Category: My Learning Project

Two months really flies by when you’re having fun! It’s been a wild ride with EDTC300 coming to an end, but my learning project doesn’t stop here! I’ve loved learning Spanish so much that I intend to keep going for as long as possible. Given how busy life can be, I’m grateful for the chance this class gave me to finally learn something I’ve always wanted to. In my very first learning project post, I outlined some of the ideas I had for the project. I planned to learn the alphabet, pronunciation, numbers, greetings, basic sentences how to order food, ask for directions, and common vocabulary. I used YouTube, Duolingo, Memrise, Mango Languages, and various online websites to learn from. I will admit that I was slightly overwhelmed with trying to find new resources and learning new words phrases. I did my best to learn and gather as much helpful information as I could within the project’s timeframe. Through this project, I’ve explored many different resources available today, and I’ve enjoyed discovering what I like and don’t like about each resource. If I were to create my own, it would probably combine features from all the resources I’ve tried so far. This blog post gives a brief look at what I’ve discovered along my learning journey!

Before vs After

Where I started:

• I didn’t know any Spanish, except for a few words like “gracias”, “adiós”, and “cuánto cuesta?” that I picked up last summer while traveling in Colombia with my partner.
• I wasn’t very tech-savvy and hadn’t uploaded videos to YouTube before starting this project.
• I felt nervous about showing my progress to others.

Where I ended up:

• I’ve made significant progress in learning the basics of the Spanish language over the past two months.
• I successfully uploaded my short videos to YouTube and used various tech tools like Canva Video Creator and Editor, Screencastify, Snipping Tool, and others.
• I’ve gained confidence in using more tech tools to support my learning.
• Overall, I can confidently say that I’ve learned a lot in the last two months!

Let’s look at a recap of my learning progress:

Week 1: My Learning Project: Getting Started

In my first post, I talked about why I’m excited to learn Spanish and explained why I chose it as my project. I shared what I knew about the language so far and lay out my plans to learn the basics: the alphabet, pronunciation, numbers, greetings, ordering food, asking for directions, and key vocabulary.

Week 2: Hola! Let’s Master The Spanish Alphabet!

During my first week of learning, my focus was on mastering the alphabet. I believe that learning the alphabet is so crucial when starting learning a new language. I used online resources and YouTube videos to compare the English and Spanish alphabets, finding similarities and differences to enhance my learning. I discovered the Language Tutor YouTube channel, which became one of my favorite resources! In the first lesson, Dr. Danny Evans provided excellent examples and advice on how to speak like a native. Despite some similarities, I learned about unique letters and sounds in Spanish, like the famous letter ñ. I also created a video where I practiced saying the Spanish alphabet.

Week 3: Counting in Spanish: Your Fun Guide to Spanish Numbers!

During the third week, I focused on learning how to count in Spanish. Numbers are important for everyday communication, like telling time, talking about prices, or sharing phone numbers. I watched lesson 5 on the Language Tutor YouTube channel and used other websites to understand how to count from zero to a million in Spanish. One website I found was really useful—it had a table with all the numbers and how to say them, which helped me practice and get better.

Week 4: Mastering Spanish Greetings and Introductions

In week four, I learned how to greet people, introduce myself, and respond politely. Knowing these basics is crucial for starting conversations and meeting new people. I found two YouTube channels for learning Spanish: Real Fast Spanish covers grammar, vocabulary, and phrases, though it’s challenging for beginners. Language Animated uses animated videos with clear explanations, ideal for new learners.

I used both Duolingo and Memrise to learn these skills, completed lessons on both platforms, and also checked out other online resources and the Language Tutor YouTube channel. For me, Memrise has been a better fit compared to Duolingo. It helped me learn words better with spaced repetition and taught me useful phrases for everyday situations, making me feel more confident. It also kept me interested with its videos and clear recordings of native speakers. It was a productive week, and I felt happy with the progress I made.

Week 5: Ordering Food in Spanish: Happy Hour!

