Recall that there are four different base ten blocks: cubes (ones), rods (tens), flats (hundreds), and blocks (thousands). Groups of ten base ten blocks can be regrouped or traded for equivalent amounts of other base ten blocks; for instance, ten cubes can be traded for one rod because both are worth ten. For subtraction, it is useful to know how to trade down rods, flats, and blocks. Trading down means converting larger place value blocks into smaller place value blocks. For instance, one flat can be traded for ten rods since they are both worth 100.

Before describing the subtraction procedure, let’s go over some vocabulary . . .

Minuend – The amount from which you are subtracting.

Subtrahend – The amount that you are subtracting.

Difference – The answer.

In the equation, 234 – 187 = 47, the minuend is 234, the subtrahend is 187, and the difference is 47. Most people don’t bother with the terms minuend and subtrahend, but they are useful in describing the subtraction procedure using base ten blocks.

To begin, represent the minuend with base ten blocks. Try to keep the blocks in order from largest to smallest as this will help to transfer knowledge and skills to paper and pencil methods later on. Remove from the minuend piles, enough blocks to represent the subtrahend. If there aren’t enough blocks available, trade some of the larger place value blocks until there are enough smaller place value blocks to remove. The resulting piles after the subtrahend is removed represents the difference.

In the example, begin by representing 234 with 2 flats, 3 rods, and 4 cubes. The goal is to remove 187 or 1 flat, 8 rods, and 7 cubes from these piles. Removing one flat is simple enough, but 8 rods and 7 cubes are difficult to remove if there are only 3 rods and 4 cubes! To solve this problem, trade in one flat for 10 rods, and one rod for 10 cubes. The result would be 1 flat, 12 rods, and 14 cubes. Removing the subtrahend – 1 flat, 8 rods, and 7 cubes – at this point would leave no flats, 4 rods, and 7 cubes. The difference is whatever is left after removing the subtrahend, so the difference is 47.

For beginners, it would be wise to start with subtraction that does not require trading. For example 1954 – 1831 would require no trading because there are enough blocks in the minuend to remove the subtrahend. For more advanced students, questions that include zeros can present a bit of a challenge. For example, 4000 – 3657 would require several trading steps all starting with four blocks. http://www.math-drills.com has several thousand free math worksheets including subtraction questions with no regrouping (trading). One of the nice features of this website is that answer keys are provided, so students can get feedback on their results.

With enough experience, students learn subtraction on a conceptual level and are better equipped to apply it to pencil and paper methods later on. Students who only learn the paper and pencil method don’t always develop a conceptual understanding of subtraction and are less able to identify errors in their work.

Base ten blocks are not limited to just addition and subtraction of whole numbers. In part III of this series, several other uses of base ten blocks will be explored.

The Charlotte Mason method is named after Charlotte Mason, who is known as the originator of the homeschooling movement. She herself was a homeschooler, and she wanted to establish a basic plan for a complete and effective homeschooling program. The Charlotte Mason method emphasizes poetry, fine arts, classical music, crafts, and classical literature. This method is designed to encourage an awareness of literature and involves reading to the child every day. The child is then asked to tell what he or she has heard. This starts at the age of six. By the age of ten, the child is expected to write narrations in a book. Mason encouraged the use of nature diaries as well. The child writes observations of nature in the book as well. This creates a sense of respect for the environment in the child. Mason thought that good behavior and character were critical for a child’s complete personality development.

The Eclectic Homeschooling method is a combination of several techniques. Innovative parents rely on their own judgment to select topics that make up the curriculum for their own child. These parents are always looking for the best products they can find to help them meet the needs of their home schoolers. Many of the curricula in this method are improvised. This means that, while the basic curriculum is established, parents change it to adapt to the individual needs and interests of their children. The curriculum is generally established according to the temperament, learning style, and interests of the children. These programs typically include visits to libraries, factories, and museums.

John Holt, a public educator in Boston, developed the ‘unschooling’ method. Holt believed that children learn best when they learn at their own pace and are guided by their own interests. He wanted to ‘unschool’ the child by requiring parents to take their cues from the children. This approach has no set curriculum, schedules, or materials. It is the most unstructured of the homeschooling techniques.

