Nov 6

How to speak Spanish. You don’t know or speak the language of the country you are moving to, What happens?

Amazing discoveries things happen. New horizons. New adrenalin. Travel is an experience and as such is a great teacher. A few years back we moved down to Central America. We only spoke English.

Itching for new discoveries. New culture. Cut-offs weather. Especially after growing up with cold Canadian winters. Freezing your back side at -40 is not my idea of a great time.
Absolutely foreign concepts to many of our Latino friends.

Discovering a new way of life. New ways of thinking. Has been one of the greatest benefits of learning how to speak Spanish.

All of the small things. Even those that are fluent in the language, such as Dave Clark, explains in his discovery.

“Where I currently live in the western U.S., there are many rest homes and assisted living centers nearby where elderly people go to live.

Within about a four mile radius of our business, there are around five facilities with one right next door to our building.

In the assisted living facilities, the people that live there are semi-independent as they usually have their meals cooked for them, entertainment planned, and rides to go places.

On the other hand, usually in rest homes, elderly people need more constant care, both physical and medical.

Both rest homes and assisted living centers are usually very costly.

When I lived in Latin America, I asked a lot of the locals if there were “rest homes” in the area.

It took me a while to even figure out what the word for “rest home” was, because not many Latin Americans were familiar with them.

After asking many local friends, I finally found out that the word for “rest home” is “asilo de ancianos”.

So basically, translated directly, it would be called an “elderly asylum” or “elderly shelter”.

In all of the areas of Latin America I lived in during two years, I only saw one rest home.

Since I lived only in the mid-size to smaller pueblos, rest homes may have been more prevalent in larger cities.

Now let’s explore some of the possible reasons why there aren’t as many rest homes in Latin America.

Their culture in regard to elderly family members is very different from our culture here in the U.S. Older family members will customarily live with their children in the same house.

The reason this happens, according to my observation, is that family ties are very strong, and often the elderly person is not financially independent.

In talking to some Latin Americans themselves, they seemed to have the mentality that parents take care of their children when they are younger so that they will, in-turn, take care of them when they get older.

In the U.S., people seem to have more of an independent attitude.

As soon as teenagers get old enough, or get married, their parents will gently, or sometimes not so gently, push them out the door.

When people become elderly, they often want to stay in their own homes or live in a rest home so they don’t burden anyone.

Compared to Latin America, few elderly people in the U.S. live with their children.

As you can imagine, homes could start to fill up fairly fast in just a few years as children get married and grandparents are also living in the home.

As I have mentioned in the past, there is usually a great attitude of respect among family members in Latin America, especially from children to parents and grandparents.”

 

Like Dave, we re-discovered what family was again. We re-discovered the real value of possessions other then money or what money can buy.

Many potential opportunities jumped out because of the difference in culture and the globalization where people can now live. We are part of the baby boomer generation. Soon we will be in need of assisted living accommodations.

A move back to Canada.

Not in this life time…

Small things like no arthritic pain because of the cold, walking on the beach, wearing flip flops and cut-offs during winter months, outside, for hours on end say no. We will continue to enjoy and treasure our new found friends and experiences as we continue our journey of how to speak Spanish.

New adventures are calling.

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Oct 22

Argentina’s financial collapse in 2001 resulted in a peso devaluation that sparked a significant foreign tourism boom. A result of this was the opening of many quality Spanish schools that provide you with the chance to learn Spanish affordably. As well as cost though, there are other grounds for opting to learn to speak Spanish in Argentina too.

English is not widely spoken by Argentines. In contrast to countries located further north which have more contact with American travelers, businesses, and pop culture, Argentina has experienced much less contact with the English-speaking world. Until recently, the French language was considered by Argentines to be of a higher standing than English and the people with the means and interest to learn a second language tended to learn French.

Although Argentines are fast changing their attitude ({English instruction now being an obligatory part of childrens’ education)~}, English is still seldom spoken fluently by Argentines. This serves as a great benefit for students of Spanish because it will be necessary for them to speak in Spanish to get by.