This week I focused on learning how to order food in Spanish, which I think is really important because it’s one of the first things you’ll need to do in a Spanish-speaking country. I found helpful online resources that organized words and phrases into categories like types of meat, sides, and drinks, or by meal times such as breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I also watched a lesson on the Language Tutor YouTube channel, although it wasn’t as organized as some of their other lessons I’ve used before. The online resource that I really liked and recommend checking out is this website that was written by someone who was learning Spanish and working as a waitress. It has useful phrases from both sides – what the waitress might say and how you should respond. Here are the main phrases I learned for ordering food and what a waiter/waitress might ask:

Week 6: Stress-Free Travel: Understanding Directions in Spanish

During my sixth week of learning Spanish, I focused on asking for directions. I explored a new platform called Mango Languages, which I found well-organized. It emphasizes practical conversations, which made learning enjoyable. The platform also helped me with pronunciation, boosting my speaking confidence. Each chapter had short lessons that made learning feel manageable. I learned basic conversations about directions and practiced speaking, listening, and reading. Reading was easiest for me, and I did well on tests, while listening was trickier but I know practice will help. Overall, Mango Languages is a great resource, and I would recommend checking it out if you’re interested in learning Spanish or any other language!

Week 7: It’s a Wrap-Up: Hasta Luego Mis Amigos!

This project has taught me a lot about blogging and video editing. At first, I was nervous to share my learning on my blog. I’ve read blogs before but never been the one writing them. I’ve discovered that I really enjoy sharing what I’m learning with others. It keeps me motivated to explore new resources. Getting comments on my posts is also encouraging because it shows that my hard work is helping educate others about new topics. It’s rewarding to see people interested in the project I’ve been learning. Reflecting on this online learning project, I’ve overcome challenges and learned a lot. I’ve embraced online learning and explored various online platforms. Finishing this blog post fills me with pride and excitement for future growth.

Thank you, Katia, for including this project in your course. It motivated me to pursue something I’ve been wanting to learn, which I know will be very useful in the future. I’m excited to see where this journey takes me! Big thanks to my classmates for taking their time to leave encouraging comments on my learning blog posts. It means a lot to me! Here are a few supportive comments I received that I wanted to share with everyone:

Photo by MissPic on Adobe Stock

Photo by olyphotostories on Adobe Stock

Why Knowing Directions in Spanish is Important While Travelling

Imagine wandering around a Spanish-speaking country, stomach rumbling, but you’re stumped on how to order food in Spanish. I’ve been there! Learning how to order food in Spanish is a must. Whether you’re ordering food at a restaurant, cafe, or even at a street stall, it might be the first thing you’ll do after arriving in a Spanish-speaking country. I am familiar with the classic “una cerveza, por favor”, but I can’t live on a drink alone! While speaking a new language might seem scary, ordering food is straightforward—there’s no need for long chats. Before we move on, let’s cover some essential food words because it’s good to know what’s on the menu first before we can talk to the waiter! This website summarizes it perfectly and breaks it down into 3 main groups: types of meat, side dishes, and beverages. Another online resource categorizes ordering food based on meal types: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I found them very helpful!

Also, it is important to note that there are a lot of different ways to say things in any language. Take ordering food in English, for example; we can say it so many ways without even thinking There is a  YouTube video from the Language Tutor – Spanish channel that introduces very helpful words and phrases for ordering food at a restaurant. It’s a good starting point for learning how to talk in restaurants before exploring more ways to say the same things. However, I felt like it wasn’t as organized as other lessons I’ve used from this channel before, so this week I’m focusing on learning from different online sources instead. I found this online website that is written by someone who’s learning Spanish and working as a waitress. It has useful phrases from both sides – what the waitress might say and how you should respond.

Order Anything you Want with Just 5 Phrases

1.”¿Me pones…?” means “Can I have…?” in Spanish. It’s your go-to phrase for ordering in restaurants, bars, or anywhere else. While it doesn’t translate directly, it essentially means asking someone to put something in front of you. 

• Waiter: Hola (Hello)
• You: ¿Me pones una cerveza, por favor? (Can I have a beer, please?)

2. “¿Me das…?” means “Will you give me…?” It’s a simple, polite, and effective phrase to get exactly what you want.

• Waiter: ¿Qué quieres para tomar? (What would you like to have)
• You: ¿Me das una Corona, por favor? (Can you give me a Corona, please?)