The Montessori method had its start in Italy. It was found that children go through extremely sensitive periods in which they experience periods of intense concentration. In these phases, children will repeat an action until they receive some measure of self-satisfaction from it. This method relies on prepared environments to facilitate learning. All materials utilized in this method are meant to satisfy the child’s interior desire for spiritual development. Materials for this method range from simple to complex, and they are relatively costly.

Whatever method is selected, the underlying concept is flexibility and a strong interest in the child’s own desires. The key is to use children’s desire for knowledge to further their education.

The numbering system that children learn and the one most of us are familiar with is the base ten system. This essentially means that you can only use ten unique digits (0 to 9) in each place of a base ten number. For instance, in the number 345, there is a hundreds place, a tens place and a ones place. The only possible digits that could go in each place are the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9. In this example, the place value of the ones place is 5.

Base ten blocks turn the base ten concept into something children can see and touch.

Base ten blocks consist of cubes, rods, flats, and blocks. Cubes represent the ones place and look exactly like their name suggests – a small cube usually one centimeter by one centimeter by one centimeter. Rods represent the tens place and look like ten cubes placed in a row and fused together. Flats, as you might have guessed, represent hundreds, and blocks represent thousands. A flat looks like one hundred cubes place in a 10 x 10 square and attached together. A block looks like ten flats piled one on top of the other and bonded together.

In order to use base ten blocks to add numbers, students should be familiar with how to represent numbers using base ten blocks. To see what base ten blocks look like, and to try them out, go to the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives:

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_154_g_1_t_1.html

To represent a number using base ten blocks, make piles of base ten blocks to represent each place value. If your number was 2,784, you would make a pile of 2 blocks, a pile of 7 flats, a pile of 8 rods, and a pile of 4 cubes. It is useful to arrange the piles in a row in the same order that they appear in the number as that will be useful later on when children learn the paper and pencil algorithm.

Another useful skill to practice is trading base ten blocks. Each block can be traded for 10 flats, each flat for 10 rods, and each rod for 10 cubes. Going the other way, 10 cubes can be traded for one rod, 10 rods for one flat, and 10 flats for one block.

One simple use of base ten blocks that translates well to a paper and pencil method of addition is to add by regrouping. To add two or more numbers, start by representing each number with base ten blocks. Put all of the cubes from both numbers in the same pile; do this with the rods, flats, and blocks as well. Next, trade any groups of 10 cubes for a rod. Trade any groups of 10 rods for a flat; then trade any groups of 10 flats for a block. To read the resulting number, count the number of base ten blocks left in each pile and read the number.

To illustrate this procedure, picture the addition question, 568 + 693. After representing both numbers with base ten blocks and combining the piles of like base ten blocks, you should have a pile of 11 cubes, a pile of 15 rods, and a pile of 11 flats. Trading 10 of the cubes for 1 rod means you now have 1 cube, 16 rods and 11 flats. Trading 10 of the rods for one flat results in 1 cube, 6 rods, and 12 flats. Trading 10 of the flats for one block gives you your final piles of 1 cube, 6 rods, 2 flats, and 1 block. The answer to the addition question, therefore, is 1,261.

If you don’t have base ten blocks, you can use the virtual base ten blocks or make paper versions. If you need addition questions (with the answers included), you can access thousands of free math worksheets at http://www.math-drills.com

In future articles, I will describe more uses for base ten blocks including subtraction and multiplication, and I will continue the series with other manipulatives that can help your child or student learn math.

The education a child can gain from a loving and concerned parent will be much greater than is possible to receive in a public school system. You don’t need a teaching credential or even a college degree, just the desire to give your child a quality education. If there are subjects that you don’t feel comfortable teaching it is possible to hire a tutor for those classes. And on the positive side your home school curriculum can incorporate other things such as your own religious and moral beliefs, something that will not be taught in a public school system. By taking control of a child’s education a parent can shape that child’s value system better than anyone else.