Argentines are easy to understand. They do not talk overly fast, nor do they mumble or swallow consonants, which can be be common for Caribbean or Central American speakers. Lots of beginner students have trouble distinguishing words when listening to spoken Spanish because they cannot hear the stopping of one word and the beginning of the next. Studying Spanish whilst in Argentina reduces this issue.

Talking a lot is common in Argentina. You will have little trouble getting people to practice with because a talkative culture exists there. It is easy to strike up a conversation with perfect strangers. Confident students benefit from such an open environment.

To take advantage of this{ great language learning opportunity~If this sounds like an interesting opportunity to you,} you just need to conduct some online research.~Just do a little online research.} Whatever your preference, a short month long study holiday, a half year home stay arrangement, or something inbetween, you will be sure to find something in Argentina for you.

Click Here : Spanish Phrases

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Oct 13

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You have a big variety of courses to want from when it comes to assimilating to speak Spanish. Each of these may teach you how to speak Spanish. Rocket Spanish Review

 

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Oct 3

Businesses can no longer ignore the Spanish market and their customer service departments are now fielding experiences Spanish-speaking representatives.Why are people scrambling to learn Spanish? One of the reasons is because Spanish is the largest growing language in the United States and other countries as well. Another reason why people are making the switch to learn Spanish is because in this tight job market, being multilingual is definitely a great asset under your belt when searching for a job.

The software costs anywhere between$20 and $400 but there are many varieties in between.It is interesting to note that Spanish has become one of the fastest growing languages in the United States and just as English has been the lingua franca for business for many centuries, Spanish is also flexing its muscle and gearing to be a formidable force when it comes to business languages. The first reason people want to learn Spanish is because the population of Spanish-speaking people in the United States has now reached almost 45%.

Because many businesses are now marketing to the Spanish-speaking populace and this means hiring customer service reps and and other agents and ensuring that these too can speak Spanish. Employers are screening their applicants and other candidates more than before.

This can cost somewhere between $30 and $300 or more in some instances. Another way to learn s Spanish as a beginner is to have someone tutor you especially when it comes to the simple terminologies.

It is no wonder that we’re seeing an increase in the number of Spanish-speaking agents and workers that companies are hiring. This increase in population, projected to be more than 50% of the entire population by the next 30 years, represents trillions of dollars worth of goods and services. Another reason we see Spanish becoming more popular is because employers pay multilingual workers more than their other workers.

In the local employment guide, there are many colleges and institutions that teach Spanish for an affordable fee. Others include Instant Immersion, Fluenz, and Tell Me More. This is important because this block forms a sizeable portion of the US market not only as far as being customers for goods and services, but also for being workers and fellow citizens.

This is ideal because most colleges do offer continuing education classes on the Spanish language and they are usually affordable although these are mainly geared for personal interest and may not offer any course credits. This is good because you have a human tutor who can correct you when you make mistakes. The above are great ways of learning how to speak Spanish but perhaps one of the better ways to do it and learn fast is to use Spanish lesson software.

This software has received impressive reviews because it can teach Spanish in over 40 different interactive tutorials which involve authentic color images and voice recognition. So what the ways that one can learn Spanish? While these classes are very helpful, many people especially workers do not have the time to attend class and instead opt for Spanish lesson software. This interactivity serves to shorten the time it takes to learn the language.

If you want to know more about Spanish software reviews then you should have a look at Fleunz spanish as well as Rocket Spanish reviews

 

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Sep 16

You might want your child to learn a foreign language because you want to train them for their future in the work place where this extra knowledge might help. Or it might be that you feel knowing another language will increase your child’s intellect. There is research to back this up. Learning a language can help even when the child gets older with her ability to learn anything. It could also just be a sense of accomplishment for the child to speak a different language.

Don’t think your kids will not learn English properly because they are also learning Spanish. They will understand English as well since they will hear it all around them at school and at the playground.

There are many ways to learn spanish.

Passive listening is one way. You can keep the radio or TV on in the background while your child is doing other things.  They can get a feel for the tone of the language and get familiar with some words.

You can try what is called response drills. Once your child can say that someone is a certain number of years old, have them keep telling you in Spanish how old other people are that they know. So they will practice the phrase over and over.