3. “Quiero…”  means “I want….” and it works for ordering anything from drinks to food. Simple and to the point!

• Waiter: ¿Qué desea ordenar? (What would you like to order?)
• You: Quiero una hamburguesa, por favor. (I want a hamburger, please.)

4. “Para mí…”  means “for me” or “to me.” When the waiter asks what you’d like, you can say “Para mí” followed by your order.

• Waiter: ¿Y usted señor? (And you sir?)
• You: “Para mí, los tacos, por favor. (For me, the tacos, please.)

5. “Tomar…” means “to take” or “to have” when referring to food or drinks.

• Waiter: ¿Qué quieres tomar? (What do you want to drink?)
• Customer: Tomo un refresco, por favor. (I’ll take soda, please.)

Photo by M.studio on Adobe Stock

Deciding on Your Order or Needing More Time

If you’re unsure what to order and want something local, try asking “¿Qué me recomiendas?” This phrase can help you discover new dishes. If you need more time to decide, you can say “Todavía no estoy listo” (I’m not ready yet) or “Necesito más tiempo” (I need more time). For example:

• Waiter: “¿Listo para ordenar?” (Ready to order?)
• You: “No, necesito más tiempo.” (No, I need more time.)

Waiter’s and Waitress’s Common Questions

A conversation with a waiter/waitress usually follows a standard pattern, including the following common questions and responses:

1. Question 1: ¿Algo para tomar? (Would you like something to eat/drink?). Your response: Sí, un agua, por favor. (Yes, water, please.)
2. Question 2: ¿Están listos para pedir? (Are you ready to order?). Your response: Me das/me pones/quiero la ensalada con pollo (I’ll have, or I want the chicken salad). No, necesito más tiempo (No I need more time). Todavía no estoy listo(I’m not ready yet).
3. Question 3: ¿Algo mas? (Anything else?). You can respond by saying: No, gracias (No, thank you)
   Me pones/me das/quiero/ me traes… (Can you bring me …)
4. Question 4: ¿Puedo retirar? (Can I take your plate?) or ¿Terminaste? (Are you finished?). Your response: Si, gracias. (Yes, thank you.) Todavía no. (Not yet.)
5. Question 5: ¿Quieres postre? (Do you want dessert?). Your response: ¡Si, claro! (Yes, of course!) No gracias, estoy a reventar/ estoy lleno. (No thanks, I’m full.)

Paying the Bill

Before paying the bill, I think it’s important to get the attention of the waiter or waitress politely, especially during busy times. “Disculpa” or “Perdón” are both polite ways to say “Excuse me” or “Pardon me” in Spanish.

Photo by cherryandbees on Adobe Stock

Here are the phrases you’ll need when paying the bill:

• You: ¿Me traes la cuenta? (Will you bring me the check?) or La cuenta, por favor. (The check, please.)
• Waiter: ¿Quieres pagar con tarjeta o efectivo? (Do you want to pay with a card or cash?).
• If paying with card: ¿Débito o crédito? (Debit or credit?).

Resources

How to Order Food in Spanish

Ordering Food in Spanish

How to Order Food in Spanish Like a Native?

Photo by Halfpoint on Adobe Stock

Like in any other language, focusing on mastering a core set of words and phrases is crucial for building confidence and understanding of the language. Learning basic Spanish words and phrases will provide me with a solid framework upon which I could gradually construct more complex sentences and express my thoughts more fluently.

To make it even easier to learn, I found this online resource that breaks down the essential words and phrases into categories to make the learning process more manageable. This also helps to focus on mastering vocabulary and phrases relevant to particular contexts or situations. Whether it’s greetings and introductions, everyday conversations, travel essentials, or specific topics like food, shopping, or directions, having it all organized into categories will allow me to tailor my learning experience to my personal preferences and goals. I found a couple more online articles: 50 Basic Spanish Words and Phrases and 100 Common Spanish Words for Beginners. This week I decided to focus only on learning greetings, responses, and how to introduce myself.

