I took three years of Spanish in high school, all to no effect. Joan and I visited Spain a few years ago, and I realized how little I could speak or even understand. However, on the day of our return, I started brushing up on my Spanish using a language app called Duolingo. As far as I know it is one of the most popular language learning apps worldwide. That was 887 days ago. You may be thinking, that is very specific, and if you are, you are very perceptive. The reason I know is that I have an unbroken streak of that many days of daily practice.
Keeping the streak for that long takes a commitment. It was especially difficult two years ago when I hiked 100 kilometers of the Camino Portuguese. Last year was a little more difficult while sailing 8 days in the British Virgin Islands. But difficult is not impossible, and as I mentioned in “The Sixties are the New Thirties,” If your why is important enough, the how will take care of itself.
My why for learning Spanish is twofold. First off, I would love to be able to be conversant in the language when I am traveling abroad. Secondly, there is this thing called neuroplasticity, which is like working out only for the brain.
It used to be understood that you create all the neural pathways in the brain during childhood, and those pathways are hardwired in for life. You can only lose them, and you can’t create new ones. It is now understood that new ones can be created. Those new pathways can be either positive or negative. Negative thinking, attitudes, and habits will create and reinforce those pathways, making them like a superhighway, smooth and fast. It should go without saying that these should be avoided.
Creating positive pathways is kind of like going on a jungle expedition where the guide knows the way and uses his machete to hack a path for others to follow. Only here, the path is new neural connections in the brain, essentially rewiring it. Hopefully, making these new pathways the superhighway.
Learning a new language is a perfect example of how to rewire the brain. Other examples include learning a new skill or playing an instrument, where music is a different type of language. Mindfulness, meditation and visualization are other ways to help hack away at the jungle of our brain and create new positive pathways. Joan and I have been doing crosswords together for the last several years, which doesn’t hurt, but it doesn’t create pathways in the same way; it just helps you get better at doing crosswords.
But that’s enough about that, I am no brain expert. But Dr. Daniel Amen is, and I have read several of his books. If you are interested in learning more about the brain and how we think, I would recommend reading his first book, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life.
I have encountered many people whose native language is not English, yet they speak it so well. I often ask how they learned. Some learned in school, as their country’s education system required it, but most others told me they learned by watching American Television programs, with Seinfeld and Friends being the two most common. I find this very funny, but apparently it is very effective. They are not watching it with subtitles; it comes to them in English, and they pick up the language through immersion and context.
Back to my struggle with learning Spanish. I have used three or four other apps in addition to Duolingo. I didn’t really care for most of them, with one exception. The newest and most effective one is called Dreaming Spanish. It is available online, on an app, and on a YouTube channel. This is an immersive language learning app, meaning that students are fully immersed in the language. There are no subtitles, no written words, and nothing in English. One is exposed directly to the language through dialogue and context. Kind of like people who learned to speak English from watching American TV.
There are four basic levels and hours of content for each level: Super Beginner, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. I am right in the middle and split my time between the beginner and the intermediate levels, but I am focusing more on intermediate. I spend about 15 to 30 minutes each day on Dreaming Spanish content and 15 to 30 minutes on Duolingo content. Even though the time split is about even, I find myself making more headway and understanding more by listening to native Spanish speakers talking. Both resources offer free content and lessons; however, I found that joining the premium service allows enough access to really make some progress. I imagine this is by design.
If there was a class close by, I would attend, without question. But I don’t see myself driving 40 minutes each way into town to take a class, when that is 80 minutes that I could be consuming content in Spanish.
In addition to these methods, I have picked up a few Spanish content books designed for language learners. I also watch Spanish movies on Netflix, usually with Spanish subtitles. Of course, these movies are not designed for language learners, and the conversations are rapid and in real time. I find that through context, subtitles, and my own level of knowledge, I am getting about 60% of it.
I am not likely to pick up an instrument at this stage, but I do like the idea of creating new pathways in my brain, as many of the former “financial market” pathways have been increasingly covered in thick, lush vines. My hope is that by April, when I begin the Camino de Santiago, I will be able to converse at least at an elementary level of Spanish. From previous experience, native Spanish speakers are very encouraging and will work with a person who is willing to make an effort.
I still have plenty of time to rewire my brain and hack away at the overgrown vines in order to create a superhighway of new language. I know it’s ambitious, but it could work.