If you are learning the language yourself or know Spanish already, when they make mistake, don’t interrupt and correct. Instead just encourage them and say it the right way yourself if you can. In the beginning the child can learn simple words to get the sounds down.

Board games and computer games are great tools in helping your child learn spanish easy. You can also use some programs for those that want to learn English who are Spanish speaking. If you find something like this in the library, it might help you and your child.

To find anything related to English Spanish, visit English Spanish.

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Sep 3

Learning Spanish can be done even over the internet, through various chat rooms where you can talk to others. This type of learning will be completed with other learning types, like real life courses or multimedia lessons. There are various chat rooms in witch you can exchange messages with other participants and other chat rooms in witch you can speak and listen to others with the help of some headphones.

A Spanish chat room lets you learn how native speakers communicate and the words they use in daily circumstances. It’s very useful when you want to exercise you already gained Spanish skills. But always remember that your privacy is important and don’t give any of your personal information over the internet in a chat room. The good thing is that if a conversation becomes bumpy you can always terminate it with a simple click. Speaking to native orators will turn up to be entertaining and educative after all, even if you’ll have to be careful.

Across the internet, you can find various chat rooms that are especially designed for such purposes. This means, those chat rooms are full of people that are looking for native speakers of another language, so they can practice their skills. People that speak English and want to learn Spanish can enter the main Spanish chat room. Despite popular believe, in these chat room you won’t be finding any young people. The age range varies a lot here and browsing through various internet location will surely lead you to your conversation partner. The great thing is that you will learn even when all you have to talk about is your new baby and her Combi Shuttle car seat.

Learning Spanish by chatting over the internet can help you improve the Spanish communication skills as well as the written skills, without having to be embarrassed by anything, and even when you are zipping your morning coffee. This educative chats are unfortunately not enough and they will only improve communication skills, for grammar and accent rules you will have to take some special courses. Phonetics are better learnt when actually speaking the language than when trying to reproduce it from a book. In these chat rooms you will also be able to learn a little bit about Spanish culture and traditions next to learning the language. If you can introduce yourself in some Spanish social environments you will sooner be able to speak the language fluently.

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Sep 2

You can learn Spanish in online rooms where you can chat with other people. This type of practice will of course be completed with Spanish lessons or online courses. There are various chat rooms in witch you can exchange messages with other participants and other chat rooms in witch you can speak and listen to others with the help of some headphones.

The advantage of Spanish chat rooms is that they let you experience everyday conversations directly from native speakers. You can develop and enhance you writing skills for free in these chat room. Be careful though in online chat rooms and never give out your phone number or home address. If a conversation becomes even slightly uncomfortable you can deny access immediately and ignore that user. Despite all these precautions, you can have real fun during a learning Spanish chat and at the same time practice the language.

Across the internet, you can find various chat rooms that are especially designed for such purposes. In this chat rooms you can find others that are looking for the same thing as you are. People that speak English and want to learn Spanish can enter the main Spanish chat room. In these chat rooms, where fun and enjoyable conversations are in progress are not only young people. There are people of all ages here, and finding an appropriate conversation partner in quite easy. The great thing is that you will learn even when all you have to talk about is your new baby and her Combi Shuttle car seat.

The best thing about learning a language in internet chat room is that there’s no embarrassment reason, no matter where you might be at that moment. Of course, in addition to this you will have to take some extra Spanish courses that can teach you proper grammar skills and accent rules. Phonetics are better learnt when actually speaking the language than when trying to reproduce it from a book. In these chat rooms you will also be able to learn a little bit about Spanish culture and traditions next to learning the language. It’s important to feel as if you are a part of Spanish environments if you want to, someday, become a fluent Spanish speaker.

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Aug 26

Spanish originated in the northern part of Spain. It then spread to the Kingdom of Castile. Spanish is also known as Castilian. The language spread to the Americas, Africa and Asia Pacific region along with the expansion of the Spanish Empire. This was during the period between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries. Spanish is now one of the official languages of the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the European Union, the African Union, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the Latin Union, the Union of South American Union, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Caricom. It is also the official language or one of the official languages of the countries of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, Peru, Paraguay, Venezuela and Uruguay besides the U.S, Puerto Rico, Equatorial Guinea and Spain.

