Guide To The Spanish Language
An introduction to Spanish without the grammar - A new and fresh perspective with some interesting items on
language and the similarities between Spanish and English
There are many enticing adverts promising to teach you Spanish in a matter of weeks and even those that go as far as “learn Spanish in a day”. The brutal
truth is that to learn any language takes time and persistence, yes you can learn a few words and phrases in a day but to be able to converse with a
Spanish speaking person will inevitably take time. There are just no magic formulas or systems, but there are, many different ways to learn a language and depending upon your personality type and your own inherent linguistic
ability one method will work better than another.
Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences suggests that each individual manifests different levels of intelligences and thus has a unique
cognitive profile. One of these intelligences identified is verbal-linguistic intelligence and those with high verbal linguistic intelligence are able to learn
foreign languages more easily as they have high verbal memory and recall and an ability to understand and manipulate syntax and structure. The theory
was first published in Gardner's 1983 book, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences suggest that although we may be very intelligent in
some things, we may still find learning a language difficult. My own theory is that most British people would not score very high on Gardener’s measure of
linguistic intelligence due to the fact that, we have, for generations lived on an
island and when we have ventured abroad, to build the British Empire, we forced the natives to speak English, consequentially over the centuries we
have become linguistic dunces. Compare that with the Dutch people, a small nation surrounded by many other tongues, who, due to the necessity
to communicate with their neighbours, have over the generations developed, through usage, their linguistic intelligence. In Britain I’m afraid we suffer from
linguistic atrophy; if you don’t use it you lose it. Maybe the solution is for more
of us to learn a second language.
In modern Britain lots of immigrants are bringing with them their own language and this is influencing us as a nation, also with global
communications and the internet we are today becoming far more aware of other cultures and their languages. This has got to be a good thing, in terms
of developing our linguistic intelligence, but as we become more aware of our inadequacies, we are in danger of feeling somewhat overwhelmed and less
confident. We then just give up on the whole idea at a time when we really need to be more courageous and bold. In this increasingly compact World we
really need to make the effort to learn a second language.
The idea of this course is to bring some perspective to the subject of learning a language, to encourage you to have fun and to discover the more interesting
elements of language and to provide a basic introduction to the Spanish language, without getting too bogged down in the grammar. I offer some
useful tips, shortcuts and some phrases that will help you enjoy learning Spanish. Hopefully you will find this more general discussion on learning languages an interesting read and something that motivates you into action.
There are a number of very basic phrases and salutations which we can introduce to provide a
flavour of the language such as “good morning”, “good afternoon”, “hello” and “goodbye”, “pleased to meet you”, “it’s a pleasure”, “I
am sorry”, “thank you” and a big favourite in Spain “tomorrow”. But before we
learn any vocabulary or phrases a word about grammar or the reason we shall avoid grammar.
