Here’s where my journey begins, in the spring of 2023 I created an amazing workbook called Listen Read Speak to help English learners benefit from the entertainment they already enjoy. What I didn’t expect is how much I would be benefiting from it myself. Although I should’ve 😏 because, as a language learner myself, I’m constantly looking for ways to make my own learning more efficient. What luck that I would create a tool to meet my own language needs. It was like finding the missing puzzle piece!
Increasing Language Learning with Listening, Reading, and Speaking
Starting with listening. I love it! I jump at opportunities to find French and Spanish things to listen to. Obviously, if I can get even more out of all that listening time, even better!
Next up, reading. I’m a bookworm for sure. I’ve been gobbling up whatever I can find to read in French lately, but I’m ready to up my game and get back into Spanish literature like I used to. Not that I have to limit my reading to books. Sometimes I forget that reading something as short and sweet as a tweet also counts! It’s a good reminder for myself, and maybe for you too. 😊
Speaking is a different story. I absolutely spend more time speaking in Spanish than in French. I guess I don’t speak as much in French because I feel like I don’t have as much that I can say, but that’s a weak excuse. Speaking in French is something I genuinely want to do more of, and I’m going to keep working on that.
Thanks to the Listen Read Speak activities, I’ve been able to do more involved learning with the above focus areas. If you want to find out more about this involved learning concept, check out this blog post. A positive side effect is that I’ve felt more comfortable with both French and Spanish than I have in recent times. I can’t say for sure that all the credit goes to Listen Read Speak, but using its activities to learn from the entertainment I already enjoy in Spanish and French has certainly helped.
Accepting the Ups and Downs of Language Learning
My journey with Spanish didn’t just start. Although I’ve been studying Spanish for over 25 years, it may be surprising to hear that I still have moments of intense discomfort where I feel insecure using Spanish. Some people don’t realize that language learning has its ups and downs. I love Spanish and it is a big part of my life, yet there are times when I struggle to feel comfortable having conversations in Spanish with people whom I perceive to have an equivalent or higher level of English than my Spanish.
In fact, I remember when I didn’t speak Spanish to my husband before we started dating. Even in the early days of our relationship, I would only communicate with him in English. And when we were around others who didn’t speak English, I mostly stayed silent and only snuck in some Spanish whenever he briefly stepped away. 😂 Looking back, it’s funny to think about how self-conscious I was about my Spanish and what he might think of it. Thankfully, I eventually got over this insecurity, and now I speak Spanish pretty confidently in front of him. Those moments are now fun stories to look back on and share with you.
My Ever-evolving Spanish Journey: Letting Go of Insecurities
But here’s the thing, those moments of self-doubt aren’t entirely in the past. Sometimes, I still get in my head about speaking Spanish and I start to feel uncomfortable like I used to. However, there has been a recent mindset shift for me. I’ve managed to let go of my different Spanish-speaking insecurities and I’ve begun enjoying conversations in Spanish once again. After all, getting to speak Spanish all the time is supposed to be one of the benefits of living in Spain, isn’t it? But it turns out that feeling comfortable speaking another language goes beyond simply living in another country.
That’s why I’ve been thoroughly enjoying my private one-on-one time practicing speaking with the activities from Listen Read Speak. My speaking confidence might not always be 100% every single day, but those moments alone, with nobody to hear or judge me (not even myself, if I can help it), are pure bliss. 🥰 I get to play with the language, learn through things I already enjoy, and find more joy in the process.
Speak with Confidence: Try This Speaking Activity Now!
And now I invite you to do the same! Here’s an activity for you to try right now, straight from the workbook of Listen Read Speak. This one is for solo speaking. Ready? Here you go:
Look around you and see how many things you can name in 60 seconds.
Obviously, you have to say each thing in the language you’re learning.
No cheating until the 60 seconds are up. When the time ends, you can look up any unknown words in a translator.
That’s it! How many words did you say? How many new words did you learn? Remember to record yourself saying them or write them down somewhere and the next time you do it you can compare your results.
