My SECRETS to learning French / Spanish:
Salut, Je m’appelle / Hola, me llamo [Dr. Elizabeth Naranjo Hayes]
• What did I just tell you?
• How do you know?
• What does it mean literally?
• I’m a sociolinguist, do you know what that is? I study the intersection of society, language, and culture: when you give a language to the people, what happens? Dialects, slang, different pronunciations, etc.!
• My Master’s research was in the neurolinguistics of second language acquisition:
► There is a way to learn a 2nd language and store it in the same place that your brain stores your native language.
► That is the way I teach languages!
Some secrets:
• Use CONTEXT CLUES!
• Use CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS:
◘ Pick out COGNATES
►words similar in French/Spanish and English → there are LOTS but they do not sound the same 😐
◘ Pick out what you know, basics
◘ CONNECT THE DOTS
• PROPER PRONUNCIATION!
◘What is the point if you are not understandable?
◘French/Spanish may LOOK LIKE English, but its pronunciation is different – French pronunciation evolved VERY differently!!
◘Type a French/Spanish word into Google Translate and click the audio icon
► it will read the word to you! Write it down for yourself PHONETICALLY, the way it sounds to you:
► ex) Qu’est-ce que c’est = kehs kuh say
► ex) Qué es eso = keh ehs eh soh
• CURRENT music in French/Spanish is another secret!
◘Sing along to the lyrics (Amazon Prime Music, YouTube…)
◘Move to it → uses both sides of your brain!
§ Music is a life hack to break back into the part of your brain that is “pre-wired” for language learning that shuts off at puberty!!
§ Stream francophone/Spanish-language music in the background as you go about your day (wear an Air pod), and…
Don’t even consciously pay attention to it!
I **guarantee** you will soon catch yourself singing along with perfect pronunciation because your subconscious is connecting the dots for you!!
A BONUS life hack:
• Set your smartphone language to French/Spanish!!
◘ You should already know what everything is, but seeing it in FRENCH/SPANISH will help promote more subconscious / passive learning ☺
Unproven tip that I swear by:
Go to sleep listening to a French/Spanish language audiobook. Let it play as you sleep. I have playlists on my YouTube page of nice, positive French & Spanish language audiobooks to start you off:
Lengua es cultura – my teacher store
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/lengua-es-cultura
You can find over a hundred infographics and song lyric resources I have created to help you with Spanish and French at this website! Useful for both teachers and students!
Lyrics Translate – my song translations
elizabeth.hayes08 | Lyrics Translate
I post my professional-level translations of current top Latin music songs and Francophone songs to this website, since the ones I have found elsewhere are usually lacking or not well done at all.