There are two main requirements necessary to achieve a rewarding home schooling experience for both you and your child. Obviously you must have a desire to teach your children, that is number one. If you are doing it out of duty or obligation you may soon find yourself in way over your head and wanting to get out. The second requirement is determination. You must truly want your child to succeed and be willing to put forth the time and effort it takes for your child to reach his or her potential. With these two ingredients your child may be able to realize an education that could not be achieved in a public classroom.

You, more than anyone else, want your child to reach their full potential. This is usually not possible in a crowded classroom environment. A child, to learn at their best, must have one-on-one instruction from someone who truly cares for them. And who better than you can give that to them? Public school teachers are overwhelmed by the sheer number of students they must control every day. With the many different learning styles, discipline problems, regulations that need to be followed and other factors a public school teacher cannot spend the individual time with each child that is necessary to bring out that child’s best. Home schooling can help children to blossom and bring out a child’s full potential like nothing else can.

Do you have doubts about your ability to teach? All you have to do to overcome your fear is to visit a public classroom for a day. Visit a kindergarten class or a first grade class and you will see that much of the time spent is merely controlling the children’s behavioral problems. And the lessons that are taught are usually very simple. In a one-on-one home atmosphere you will be able to progress at your own pace.

With a few home school books and lesson plans you will be able to get started very easily. Remember, you are starting your teaching experience with a very young child. And you will actually be able to learn as you go. With a little preparation it is possible to grow with your child. And the first time you see some of your instruction sink into your child’s brain you will feel satisfied that you are performing a very important task. You will surely be surprised at how effective you can be as your child’s homeschool instructor.

Public school teachers have their curriculum all laid out for them. They must follow programs and use materials that others have already approved for them. They must also move at a predetermined pace so that they can get through their study programs even if it means going forward at the expense of a child understanding what has been taught. You, on the other hand, can come up with your own homeschooling curriculum which can include religious or moral beliefs. You can take a field trip anytime you desire. You can make sure your child fully grasps a specific subject before moving forward. This will allow your child the opportunity to learn as they should be learning and at a pace they can keep up with. In a public system the slower children are often left behind.

There are negatives as well as positives however. The biggest negative to home schooling is your time. Your child will most likely receive a more rewarding education at home, but you will be devoting lots of your time to this cause. This could be a big sacrifice, especially if you are struggling financially and need to work. However, with a real desire you may be able to live without luxuries that will give you the time you need to offer your child the education they deserve. Search the internet for lesson plans, other pros and cons, christian home schooling information, home schooling requirements, home schooling books, eclectic homeschooling and other topics of interest. After researching this subject you may find that teaching your child will be even more rewarding for you than it is for your child. If you would like to develop a special bond with your child homeschooling may be the way.

Low cost:

Online studies cost less than any college direct programs. Universities and college charge very less tuition fee for any online course compared to the direct program. You also do not have to live in college hostel or any other place away from your home. You can stay at your home with your family and pursue the online course. What you require is a computer and an internet connection. You do not have to spend a huge amount in living out of your home and family.

A flexible time schedule:

You will be the master of your own schedule. Time is not a constraint in an online course. You can attend lectures, complete assignments and take exams at your own time. You have to make your schedule as per your suitability. In case of a direct school program, you cannot schedule your own timetable. You have to go with the college timetable. So you are the driver of your own schedule of programs.

Effective learning:

Online learning is more effective due to technological involvement. You will get study materials easily through the internet. You do no have to work hard in taking notes of every lecture as in case of a direct college program. Universities and colleges offering online programs are facilitating transcripts, live discussions and training materials which can be retrieved via mail, e-mail or the school’s website for reading, downloading and printing. Instructors are also available at Students’ convenient times and respond to queries quickly through e-mail.

Convenient education:

Online education is student-centered learning. You can prioritize the things you want to learn as per your convenience. Also, it will be your choice that which distance educational methodology – audio, visual or oral components, you want to use. You will dictate your own terms and make the learning enjoyable.

Performance matters most:

In online education degree programs, there is fair playing field. Here there is no teacher-student direct interaction and the decision-making will not be based on the candidates’ gender, physical appearance, ethnicity or gender. So your performance matters most in online study.

