Welcome to Spanish From Nothing, my name is Justin Ryan, and this is the part of the blog where I will be documenting my Spanish language learning using the interaction pattern strategy. For more on what that’s all about, watch my Spanish From Nothing intro video. But in this video I want to share a bit about why I chose Spanish plus a I have a tiny Spanish confession to make.
Why Spanish?
I’m learning Spanish for several reasons:
First, it is very similar to the English alphabet. When you take up a language that has an alphabet that is completely different than your own, you’ll spend a bit more time getting used to a whole new character system. Spanish has a few different characters, but most of them are identical to characters in English, making one less hurdle I need to jump to get a good start.
Second, is it’s very relevant to where I live. There is a huge Spanish speaking crowd in my city. And even just generally speaking, living in the U.S., Spanish is becoming more and more mainstream.
Third, one of my major goals is to become a Spanish-English interpreter. There are many different kinds of jobs that require Spanish-English interpretation that would neat to have because I would be able to travel and meet new people and experience new cultures, which is something I really like doing.
Spanish Confession
So .. before I get started with my Spanish From Nothing series, I have a confession to make. I am not a complete beginner in Spanish.
GASP!
I know, I know
I took a year of it in college and I also taught a very basic middle school Spanish class a few years back.
Yes, I know this is supposed to be Spanish from NOTHING, emphasis on the nothing part.
BUT
Before you blow the whistle and call foul, let me tell you why this isn’t so important.
First, this blog is for language learners of all types, not just beginners. What I am experimenting with is a language learning strategy, not a grade level. This strategy can be used at every stage of the process.
There are many people out there who have tried to learn another language at one point in their lives and dropped it for whatever reason, and have the desire to pick it back up again. Just as the case with me now.
Also, along with that, I never reached a level of real conversational fluency back then, which is what I want to achieve this time.
Also also, as much as possible, I will still be starting from ground zero, so it can still be classified as Spanish from nothing.
Come experience the craft with me!
So whether you’re a complete beginner or someone who wants to brush up on their skills in another language, please feel free to follow along with my Spanish From Nothing sessions. Even if you aren’t learning Spanish you can still apply the same techniques of the strategy to any language you choose.
Let’s get started!