiosco, querer, etc.). In all other cases, the letters C or K will be used instead of Q. Iraq becomes Irak, Qatar becomes Catar, quorum becomes cuórum.

After the previous blog entry about how to choose a Spanish language school, a couple of Voices en Español readers contacted me to say that they’d like a few recommendations of reputable schools to consider. If you’ve studied  Spanish in Spain or Latin America and would recommend the school you attended, please share the details with the rest of us here on the blog or on Facebook. Be sure to provide the full name of the academy, the country where its located and what liked best about the school or what you would say is the school’s strength.

¡Gracias!

Often the best way to quickly advance one’s level of Spanish is to enroll in an intensive Spanish language program in Spain or Latin America. But how do you choose the best language academy for you?

Occasionally I see people asking for school recommendations in Spanish language and tourism forums. That’s a good first step in compiling an initial list of schools to consider, but keep in mind that everyone’s needs are different. You still have to do your own homework to find a language academy that will best suit your needs.

Here are some questions that I think everyone should ask before they book their trip:

How many weeks do you have?

You need to figure out in advance exactly how many weeks (or months) you will have to devote to this kind of intensive language study. If you can’t afford to go for at least four weeks, don’t expect to get much out of the experience. Yes, you will probably have a good time and meet a lot of new people, but one or two weeks of language study isn’t going to be enough time to significantly advance your Spanish language skills.

If you are a beginner, two weeks is enough to give you a small taste of what the language is like. But if you are at the low-intermediate to high intermediate level, that first week will be spent in review and then the second week will fly by leaving you with the sensation that you didn’t really accomplish much.

Spain or Latin America?

This depends on your own personal preference and language learning objectives. Do you prefer urban settings over rural ones? Do you want to study in a location with high living standards and good security or prefer to be in a place that may be economically disadvantaged and perhaps a bit of a culture shock for you? How important is it to you to be able to travel and do excursions while in the country? If you’re only able to spend one or two weeks, you’re better off sticking to a major city where the transportation and cultural options will be greater.

Some people prefer the accent from Spain over accents from Latin America and vice versa, so you need to decide which one appeals to you.

Also, don’t automatically assume that because a language academy is in Spain that it will be more expensive than a language academy in Latin America. I’ve seen programs in Argentina, Costa Rica and Mexico which cost more than similar ones in Spain.

Class size?

What is the average class size at the language academy? (Anything over 7 people is too many, in my opinion, and ideally it would be nice to have the class size be smaller than that, like around four or five people.)

If you can only afford to go for one or two weeks, you would be better off enrolling in private classes so that the instructional focus will be on you. In group classes, the group can only go as fast as its slowest member, so your plans to advance your Spanish could get easily derailed because of someone else’s level.

Average age of students?

This is an important one. If a language academy tends to attract a very young, immature, college-age crowd and you’re over the age of 35, that could make you feel uncomfortable.

What’s the big deal, you say? Well, again, it depends on you. But language academies which attract mainly a university-age clientele tend to have a more casual, less serious instructional vibe. It wouldn’t be unusual for the first half of each day’s class spent with students chatting with the teacher about their bar hopping exploits.

Background of the instructors?

Read the academy’s web site carefully to learn more about the professional background of its instructors. You want to be confident that the language academy has staffers with longevity and experience teaching foreigners Spanish.

Number of instructional hours per week?

This is very important. You need to ask the school what its policy is when there aren’t enough students at the same level and you’ve paid for a group class. In some language academies, they will reduce your instructional hours if there isn’t a minimum number of students at your level. If you are a beginner, this usually won’t happen. However, it can be a problem if you are at the upper-intermediate or advanced level.

This happened to me a few years ago in Buenos Aires where I had paid to be part of a special course for Spanish teachers. When I showed up, I was the only person scheduled to be in that course and so I was given private lessons, which was great, but I had to pay the school’s higher rate for private lessons. This meant that I received fewer hours of instruction than I had wanted since I couldn’t afford to pay the private lesson rate for the same number of hours as the teachers’ course. So ask this question upfront and plan accordingly.

What’s included in the price?

Some language academies have daily or weekly organized activities outside of class hours. Some of these activities will be included in the cost of instruction while others are not. Then again there are also language academies out there which don’t offer much in the way of  out-of-class activities and you will be on your own when it comes to filling your free time. For some people, this is ideal, but for others, they may feel kind of lost and lonely.

Is housing available?

Unless you prefer to stay in a hotel or already have friends/relatives in the area, don’t try to arrange housing on your own. Most reputable language academies have listings of host families and landlords that specialize in renting out rooms for very short-term rentals. Use that service so that there will be one less thing to worry about when you arrive.

One last thing…

…as you start to search for your ideal school on the web, keep in mind that the large language academies are pros at search engine optimization. That means they know all the little tricks and tactics to use to get their language schools to appear at the top of Google’s listings. But just because a language academy appears at the top of a Google search doesn’t mean it is the best. It just means they’re good at marketing. Dig deeper.

To those of you who have enrolled in one of these intensive language courses, what advice would you give? What other things would you recommend people ask or think about before enrolling? Post your comments below.

Earlier this month I asked for three volunteers to test and review the Spanish Conversation iPhone app produced by Red River Press. (Price: $3.99.) Here’s what they wrote:

Katey Durham  -  5 stars

Bullfighting, a Spanish tradition which has existed for centuries, may be on its way out for good. The parliament of Catalonia has voted to ban bullfighting starting January, 2012.

The colorfully-dressed matador in the ring with the bull is an iconic image strongly associated with Spain. In fact, it’s probably one of the first things foreigners who have never even visited the country will mention if you ask them about Spain. “Hey, isn’t that the country where they have bullfights and do siestas?”

Even though they say they don’t like the idea of animal torture, a lot of tourists want to see a  bullfight anyway. They buy tickets to see the bloody spectacle because “it’s a tradition.” It’s as if they believe that their visit to Spain will be incomplete unless they get to see a bullfight.

But times have changed and there are many Spaniards who find bullfighting a cruel, barbaric activity that should be banned forever. In fact, it was the efforts of Spanish animal rights activists that brought about the vote in the parliament.

At this point it’s uncertain whether or not other autonomous communities in Spain will follow suit. There’s still a sizable industry which exists around bullfighting and Spain’s conservative political party, el Partido Popular, is now rushing to come up with a new law that will give bullfighting special cultural status which will prevent it from being banned in Madrid.

What do you think? Is bullfighting a tradition which should be abolished? Or do you think there is a place for this kind of Old World tradition in a 21st-century modern, industrialized society?