I looked for a couple more online resources to help me learn the basics of Spanish language and I found these two YouTube channels: Real Fast Spanish and Language Animated. The Real Fast Spanish YouTube channel offers videos on grammar, vocabulary, and useful phrases, however, I found it challenging to follow as a beginner learner. The Language Animated YouTube channel uses animated videos to teach language concepts and provides clear and detailed explanation suitable for beginners.  For example, the Lesson 1 – Greetings, from the Language Animated channel, is a great video to start with to get yourself familiar with the basic words and expressions to begin a conversation. One of the videos to learned from is the Lesson 7 – How to Greet People in Spanish for Beginners , which is, of course, from my favorite YouTube channel – Language Tutor – Spanish. Dr. Danny Evans provides cultural insights, tips, and examples on when and how to use each greeting appropriately.

Mastering basic Spanish greetings is indeed crucial for initiating conversations and building connections with others. After reviewing the online resources provided above, I decided to organizing these phrases into categories to help me practice and memorize them more effectively:

BASIC SPANISH GREETINGS

• Hola – Hello
• Buenos días – Good morning
• Buenas tardes – Good afternoon
• Buenas noches – Good evening / Good night
• ¿Cómo estás? – How are you? (informal)
• ¿Cómo está usted? – How are you? (formal)
• ¿Qué tal? – How’s it going?
• ¿Hablas español? – Do you speak Spanish?
• ¿De dónde eres? – Where are you from? (Informal)
• ¿De dónde es usted? – Where are you from? (Formal)
• ¿Cuántos años tienes? – How old are you? (Informal)
• ¿Cuántos años tiene usted? – How old are you (Formal)

RESPONSES

• Estoy bien, gracias. ¿Y tú? – I’m fine, thank you. And you? (informal)
• Estoy bien, gracias. ¿Y usted? – I’m fine, thank you. And you? (formal)
• Muy bien, gracias – Very well, thank you
• Más o menos/Así así – So-so/Not too bad
• No muy bien – Not very well
• ¿Y tú? – And you? (informal)
• ¿Y usted? – And you? (formal)
• Yo hablo español – I speak Spanish
• No, no hablo español – I do not speak Spanish
• Yo soy de Ukrania. ¿Y tú? – I am from Ukraine. And you?
• Tengo 28 años. ¿Y tú? – I am 28 years old. And you?
• Hasta luego – See you later
• Hasta mañana – See you tomorrow
• Sí – Yes
• Claro – Of course
• No – No
• Por favor – Please
• Gracias – Thank you
• Muchas gracias – Thank you very much
• Muchísimas gracias – Thank you very much
• De nada – You are welcome
• Perdón or Disculpe– Excuse me
• Lo siento – I am sorry

SELF-INTRODUCTION

• ¿Cómo te llamas? – What’s your name?
• Me llamo [your name] – My name is [your name]
• Mi nombre es [your name] – My name is [your name]
• Soy [your name] – I am [your name]
• Mucho gusto – Nice to meet you
• Encantado/Encantada – Nice to meet you (masculine/feminine), similar to “Enchanté” in French.

After learning basic greetings, responses, and self-introduction phrases, I was able to understand this basic conversation for beginners:

I can already see the progress I’ve made in learning Spanish in such a short amount of time, and it’s incredibly motivating. Just a few weeks ago, I struggled to understand even the most basic conversations (example is in the video above). I couldn’t imagine being able to engage in a simple conversation myself. But now, I can greet people confidently, introduce myself, and even hold a basic conversation in Spanish.

I also tried Duolingo and Memrise (as recommended by one of my classmates) applications to improve my learning progress. Each app offers its own unique features and methodologies, so experimenting with both allows me to find the one that best suits my learning style and preferences.

For me, Memrise has been a better fit compared to Duolingo for a few reasons:

• First, I found Memrise’s approach to be more focused on vocabulary acquisition, which is crucial for building a strong foundation in any language. The spaced repetition system they use really helped me retain the words I learned and reinforce them over time.
• Secondly, I appreciated Memrise’s emphasis on real-life situations and practical phrases. Finishing their first lesson on greetings already makes me feel more confident and prepared for my travels, as I’ll be equipped with the basic phrases needed to communicate with locals.
• Lastly, another aspect I liked about Memrise is that it incorporates elements of multimedia and clear audio recordings of words and phrases spoken by native speakers. It kept me engaged during the lesson.