Despite all these advantages in online education, you may face some disadvantages also. Online courses are not accepted by some employers as they think it not so effective like other direct courses. You may not be able to motivate yourself in online learning, as you yourself have to drive your own decision and motivation.

All courses are not available online. Besides, online learning requires a complete dedication and patience from the students. So you have to decide whether an online course will help you or you will not be successful in a distance-learning program. There are so many universities and colleges offering online programs all across the United States.

The pros and cons of homeschooling are many, but do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? With total control over your child’s homeschooling needs you have the flexibility to teach your child values that cannot be taught in a public classroom. On the other hand your time will not be as free as it used to be.

The education a child can gain from a loving and concerned parent will be much greater than is possible to receive in a public school system. You don’t need a teaching credential or even a college degree, just the desire to give your child a quality education. If there are subjects that you don’t feel comfortable teaching it is possible to hire a tutor for those classes. And on the positive side your home school curriculum can incorporate other things such as your own religious and moral beliefs, something that will not be taught in a public school system. By taking control of a child’s education a parent can shape that child’s value system better than anyone else.

There are two main requirements necessary to achieve a rewarding home schooling experience for both you and your child. Obviously you must have a desire to teach your children, that is number one. If you are doing it out of duty or obligation you may soon find yourself in way over your head and wanting to get out. The second requirement is determination. You must truly want your child to succeed and be willing to put forth the time and effort it takes for your child to reach his or her potential. With these two ingredients your child may be able to realize an education that could not be achieved in a public classroom.

You, more than anyone else, want your child to reach their full potential. This is usually not possible in a crowded classroom environment. A child, to learn at their best, must have one-on-one instruction from someone who truly cares for them. And who better than you can give that to them? Public school teachers are overwhelmed by the sheer number of students they must control every day. With the many different learning styles, discipline problems, regulations that need to be followed and other factors a public school teacher cannot spend the individual time with each child that is necessary to bring out that child’s best. Home schooling can help children to blossom and bring out a child’s full potential like nothing else can.

Do you have doubts about your ability to teach? All you have to do to overcome your fear is to visit a public classroom for a day. Visit a kindergarten class or a first grade class and you will see that much of the time spent is merely controlling the children’s behavioral problems. And the lessons that are taught are usually very simple. In a one-on-one home atmosphere you will be able to progress at your own pace.

With a few home school books and lesson plans you will be able to get started very easily. Remember, you are starting your teaching experience with a very young child. And you will actually be able to learn as you go. With a little preparation it is possible to grow with your child. And the first time you see some of your instruction sink into your child’s brain you will feel satisfied that you are performing a very important task. You will surely be surprised at how effective you can be as your child’s homeschool instructor.

Public school teachers have their curriculum all laid out for them. They must follow programs and use materials that others have already approved for them. They must also move at a predetermined pace so that they can get through their study programs even if it means going forward at the expense of a child understanding what has been taught. You, on the other hand, can come up with your own homeschooling curriculum which can include religious or moral beliefs. You can take a field trip anytime you desire. You can make sure your child fully grasps a specific subject before moving forward. This will allow your child the opportunity to learn as they should be learning and at a pace they can keep up with. In a public system the slower children are often left behind.

There are negatives as well as positives however. The biggest negative to home schooling is your time. Your child will most likely receive a more rewarding education at home, but you will be devoting lots of your time to this cause. This could be a big sacrifice, especially if you are struggling financially and need to work. However, with a real desire you may be able to live without luxuries that will give you the time you need to offer your child the education they deserve. Search the internet for lesson plans, other pros and cons, christian home schooling information, home schooling requirements, home schooling books, eclectic homeschooling and other topics of interest. After researching this subject you may find that teaching your child will be even more rewarding for you than it is for your child. If you would like to develop a special bond with your child homeschooling may be the way.

‘Homestays’ can be very beneficial for students. They give the student the opportunity to interact and communicate with native Spanish speaking people in a completely natural environment. It provides a continuous forum in which to practice speaking Spanish and to practice listening to it. Not only this but it gives the student great insight into local culture and ways of life.

