Training your Brain for Spanish // Saber & Conocer

"Feeling unable to claim your identity because of not having the language..." A reality that many Latinos who grow up in the United States face. If they don't have mastery of the language, they may be told they're "not really Mexican, not really Puerto Rican, not really Venezuelan..." etc.   In this conversation, Annette shares her journey of having grown up spending every summer in Puerto Rico and later losing fluidity in the language as an adult. The humbling and emotionally charged journey of picking up the language again is something that I believe will resonate with many listeners.  Find Annette & Whole Hoops on Instagram @wholehoops www.wholehoops.com

Looking to make 2021 your year for learning Spanish?  In part one, I share my perspective on how to maximize progress and set realistic goals for yourself.   Do you know there's multiple ways to say "here" and "there" in Spanish?  Part two looks at the differences between aquí, acá, allí and allá.  Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!  I was so happy to spend time back home with my family.  Thanks for your patience as I allowed myself to be present there. <3

How do we attach feelings to words? How can we feel like we're really expressing things close to our heart in our second language?  It's a challenge you'll inevitably face in the language learning process.  In this episode, I share some reflections as well as vocabulary that can help you to better express yourself in Spanish. 

How is it that you can recognize the sound of your name above hundreds of sounds in any given environment?  We can use this same mechanism within the brain to tune into the language we're learning, improve our listening comprehension, and understand the more challenging aspects of grammar. Part 1 of this episode explains how.  In Part 2, we look at Saber & Conocer... two verbs that can mean "to know."  How to know when to use which "to know?" HA! That's what me and my buddy David Faulkner help you to understand.  *CLARIFICATION-  I say that "conocer" is always used for "meeting someone"  What I mean is meeting someone for the first time.  To imply that you came to know someone through work, you would use "conocer."  Conocer is NOT used, however, when meeting up with someone. If you want to express that you and your friends met up at a restaurant, you would use "encontrarse."  Links & References-  Saber & Conocer Practice  "De Cabo a Rabo. The Most Comprehenzive Guide to Learning Spanish Ever Written." -David Faulkner 

If you're in this thing for real, you're going to get overwhelmed at times.  There's so so so much to learn... even if you want to be "just conversational." So sometimes we need to put the heavy stuff aside and reconnect to what it is that we love about the language.  That's exactly what I did in this episode.  I share with you some vocab that I've learned since I've moved to Puerto Rico that I just love! You'll hear my smile. :D What is it that you love about Spanish?  Be able to go back to that in times where you feel bogged down and overwhelmed by parts of the language that you don't love as much. 

Jordan Nealy joins me for the first interview of this podcast to share his experience of becoming bilingual.  His story captures what the language learning process is truly about. Anyone who hopes to achieve a level of fluency would benefit greatly from adopting his mindset. My sincerest thanks to you, Jordan. I enjoyed this conversation so so much and am grateful to have crossed paths with you. Find Jordan on TikTok @jwnealy Find me on Instagram & TikTok @kerrybe_ and on Facebook @Spanish With Kerry

Every THING has a gender in Spanish... and you have to learn the gender of everything. Which can be a bit daunting considering every rule regarding masculine & feminine nouns has an exception!  So folks, this is pure memorization (plus time and making mistakes and learning from them).   Today's episode is all about TRICKS to help your brain remember which words are masculine and which are feminine. I also talk about tricks for remembering the order of vowels in general.  Stay in touch! Find me on Instagram and TikTok @kerrybe_   Find me on Facebook at Spanish with Kerry. 

"Me gusta"-  El Kanka  How to tell someone "I like you"  in Spanish  ;) The verbs Gustar and Encantar will be used to express when we like or love something, but the set-up is different in Spanish.  Me gusta el chocolate- I like chocolate Te gusta bailar- you like to dance Me gustan las casas acá- I like the houses here No le gusto- He doesn't like me Me gustas tú- I like you Me encantan las flores- I love the flowers Tú me encantas - I adore you

To start to understand better the why and when of reflexive verbs, let's look at a number of examples of verbs that exist both as reflexive and as regular verbs.  In part two, follow along with this transcript of "La Rutina Diaria de un Maestro" (The Daily Routine of a Teacher). Here's a great way to see reflexive verbs in action!  Durante el año escolar tengo casi la misma rutina cada semana. De lunes a viernes, me levanto a las 6 de la mañana. Tengo muchas cosas que hacer después de levantarme. Primero, me baño y me lavo el pelo. Después de bañarme, me lavo los dientes y salgo del baño para vestirme. Normalmente, me visto en mi cuarto. Alrededor de la seis y media, desayuno. Normalmente como huevos con pan tostado. Siempre tomo mi cafecito con leche. Después de desayunar, preparo mi almuerzo. Después, como a las 7, me preparo para salir. Recojo mis papeles, mi mochila, mi ropa para hacer ejercicio, y mi almuerzo. Suelo salir a las 7 y 15 en punto.

Some lines from The Alchemist, by Paolo Coelho- "Entonces, ¿por qué debo escuchar mi corazón? Porque no conseguirás nunca mantenerlo callado. E incluso si finges no escuchar lo que dice, él estará dentro de tu pecho, repitiendo siempre lo que piensa sobre la vida y el mundo. ...Nadie logra huir de su corazón. Por eso es mejor escuchar lo que él dice."  Staying inspired isn't as pretty as it sounds!  Learn what's on the flip side of the "inspiration" coin and learn to use it as fuel.  In part two, learning verbs as opposite pairs.  Llegar- to arrive/to get there/to get here Salir- to leave/to get out Venir- to come Ir- to go Abrir- to open Cerrar- to close