Week 6 - Passion Project 2017 - Podcasts

After my bout of sickness last week, I've started up again, and I think the addition of podcasts will really help to increase my ability to understand and speak in Spanish - most of my activities so far have only been about reading and writing.


I had set myself the goal of finding some Spanish podcasts, so that I can continue to learn while I'm driving. I found two that I think will be helpful. The first is a podcast that presents world news in slow Spanish. The website provides a transcript of the podcast, so I can check my understanding or even follow along with the text while I am listening (not while driving, of course!) The second is a more traditional language learning podcast, with units and lessons such as "How to introduce yourself," "How to order in a restaurant," etc. I have chosen to only download the unit review episodes (each unit is 5 or 6 lessons long, with each lesson clocking in from 3 - 4 minutes) The unit reviews are approximately 12 - 15 minutes in length, and I think that my overall language learning skills are sufficiently advanced that the review episodes might be enough to help me improve my Spanish. If not, I can also download the individual lessons!

Week 5 - Passion Project 2017 - A Real-World Encounter

Last weekend, I was involved in a presentation of a piece of theatre. One of my jobs was greeting people at the door, making sure they had a ticket, and giving them any information they needed.

A couple came in shortly before the performance was to begin, and they were speaking in Spanish! I did my best to explain to them what was going on in the theatre, and they were very patient with my rudimentary Spanish... I regretted that I couldn't yet speak to them fluently, and it has motivated me even more to keep practicing and learning!

Overall, I'm feeling good about my progress so far, even though I took almost a whole week off. I was sick, and preparing for a theatre production, and didn't have the energy or brain power to learn any Spanish. Next week is sure to be an improvement!