Learning Spanish
By Kirsten Telwak
What does it take to become fluent in another language?
I started studying Spanish formally during my freshman year of high school. I learned the grammar and vocabulary from a textbook and did writing and listening activities. Having done well in my preliminary studies, I decided to pursue further education, pairing Spanish with various other majors at university. I engaged in a virtual language exchange with a student in Colombia once a week. I studied abroad in Madrid. I started listening to music in Spanish and taking introductory Spanish literature courses. While I was studying primarily to be an engineer, I went with Engineers without Borders to Guatemala to translate for a project. It was there that I recognized how transformative it was to speak with someone in their own language: it took humility and empathy. Tgere was joy in understanding, and joy even in some misunderstandings. I knew I had to find a way to bring more people to that experience. I ditched engineering and went into education.
When I get asked where I learned Spanish, my go-to is, “In school.” It’s an easy explanation. It’s not totally a lie. But looking closer, a more accurate statement would be this:
I started learning Spanish in high school, but I started acquiring it through countless hours of engagement with meaningful, comprehensible language. In high school, Spanish was the object of a discussion. Beyond, Spanish was the means by which I was able to enjoy new books and music, meet new people, and access new opportunities.
Students need to experience language as a tool, and then they must be given opportunities to successfully use that tool to decipher and communicate authentic ideas. When done right, this will set them up for, at the very least, a joyful time immersed in another language, and at best, a future in which they seek out their own opportunities to engage with that language.
Following this thread, at Hildegard’s Cottage, students can expect language to be presented to them in a comprehensible, compelling way. We will read and create stories together. We will talk about our families and our interests; we will name our world, piece by piece. Any explicit grammar instruction will be used in service of effective communication, as we focus first on the meaning behind the language and second on its form. Consistent exposure to language within a meaningful context will be the backbone of a slow, dynamic acquisition process that will build a strong foundation for eventual fluent, spontaneous communication.
It is a privilege to be there when students first realize that they don’t need to know all the words to understand what is going on: one foot in. It is again delightful when they realize that they don’t have to say things perfectly to be understood: second foot in. With both feet in, then, there is little in their way as they take small, consistent steps toward fluency. If they continue to take these steps on their own, without a doubt, when someone down the road asks them where they learned Spanish, they will have quite their own story to tell.
Kristen will be teaching Spanish at Hildegard’s Cottage. She holds a Master of Arts in Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture from Marquette University, a Master of Arts in Teaching from National Louis University, and a TEFL certification. She has taught Spanish at various levels from elementary to higher education, and has taught ESL virtually.