Memrise – Lesson 1 Complete

I’m feeling accomplished and motivated reflecting on this week’s progress in learning Spanish. I experimented with different apps and delved into various resources to expand my language skills. Learning how to greet people, introduce myself, and engage in simple conversations in Spanish feels like a significant milestone. These basic expressions are the building blocks of communication, and mastering them opens up countless opportunities for meaningful interactions, especially as I prepare for my summer travels.

I’m excited to dive deeper into the language next week and learning even more useful expressions that will undoubtedly come in handy during my adventures. Here’s to another week of discovery and growth! Stay tuned 🙂

Are you ready to embark on a journey to learn Spanish numbers?

Photo by Maxim_Kazmin on Adobe Stock

Mastering numbers is a fundamental step in learning how to speak Spanish language. In this post, I will explore the basics of counting in Spanish and share the resources I used to incorporate numbers into my vocabulary. It will not only enhance my ability to navigate practical situations but also deepen my understanding of the language’s structure and sound patterns.

Why Learn Spanish Numbers?

Numbers play a crucial role in everyday communication, from telling time and discussing prices to exchanging phone numbers and addresses. I found this online resource that explains how knowing Spanish numbers can greatly improve your travel experience in so many ways:

• Social Interactions. Knowing numbers is valuable for making plans and connecting with local people.  It promotes cultural engagement and appreciation as it demonstrates respect for the local language and customs. I want to be able to exchange contact information, discuss dates, times, and ages while interacting with locals.
• Currency and Shopping. Understanding numbers will allow me to handle money transactions more confidently, whether I’m exchanging currency, bargaining at local markets, or paying for goods and services.
• Navigation and Direction. Spanish numbers are crucial for understanding transportation schedules, such as bus and train timetables, and for asking for directions involving distances, street numbers, or addresses. When my partner and I visited Colombia last summer, one of the taxi drivers was trying to take advantage of our language barrier, in particular, our lack of knowledge of numbers, to trick us into paying more for a ride.
• Accommodations. When booking accommodations or discussing room numbers, knowing Spanish numbers ensures smooth communication with hotel staff.
• Increased Confidence and Independence. When learning Spanish, the numbers are some of the quickest and easiest vocabulary to pick up. Proficiency in Spanish numbers will help me in a variety of situations and will give me confidence  in communicating with native speakers. Also, it will increase my independence while travelling because I’ll rely less on others for basic tasks like shopping, ordering food, or managing finances.

This week I learned Spanish number using my favorite Language Tutor – Spanish YouTube channel, where Dr. Danny Evans teaches how to write and say numbers all the way up to a million:

Here is a structured approach and some tips I followed to master Spanish numbers:

Start with Basics – Count from 1 to 15.  First, I learned numbers from 0 to 15. There is no real pattern, you just have to memorize them: uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez, once, doce, trece, catorce, and quince. These are the building blocks for larger numbers.

• Tip: Dr. Danny Evans recommends saying those numbers out of order. When we learn numbers in a specific order, such as counting from 1 to 15, our brain tends to recognize and process them as a pattern of sounds rather than distinct entities. By mixing up the order, we can challenge ourselves to recall each number independently, reinforcing our understanding of their meanings. In everyday situations, we use numbers in a non-sequential manner, such as when giving a phone number or discussing quantities in random order.

Learn the Pattern – Count from 16 to 19.  Numbers 16 to 19 follow the pattern: diez (10) + y (and) + ones. For examples, seventeen is diecisiete, diez (10) y (and) + siete (7).

Learn the Tens. When counting multiples of ten, with the exception of veinte (20), the numbers end in -nta, making it easy to remember the tens, such as treinta (30), cuarenta (40) and cincuenta (50), sesenta (60), setenta (70), ochenta (80), and noventa (90). Other than veinte (again), they all have a clear relationship with the related smaller number: cuatro turns into cuarenta, ocho turns into ochenta, etc.