The popularity of Spanish language has been increasing for a number of reasons. This is due to increased tourism, trade and other economic activities that are linked to Spanish speaking countries. This increase is particularly noticeable in the United States, Brazil, France, Italy, and Portugal.

Learning Spanish has become necessary for many. The Spanish that are in demand is the language that is required in day to day functioning. It has to be what is good for effective communication to carry on the increased interaction with Spanish speaking people. This has resulted in a number of faster and easy Spanish learning programs that are down loadable. One such program is the Rosetta Stone which is available as e-book. Check out Rosetta Spanish for more details. This program employs Dynamic Immersion, a technique where words as well as phrases are associated with images. This enhances the ability of the learner to understand their meaning as well as in remembering them.

The program bases the learning on getting the speakers associate words with images such as pictures to make the learning grounded well. It uses a speech recognition system so that you can get an immediate feedback on how well you are able to say and read the words. Grammar is handled lightly in this program. You can check out in the Internet for this down loadable program. Obviously this is easier to learn than the classical language learning course.

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Aug 15

Spanish is the third major language used in the world coming after English and Chinese. Of these languages, English and Spanish are used across the world in many countries. The Spanish language has spread to various parts of the world as a result of Spanish conquests and colonization. Spanish became the main language in Latin America as a result of this colonial history. Since then, the movement of people across countries has led to further admixing and spread of Spanish. This is particularly seen in the United States. Spanish speaking people from the Americas have been steadily migrating and settling down in the USA.

With the introduction of language software programs, language learning has become easier. A variety of programs are in the market. The languages that are in demand include Spanish, German and Chinese. You can actually sample the program with the free course available for most of these programs. You will have an idea of what the course is like. This will help you choose the most suitable one for you. These programs guarantee that you will be able to speak the language in as short a period as three months. Usually, the courses are available for two levels of learning. The first is for those who are just the beginners. The second is for the advanced learners. The content of the course covers vocabulary, phrases, exercises to improve language skills and grammar.

Rocket language is one such language software. Rocket Spanish course can be downloaded or a hard copy can be sent to you by post. These lessons take you step by step at your own space. It is interactive and can be fun. The audio lessons are pleasant.  Stress is given on pronunciation which is weak in conventional lessons which center around the aristocratic language with stress on classical Spanish and its grammar. There are a number of games which is both fun and at the same time makes you grasp the language. Rocket Spanish is one of the cheaper Spanish learning programs. You could take a look and buy rocket Spanish.

Easy to follow instructions are provided to the learner that takes you through the course comfortably. The situations given in the course content are ones that you are familiar with.

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Jul 22

The best way to learn Spanish is by speaking with Spanish speaking natives. Or you can live amidst Spanish speaking people. There are a number of formal Spanish learning courses which teach you in the conventional way. The language that is taught is what is spoken by the aristocrats. But this is not what common people speak.

The Spanish language that one needs to learn is what is functional and relevant. It should be the Spanish that people normally speak. It should be what you will be able to speak with Spanish speaking people such as the Latin American people. How you learn the language will determine what and how much you learn too. The learning should also be enjoyable. It should not be boring and you should not feel tired of it. The language should be what the native Spanish speakers speak. For this, the focus of the learning has to be the words and phrases that are commonly used including the slangs. This will be closer to what people talk normally with each other.

One of the Spanish learning programs that is easy to learn is Learning Spanish Like Crazy. The program is designed so that the learner enjoys the program. You can get more details of what others think of the program by looking at the learn Spanish like crazy review. The program makes the learner to mimic words and commit to memory. It is based on the observation that one learns a language naturally from hearing, observing and mimicking what others say. The language commonly used by the people is precisely what the person hearing it will pick up.

Learning Spanish Like Crazy is a program that one can buy. It can also be downloaded. The program is intended for beginners so that you reach the intermediate level. It is not intended for the expert level. The themes based on which the content is scripted are useful and easily catches the learner’s interest. Learning Spanish Like Crazy is essentially an interactive audio program. It will make you speak like and converse with a native speaker with ease.  

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