From my own experiences I would highly recommend ‘homestays’. I stayed with a local family in Antigua, Guatemala for two weeks whilst studying at a local school. I had my own room and was made to feel like one of the family for my entire stay. One of the best things for me was that nobody in the family could speak a word of English. I was forced into speaking Spanish all the time. Back then my level of Spanish wasn’t great but I still managed to communicate well enough.

Being forced into a situation where you have to communicate in only Spanish can act as a stimulus to the entire learning process. The desire to be understood encourages learning!

The family I stayed with were very accommodating and were more than happy to converse with me and include me in the normal family activities of the normal day. I would sit down with the family at breakfast, lunch and dinner and would often sit around the table in the evening talking or simply watching TV.

One of the benefits of combining Spanish classes with a ‘homestay’ is that you can practice or test out the things you might have learnt during that day with the family you are staying with. I would deliberately try to include new words, or specific bits of Spanish grammar into conversations I was having with the family. Often they would correct me or suggest other ways of saying what I was trying to get across to them.

Living with a native Spanish speaking family gives the student great exposure to the Spanish language as it is spoken in that particular region of the world. I have said many times before in previous articles that the more listening practice that the student can get the better. The act of listening intently for long periods of time can actually be quite gruelling but the more you do it, the easier it will become. Your brain will slowly but surely become accustomed to hearing and interpreting Spanish sounds. I talk much more about listening techniques in a later lesson.

Being in a family environment also gives the student exposure that is completely natural. Conversations that are had around the breakfast table for example are those that any family might have and are therefore completely relevant. The conversations you might have in any one typical day could probably fill an entire textbook of made up role-play exercises. The day will be crammed with continual practice and the best thing is that it wont even feel like studying!

The size of the family you decide to live with will also dictate to some extent the types of conversations you might have. It is a good idea to immerse yourself in a larger family unit if possible and one that has children. The more people you can talk to the better. I remember one afternoon sitting down with the 9 year old daughter of the family I stayed with watching ‘Scooby Doo’ on the TV in Spanish. I had a lengthy conversation as best as I could with her about cartoons and which ones were my favourites and why. It isn’t often you would get to talk about something like that!

Because my ‘homestay’ family included me in pretty much everything they did they also invited me on a night out. It was the mother’s birthday and we celebrated it by first having a traditional meal at home and then going to some bars and finally a club. It was a great experience and a lot of fun. Although I didn’t really think about it at the time it was another example of a completely natural situation where I could practice speaking Spanish.

After the two weeks were up I really felt that I had bonded with my family and I know I my Spanish benefited from it enormously. I felt more confident when speaking to people from then on and the combination of lessons and family living really helped to improve my overall level of Spanish. It really was a great adventure and an entirely worthy experience in every way. If you are looking for a complete cultural immersion experience then I would highly recommend a ‘homestay’.

In this article I have said how important it is to practice listening to spoken Spanish. The more listening you do the better. Joining a ‘homestay’ program is certainly one way in which you can achieve this. In my next article I discuss in more detail different listening techniques and how you can benefit from them.

The Human Cortex

The most striking feature of the human brain is seen in the cortex. This is the folded, hemispherical structure which constitutes the bulk of the visible brain.

It is not present in reptiles.

The cortex is relatively recent. It is perhaps one hundred thousand years old and is the part of the brain most closely associated with our ability to form complex representations of the external world, to reason logically and to use language.

It is much more dominant in humans than in any other species.

Regions of the cortex control vision, our auditory senses, and voluntary movement and touch sensations. It is also crucial for long term memory.

Neurons and Networks

The central nervous system is composed of something like one hundred billion nerve cells or neurons.

Each nerve cell or neuron possesses a single axon along which it can pass electrical signals to other neurons. Incoming signals are carried by a neuron’s dendrites which form a tree-like structure around the neuron.

Neurons are about one micron (1 millionth meter) in diameter. The dendrites are perhaps ten times this in length while the axon varies from a millimetre up to one metre in length.

The signal from one neuron reaches another at the junction of axon and dendrite — the synaptic gap.