• Veinte: 20 (Veinte = 20)
• Treinta: 30 (Tres + Diez = 30)
• Cuarenta: 40 (Cuatro + Diez = 40)
• Cincuenta: 50 (Cinco + Diez = 50)
• Sesenta: 60 (Seis + Diez = 60)
• Setenta: 70 (Siete + Diez = 70)
• Ochenta: 80 (Ocho + Diez = 80)
• Noventa: 90 (Nueve + Diez = 90)

Learn the Pattern – Count from 20 to 99. Numbers 20 to 99 follow the pattern similar to numbers 16 to 19 of diez (10) + y (and) + ones. For example, treinta y dos (32) or sesenta y cinco (65). Notice the pattern of “y” which means “and” in Spanish between the tens and units, except for veintiuno (21) where there’s no “y”. This pattern continues until 99.

Learn Spanish Numbers Beyond 100. In Spanish, cien means “one hundred”. For numbers between 101 and 199, use “ciento” (one hundred) followed by the specific number. For example, ciento uno (101) or ciento veinte (120). When counting in hundreds, you start with the number of hundreds followed by “cientos” (for one hundred). Here’s the pattern:

• Doscientos: 200 (Dos + Cientos)
• Trescientos: 300 (Tres + Cientos)
• Cuatrocientos: 400 (Cuatro + Cientos)
• Quinientos: 500 (Quinientos)
• Seiscientos: 600 (Seis + Cientos)
• Setecientos: 700 (Siete + Cientos)
• Ochocientos: 800 (Ocho + Cientos)
• Novecientos: 900 (Nueve + Cientos)

Count the Thousands (Mil): After reaching 1000, the pattern repeats with “mil” (thousand). Combine the appropriate thousands, hundreds, tens, and units to form larger numbers. For example, dos mil: 2000 (Dos + Mil) or tres mil quinientos: 3500 (Tres + Mil + Quinientos).

Count Beyond Thousands: The pattern continues for larger numbers. For example: diez mil: 10,000, cien mil: 100,000, un millón: 1,000,000, dos millones quinientos mil: 2,500,000.

I liked that Dr. Danny Evan’s lesson and other online resources I used provided the patterns for learners to follow, making the learning process more manageable and less overwhelming. Understanding the patterns and following a clear structure made learning the numbers easier and more effective! I also found this great online resource that tabulates all the numbers and their pronunciation. I plan to print it out and keep practicing! Consistent practice, especially with pronunciation, will help me become more confident and fluent in using Spanish numbers.

Next week I plan on learning basic Spanish words/expressions and trying out a Duolingo app! Wish me luck! 🙂

Alright everyone, let’s start this adventure! Welcome to my second week of learning another language! Honestly, I feel like Spanish won’t be a hard language to learn, but we shall see!

Photo by nito on Adobe Stock

ENGLISH vs SPANISH ALPAHBETS

As a beginner learner, I think it is important to start with the alphabet and pronunciation, as it will give me a solid foundation to learn on. Before I dive into learning the Spanish alphabet and pronunciation, I wanted to pay attention to a few key similarities and differences between English and Spanish languages. Doing so will help me spell in Spanish in no time! After reviewing a several online resources, I put together a comparison summary between the English and Spanish alphabets:

Similarities

• Alphabet origin. Both English and Spanish languages share the same alphabet – the Latin Alphabet. This alphabet, also known as a Roman alphabet, was originally used by ancient Romans, and is now used to write hundreds of different languages.
• The same letters. I find English and Spanish alphabets very similar which makes learning Spanish a lot easier than learning a language with a different alphabet like Japanese, for example.  There is no need to learn a whole new alphabet, how exciting!!

Differences

Number of letters. English alphabet has 26 letters, while Spanish has 27 letters, including the famous Spanish “ñ” letter.

Pronunciation. In comparison to English, Spanish is a very straightforward language when it comes to pronunciation. English language has 44 phonemes, individual speech sounds, while Spanish has only 25! There are way more sounds to learn in English than in Spanish, isn’t it surprising? Each letter has its own sound and will always (with some exceptions) make that sound, no matter where it’s placed in a word. However, there are some different sounds in Spanish language that don’t exist in English.

