Countless times in my life people have spoken to me in Spanish without hesitation, assuming I speak their language. I find it to be the greatest compliment that anyone would assume I speak anything other than English. This assumption has always flattered me so much that I never stop them – for those brief moments I get to pretend that my dream has come true and I’m a fluent Spanish speaker.
My goal this year is to make that dream a reality and so on January 1st I flew to Mexico for two months of intensive Spanish school in San Miguel de Allende. While checking in at the airport, the airline attendant began speaking to me in Spanish very rapidly. I had no idea what she was saying. It had been too long since I’d heard so much and so fast, especially for the early morning of New Years Day, but she was delivering it with such confidence that I didn’t want to kill the illusion for either of us. I simply nodded and after her little speech when a question came up that I understood, I responded, unintentionally making it appear that I understood it all. That was ten weeks ago.
Now the two months of language school have passed and I’ve made my way from Mexico to Spain where I’ll continue my immersion for the next three months. Coming out of the intensive course several people asked me “Are you fluent now?” I’ve come a long way from that interaction at the airport, but to truly speak with fluidity in everyday life and work, two months is just the beginning. I’ll continue attending a language school in Valencia but for just 4-6 hours per week compared to the 20-25 hours per week in San Miguel.
This is the progress I’ve seen so far in my mission towards fluency…
Where I Was Two Months Ago
So rusty – I had forgotten so much
It’d been 14 years since I learned Spanish in a classroom and over the years I sporadically used it on vacations, really only understanding pieces of what I heard. To understand at all, I’d need to hear perfect annunciation at a slow pace, which is not how people naturally speak, especially Spanish speakers.
I needed to start at the beginning again
In my travels to Cuba and Spain last year, I couldn’t remember how to form sentences at all – I could barely speak. I had forgotten the rules for verb conjugation, most of the vocabulary that used to be on the tip of my tongue was far from it and my mouth had lost the muscle memory for pronunciation. I realized I wouldn’t be able to just pick it up again, I needed to start over.
There were things I had never learned
In my immersion course I was quickly reminded of what I had learned before and also realized how much I had never learned. Only in advancing did I see how much of a beginner I had always been.
How I Know I’m No Longer a Beginner
I understand a majority of what I hear and read
In two months I have gone from not understanding most of what I hear to understanding a majority of it, even when rapidly spoken, mumbled a bit or not totally articulate. When learning a language in school you expect everyone outside of the classroom to speak the same pace, accent, volume and pronunciation as your teacher who also makes no spelling or grammatical errors. But then you start interacting with people and realize of course there are spelling and grammatical errors and a variety of pronunciations as varied as the people speaking. I’m getting used to hearing and reading a range beyond textbook-perfect Spanish.
I can engage in conversation
I can express what I’m thinking in dialogue with someone rather than just asking for something or making one simple statement which was my level before this immersion.
I prefer speaking in Spanish over English
There are certain phrases and words that I prefer to say in Spanish over English. I understand their differences enough to prefer one translation or structure over another.
I’ve been learning the advanced rules
I’ve learned the multiple forms of past tense and future tense and started learning about the subjunctive which I never knew existed. I’m beginning to learn about common grammatical errors like when using por vs para and their many translations within different contexts – spoiler, they don’t just mean “for”. I’m also learning multiple use cases for many words I thought had just one meaning.
I can show emotion while speaking
I can smile and laugh while speaking in Spanish – I’m no longer hyper focused on the accuracy of each and every word which is the case as a beginner. In fact, sometimes words come out of my mouth faster than expected and I need to pause and assess whether they were even correct. These moments when I surprise myself are the best!
I understand that speaking Spanish isn’t a direct translation of English
For so long the way I formed sentences was by directly translating English words to Spanish words. I’ve learned that sentence construction isn’t quite the same format and that words or phrases don’t directly translate exactly the same either. Usually you need to take the idea or concept of what you’re trying to convey in English and then reconstruct it in Spanish with a different sentence format. It’s not 1:1.
How I Know I’m Not Yet Advanced
I still don’t immediately understand all conversation
Sometimes I have lag time – I’m still processing some words when the person has finished speaking. Learning even more vocabulary will help with this.
I can’t speak rapidly myself
I can’t say exactly what I want as quickly as I want. I still stumble when finding the right words, not knowing or remembering a word I want to use. Verb conjugation is still complicated, especially now that I know more ways to conjugate. Now it’s not just about conjugating past or present, but which form of past, which form of present, which form of future (because there’s not just one of each).
I can’t understand all accents and pace
I’m not familiar with all accents so certain people’s pronunciation is difficult for me to understand. Just like in English some people are more articulate than others, some use more slang than others, some don’t speak grammatically correct. I know how to listen to a very specific pace and accent and perfectly constructed sentences but still need to familiarize myself with hearing from anyone and everyone, whether they speak loud or soft, with heavy accent or not, with proper grammar or not.
The Joys of Becoming Advanced
I now see many joys in becoming advanced in a language beyond basic communication skills. The most obvious is that with mastery of a language you immediately join a community. You can more easily assimilate with the people of the countries where that language is spoken, making it easier to travel with confidence and familiarity.
In experiencing the depth of the language, you get to know the culture and lifestyle of the people who speak it as it’s engrained in the words, manner of speaking and the expressions and gestures that come with it.
Learning another language is a different way of being challenged in your life – it’s a skill set but it’s something with the pure and singular intention of being able to connect with other humans. Everywhere you go, you are able to practice with the people around you – the city and world become your classroom.
And finally what I think is the most interesting part of becoming advanced is realizing some things will still be lost in translation despite your mastery of the language. Sometimes it’s impossible to translate a word or concept, but it causes you to explain a concept with many more words, creating something much more poetic of what seems so simple in the other language.
