When I was interviewed for my current teaching position, one of the questions the Interview Team asked me was, "What will you do to continue to improve your Spanish language skills?" (Can I be honest with you??) I was a little taken aback by the question. After having lived overseas for 16 years, and raised 3 children through the Venezuelan schools, I felt like I had pretty much "arrived". My response at the time was to hopefully travel more to Spanish speaking countries to keep my Spanish up to date. However, that's a pretty big price tag, especially when compared to taking more classes locally for the majority of teacher professional development!
In the ensuing years I've realized how important, and yet how difficult it is, to continue to grow in your 2nd language while living in the United States! Some of the issues I've encountered are:
1) getting caught in a kind of "time warp" of language. Some of the vocabulary & idioms I learned 10-20 years ago have now been taken over by new phrases. I now sound really dated if I use them!
2) blending my Venezuelan accent with that of my new friends from Perú, México, Ecuador, Spain, Colombia, Guatemala, etc. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of these accents, it's just that I'm now less identified as having lived in Venezuela than I was.
3) getting stuck in your grade level. I'm pretty terrific at 1st grade Spanish, but constantly need to look for opportunities to engage in higher level conversations.
I'm sure I could think of other hurdles if I just spent more time dwelling on it, but the point is, what can I do to combat the diminishing of my language abilities? I'll give you a few of my favorites, and I invite you to share how you keep up with your 2nd language, and actually grow with it!
1) I get involved with native Spanish speakers outside my school. My husband, who is also bilingual, pastors a Hispanic church in Grand Rapids, so I love being able to talk with our friends at church about all kinds of subjects that have absolutely nothing to do with school! I've learned new vocabulary from other Spanish speaking countries, and I've learned to "adjust" some of my Venezuelan terms that are perfectly acceptable in that country, but have entirely different meanings in other countries.
2) I have taken advantage of the opportunity afforded through the Detroit Tigers organization. In Grand Rapids, where I live, the Tigers have located one of their minor league teams. It just happens that many baseball players these days are from Venezuela, Puerto Rico & The Dominican Republic. We have totally enjoyed getting to know & interact with these players as host families!
3) Thanks to friends & family, I have been introduced to a couple of online programs that help me "keep up" I will share these websites with you so you can enjoy them too.
Erika "Tipo 11". This is a monologue from Erika de la Vega, in Caracas, Venezuela. Very entertaining and elightening!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCNZlbSuQz4&feature=related
Les Luthiers--A terrific musical comedy group from Argentina. Great musicians, entertaining, and another way to keep current on vocabulary as it develops.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2eXZXgD6f0&list=PL73EE2B291EC8E996&index=2&feature=plpp_video
As always,
Sheryl René