SPANISH ALPHABET

I found this YouTube video lesson on how to learn Spanish alphabet. It was very helpful: straight to the point and with no long unnecessary pauses, just examples and pronunciation – exactly what I needed to start with! Then I looked for more online resources to find further explanation on each letter, including the examples and tips on how to sound like a native speaker. For example, lesson 1 on the Language Tutor YouTube channel was very easy to learn from. Dr. Danny Evans had very good examples and tips on how to sound like a native speaker. I am enjoying the learning process so far!

Pronunciation Guide and Tips on How to Sounds Like a Native Speaker

Vowels. In Spanish, 90% of pronunciation and reading is knowing your vowels. All vowels are always pronounced the same (unless paired with another vowel). Letter “a” sounds like “aa” (lips and mouth wide open), “e” pronounced as “ey” (lips slightly open and mouth stretched), “i” sounds like “ee” (lips slightly open and mouth stretched), “o” sounds like “oh” (lips rounded and opened slightly), and “u” is pronounced as “oo” (lips rounded and almost fully closed).

Consonants. Most consonants in Spanish sound similar to their English counterparts, with some exceptions:

• letter “h” is always silent
• letter “j” sounds like “h” in English
• letter “g” is pronounced differently depending on the vowel that it follows:

1. when “g” is followed by “a”, “o”, “u”, “ue”, and “ui” vowels, it is  pronounced as a hard “g”, similar to English “go”. For example, gato (cat) and  grande (big);
2. when “g” is followed by “e” and “i”, it is pronounced as a soft “h” sound, similar to the “h” sound in the English word “hello”. For example, gente (people) and gigante (giant).

• letter “ñ” is one of the unique features of the Spanish alphabets and is pronounced like “nio” sound, similar English word “onion”
• “ll” is pronounced like “y”, similar to English “yes”
• letters “b” and “v” sound the same in Spanish, and that can be a little confusing.

To sum up, I think this week was very productive. Using various online resources, I learned a lot about similarities and differences between English and Spanish alphabets, as well as unique letters and sounds in Spanish language. Below is a video of me saying Spanish alphabet with an example for each letter. Wish me luck for next week, when I take on learning the numbers.

Welcome to my learning project journey!

When I heard about this project, I got very excited! There are always a million things to learn but so little time. I am happy there is an opportunity in this class to pick something you are interested in and learn about it! I started brainstorming to come up with a few options and settled on these two: learn how to play the piano and learn a new language. Both of these options sounded equally appealing to me but after some thinking I weighed pros and cons, and I decided to start learning a new language.

Photo by Feng Yu on Adobe Stock

As I mentioned in my previous post, where I talked a little bit about myself and what I enjoy doing, travelling is a big part of my life. I like going to places I have never been before. Meeting and talking to people from different cultures is one of the best ways to learn about their traditions, local food and their lives. We are so used to chatting in our own language, of course, but when you travel that’s when you learn how to really communicate. My partner and I went to Colombia last summer, and I had a very hard time talking to local people because I did not know a single world in Spanish. I had to use hand gestures, facial expressions, and use the technology like google translate to helps me express myself but that’s not the same quality of communication. This summer we are going on another trip to Nicaragua where people mainly speak Spanish. I would really like to learn some Spanish so I can talk to local people and improve my travelling experience. All I know how to say in Spanish is “Cuánto cuesta?” which means “How much?”. I think it is an expression every tourist should know but it is not very helpful when you do not know the numbers.

Photo by ink drop on Adobe Stock

Even though this is not my first time learning a new language, I still decided to do some research and look for tips and advice on what to start with when learning a new language. I found an online resource that talks about first 5 steps you should take to learn a new language.

Throughout this project, I will stick to the following plan and learn:

• The Alphabet and pronunciation.
• Numbers
• Greetings and introductions
• Basic sentences for ordering food in Spanish
• Asking for an understanding directions
• Frequently-used vocabulary

I have scheduled time for my learning project on Sundays starting from May 19th, 2024. My language goal is for me to be able order food at a restaurant, ask people how they are doing (and understand their responses), and be able to negotiate prices with street vendors and taxi cab drivers in Spanish.

Wish me luck on my learning journey!