Jay Gaulard Blog

Learning Spanish Update

Thursday, October 25th, 2007

I just wanted to let you know that I am now on CD 7, out of 8. These, of course, are the CDs that Laura got me for my birthday…the “Learn Spanish Behind the Wheel” ones.

I would probably guess that I am at the second year level. Now, I (me) am not at that level, but the CDs are. I am planning on finishing these up and then listening to them again. They are proving to be really good. I think I want to listen to as much as I can, and then start reading a Spanish textbook that Laura has on a shelf.

After that, I plan on becoming an interpreter.

The Traveller by John Twelve Hawks

Friday, October 12th, 2007

I am almost finished with my second audiobook, “The Traveller” by John Twelve Hawks.

For some reason, the title of this book is spelled, “The Traveler” on Wikipedia, but the cover of the book has it spelled, “The Traveller.” Odd, isn’t it?

This audiobook started off kind of slowly. I was used to the other one I was listening to, which was all nature-like. This one was much darker and more wrapped in suspense. I have to say, it is coming along nicely. It has heated up quite a bit and I look forward to getting in the car. The audiobook has five CDs and I am on the fifth. I am hoping to have it finished by the end of my ride home from work today. Once this is finished, I am going to start learning Spanish while driving. I have the whole kit. This should be good. The only problem is that I have no one to practice on. I have to practice in order to maintain my Spanishness. I will have to figure that one out.

The Real Rosetta Stone

Monday, September 10th, 2007

I was talking to my mother last night, when I asked her if she liked my idea on how to learn Spanish. I’m not sure anyone has really liked my idea. They will see the light one day.

Anyway, I was telling her about Rosetta Stone’s method of learning…the way they use words and pictures. Then she said, “Oh, isn’t the Rosetta Stone interesting?” She started talking about this stone with ancient languages written on it. I had no idea what the heck she was talking about. She explained that yes, there was a real Rosetta Stone. I thought this was pretty clever, the way the company used this as their name. Clever indeed.

Here is a sentence or two from Wikipedia…

The Rosetta Stone is a Ptolemaic era stele written with the same text in two Egyptian language scripts (hieroglyphic and demotic) and in classical Greek.

You can read all about it here.

An Idea How To Learn Spanish

Thursday, September 6th, 2007

I had this epiphany last night. I think it came from a commercial for Rosetta Stone that I heard on the radio.

Rosetta Stone teaches different languages by using pictures of things along with exposing the student to different words. They link the two together for an interesting combination.

Well, the idea that I had was for the student to read a book, such as a novel. The first page would be totally in English, just to get the person going. Then, the second page would have a Spanish word thrown in there, but in a way that’s obvious to its meaning. The third page would have a Spanish word and something like “Yo” instead of “I.” This would go on and on and by the last pages of the book, the student would be reading complete Spanish.

Well, what do you think? I think this is a stellar idea.

Learning To Speak Spanish

Tuesday, July 17th, 2007

Hmmmm…what am I going to do next? As you may have noticed, I need to have a steady flow of personal projects to keep me happy and motivated in life. I am very high maintenance.

I remember back in Henry H. Wells Middle School in Brewster, NY, I started learning my first foreign language…French. I took French for three years in middle school and then Spanish for one year in Brewster High School. I never thought the French language stuck with me very much, but to my surprise, I kept inserting French words in to my Spanish. Oh well, I guess I am tri-lingual. Yeah, right. I virtually know nothing in either language, but at least I know enough English to be harshly critical of other people’s grammar. Thanks mom.

Later on, I took one more year of Spanish during my 3 1/2 year stay at Westchester Community College. I am not sure I retained any of that either.

I always wondered why, on the first day of class, the teacher has to walk in blurting out ten minutes of trash in another language. How does that help anyone? All it ever did for me was to completely turn me off and make me think that I would never learn what they were going to try to teach. Also, why do they find people who’s native language is the language you are trying to learn? I have the hardest time trying to learn the language, but also trying to decipher the person’s accent just puts me over the edge. How about a nice clear instructor who speaks perfect English with a nice English introduction. Then, slowly move into the language you will be learning. That would put me at ease.

I remember I was taking an accounting class at Westchester Community College. I had to drop it (or maybe I failed it) because I couldn’t understand a word through the thick accent of the Indian instructor. He was probably a genious, but that didn’t do me any good.

This has nothing to do with anything, but I just feel like telling you this, as long as I am on a roll. For the longest time, I would fail any math class I would take. I had sucky instructor after sucky instructor. I started to think it was me. Well, I guess I always thought it was me. Well, the strange thing is…the first class (College Algebra) I took with Dr. Rick Dilsizian, I got an A. Yes, an A. Can you believe it? We covered the same amount of material as in all the other classes, but this guy did a bunch of extra things that made learning a lot easier. I couldn’t believe it one day when he handed back a bunch of exams and I was the only one in the entire class who scored 100%. This is coming from a guy who failed every other math class he ever took. So thanks Rick.

I guess my point is this…the instructor and type of instruction matters. Probably more than how smart and capable the instructor is. They gotta get the stuff across to the student.

I have done some research on how to learn to speak Spanish. I wasn’t too impressed with what I found. Laura has a Spanish book sitting on a shelf at home. I might as well just chuck that thing through a window. I learned more in five days in Punta Cana than I did in all my classes. That doesn’t say much for the classes.

I saw a commercial on TV the other day for Rosetta Stone Language Learning. They seem to have a nice tactic on how to get the information absorbed into the student’s head. I took a look at the online demo and was impressed. They mix listening, repeating and visuals. It worked for me. I think I might order the first CD…Spanish (Latin America) Level 1. The only problem is that I have no one to talk to…to keep it in my head. Laura is taking another Spanish class in school next semester, so maybe we will make an effort to be bi-lingual.