The typical voltages associated to these signals are small (tens of millivolts) and travel at about two hundred miles an hour (100 metres per second)

Typically neurons can only fire once every millisecond (one thousandth of a second)

Different patterns of electrical firing activity are associated with different brain functions.

Learning and Connections

The brain is both robust (able to function in the event of severed connections and/or dead neurons) and plastic – able to adapt to new memories and functions.

This is due to ability of the brain to form new connections between neurons. These connections take place at synapses and are
mediated by the release of neurotransmitter chemicals.

These neurotransmitters alter the effective strength of the signal which can pass between
neurons.

During our early years and during any kind of learning process these connections form and change their strengths.

The power of the brain as a computational device derives from the complex network of neural pathways and the simultaneous processing capability of all the neurons.

One such immensely powerful device belongs to you.

You can personally programme this device (your brain) to deliver everything you have ever truly desired.

This Genie within you is simply waiting to be told what it is you want.

So set your Genie some exciting tasks to perform and pilot yourself to a future of positive expectation.

During my two weeks at the school I spent Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 12.00pm studying Spanish grammar on a one to one basis with my tutor. The afternoons were devoted to different kinds of conversational lessons. These included talking in Spanish with various different tutors on a one to one basis, participating in group conversations and playing different types of word games.

Conversational lessons benefit the student in a number of different ways. In my case having conversational lessons each afternoon gave me the opportunity to put into practice the Spanish grammar that I had learnt during that morning. It is always a good thing to try and practice any new Spanish you have learnt, straight away while it is still fresh in your head. You might want to think about constructing certain types of typical sentences that help you remember different aspects of Spanish grammar better.

Speaking, listening and becoming accustomed to spoken Spanish is an essential part of the learning process and of course, having a conversation with someone allows you to do all of these things at the same time.

When you first start to have conversations with people in Spanish you will probably find the whole experience quite gruelling, especially if your vocabulary is limited! This is completely normal. Don’t forget that you are used to speaking in your first language every single day without even thinking about it and to suddenly change this habitual action is no easy task! The thing is that you have to keep practicing. It is like anything, the more you practice the better you become.

One of the great benefits of having conversational lessons is that you can take as long as is required to have the actual conversation, plus, your teacher can make sure you are speaking correctly. In real life situations this is often very difficult if not impossible to achieve. Often people will not have the patience to wait while you try to get your words out or not bother to correct you if you say something that isn’t quite grammatically correct.

The types of conversations that you can have in order to practice your Spanish are endless, which means you can practice using all aspects of Spanish grammar and a full range of vocabulary. To practice different verb tenses for example you can talk about things in the present, past and future or you could practice describing what certain objects look like if you just want to focus on specific vocabulary.

You can talk about yourself, you can talk about events in your life, you can practice describing things, asking and responding to different types of questions, you can talk about different experiences you have had, about things you would like to do, about the things you do and don’t like. The list really is endless!

When I was attending conversational classes in Guatemala I did however, sometimes get a little board and frustrated. I think this was mainly because I couldn’t speak quickly enough, didn’t know enough vocabulary and always had to think about what I was going to say before saying it. Also I was having the same types of conversations over and over again and couldn’t really talk about anything in great detail. In order to prevent or lessen these types of annoyances the school provided group conversational lessons and encouraged the students to play different types of word games such as ‘hang man’ or ‘what am I’.

There is no point in doing any kind of study if you are not enjoying it or if you start becoming board. Varying the different types of learning activities is a good way of preventing this from happening. Playing word games are also a good way of breaking up your study routine but in a way that still allows you to practice your Spanish. Group conversations can help build your speaking confidence and listening to other students speaking Spanish can be quite reassuring. You realise that other people are in the same boat as you and you can also use the experience to test whether you think someone has said something correctly or not.

Making the learning experience an enjoyable one is important and to help achieve this the school I went to in Guatemala arranged different group activities after lessons. Some of these included visiting a local coffee plantation, going on a bike ride and going out for a meal. Getting involved in social activities is not only fun but it also allows you to practice your Spanish in less formal and natural environments.

