Free Spanish Lesson 43 – Speaking with the natives

Vocabulario semanal – Weekly Vocabulary.

antes de empezar – before starting

buenas respuestas – great (good) responses

que quería compartir – that I wanted to share

tema – topic

hace cuatro meses – four months ago

en aprender español – in learning Spanish

aparte de un buen programa – apart from a good program

para mejorar – to improve

es hablar con – is to speak with

muchas personas se ponen muy nerviosas – many people become very nervous

se preocupan – they worry

no les entenderá – won’t understand them

incorrectamente – incorrectly

español – Spanish

esta semana – this week

una vez que – once (that)

el temor – the fear

lo fácil – how easy

que puede ser hablar con ellos – that it can be to talk to them

unas de las personas más amables – some of the friendliest people

que recomiendo – that I recommend

primero podría decir – first you could say

o en inglés – or in English

que su nombre es – (that) your name is

a menos que – unless

nuestra última frase – our last phrase

mi tarea – my assignment

¿Están listos? – Are you ready?

de cuando – of when

una vez que lo haya hecho – once you’ve done it (subjunctive)

como le fue – how it went for you (singular)

We talked about this about hace cuatro meses, but periodic review of this tema is important to your success en aprender español!

Aparte de un buen programa like our course, one of the most important things you can do para mejorar your Spanish skills and really become fluent es hablar con the natives.

Muchas personas se ponen muy nerviosas about striking up a conversation with a native Spanish speaker. Se preocupan that maybe they’ll say something wrong or that the native speaker no les entenderá. They’re also worried about saying things incorrectamente or possibly getting embarrassed.

To really learn español, I’m challenging you esta semana to start a conversation with a native Spanish speaker. Una vez que you get over el temor of the initial conversation, I think you’ll be amazed at lo fácil and comfortable que puede ser hablar con ellos. In general, they are unas de las personas más amables in the world.

Here are a few phrases que recomiendo to get you started. Primero podría decir say “Hola, Qué tal” [Oh-lah, keh tall] which means “Hi, how are you?”. Next, you could say “Me llamo Dave” [Meh yah-moh Dave], o en inglés “My name is Dave”. Of course, you don’t want to say que su nombre es “Dave” a menos que your name really is “Dave”. Finally, to spark some conversation, podría decir “De dónde es usted” [Deh doan-deh es oo-sted] which means “Where are you from”. And, nuestra última frase this week is, “Qué le gusta hacer?” [keh leh goose-tah ah-ser] which means “What do you like to do?”

Here is mi tarea to all of you newsletter readers. ¿Están listos? Practice the phrases above and set a goal de cuando you are going to approach a native speaker. Una vez que lo haya hecho and had a conversation in Spanish, click here to let me know como le fue!

¡Qué les vaya bien! (May everything go well for you!)

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Written by David S. Clark President/Director, U.S. Institute of Languages. Copyright © 1999-2010 US Institute of Languages All rights reserved.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.