In my next article I intend to write about ‘home stays’. When I was studying at a school in Antigua, Guatemala the school arranged for me to live with a local family for two weeks. I will discuss in what ways this type of culture immersion helped me to learn more Spanish and practice the Spanish I already knew.

In this article I want to talk about the benefits of learning Spanish through direct exposure with native Spanish speaking people. If you had to, you could probably learn the Spanish language without ever picking up a Spanish textbook! It might take a very very long time but eventually through direct contact and social interaction with other people who already speak the language it could be done. The basic human desire to communicate would prevail.

Learning Spanish through mimicking how someone else speaks the language will mean that you end up speaking Spanish in exactly the same way as they do! On the whole this might not be a bad thing but you don’t want to pick up any bad language habits or speak in an incomprehensible accent. On the other hand you do want, to be able to understand what native Spanish speaking people are saying and you also want them, to be able to understand what you are saying! In this sense a little bit of mimicking is probably a good thing.

Not being understood is a common frustration that many students suffer when trying to communicate with native speakers of Spanish. A lot of the time the Spanish spoken may be 100% grammatically correct and yet people still do not seem to understand it. This may be because the Spanish is spoken in an accent that is completely foreign!

Trying to communicate to a native speaker of Spanish, wherever it might be in the world makes you realise just how important pronunciation is! Not only do you need to know new Spanish words, you must also make sure that you know how to pronounce them correctly. I mentioned in one of my early articles how important it is to routinely do this early on in your studies. Of course if you are in another country and people don’t understand you, this will force you, and therefore train you, to speak clearly and correctly right from the start!

As I travelled through Mexico I really tried to speak to as many locals as I possibly could. Don’t shy away from communication in Spanish just because you know it is going to be a struggle. The more practical experience you can gain from both speaking and listening the better.

My early conversations with people were only very basic ones. Mainly because if I attempted to show someone that my level of Spanish was better then it really was then I knew I would be shooting myself in the foot. If people think you can communicate well, then they are far less likely to make an effort to speak slowly and clearly. In the beginning this is exactly what you need people to do!

Typical conversations that I would have with people were mostly about asking for things in a shop or restaurant, asking for directions to a place I wanted to visit or talking about journeys. Immersing myself in the country I was in meant I had to talk about these things just to survive. They were also the types of conversations that were short and not very complicated! I would prepare myself for the entire experience before hand. I knew exactly what I was going to say before saying it and I knew what types of answers I was likely to get from people.

A lot of the time I would deliberately ask people questions that I already knew the answers to, just to see if they would understand what I was saying and whether or not they would give me the answer that I was expecting. I would also ask the same question to lots of different people to see if they would reply in the same way. Then I would try and get the same information out of other people but I asking the same question in a slightly different way. The great thing about asking different types of questions is that you only have to alter them slightly to be able to adapt them to another completely different type of situation.

A lot of the time I didn’t understand the answers to many of my questions but at least this gave me the opportunity to ask the person I was speaking to, to repeat what they had said. Even if I had understood what someone had said I would sometimes deliberately ask him or her to repeat it just for practice!

This type of practical exposure is a great way of getting yourself started. It not only gives you first hand practical speaking and listening experience but it also builds your confidence in preparation for more complicated conversations that you will have as time progresses. Exposing yourself to native Spanish speakers is also great because it shows you that the Spanish you are learning actually works. You can use it and people understand it. This acts as a great confidence booster and gives you added incentive to improve and better yourself.

In total I spent about a month in Mexico and after a while I was able to have very basic conversations with people. A lot of what I said to people was in broken Spanish however. At this point I wasn’t really able to structure my sentences properly and I knew that I was saying things that were grammatically incorrect. One of my biggest problems was that I was trying to structure sentences in the same way that I would have structured them in English and a lot of the time it simply didn’t work!

It was at this point that I decided it was time to get back to some serious studying. I needed to learn more about Spanish grammar. Being able to communicate in broken Spanish was a good start but I wanted to do much better! In my next article I want to talk about some of my experiences at a Spanish language school I went to in Antigua, Guatemala.