Learning Spanish in Costa Rica.
This blog is about the Spanish school and the way of teaching spanish at the ICLC in Carrillos. When you arrive you will have a test and an interview in spanish. This test is the way to find your level and figure out how many words and phrases you now. It might seem a bit scary, but you will find your self speaking more Spanish than you thought you could.
The way of teaching is straight forward. Teachers only speak spanish, so from day one you are left with only one language, Español. It is a really hard way to learn, but the best. When you look like a big question mark, you hear ”no comprenda ” and just shake you head as a clear NO. They will try to explain it with known word in spanish and suddenly you get the meaning og the question.
You head is filled with informations about the school, the schedules, and now a new language to learn. It is amazing how quickly you learn and interpret new words. I guess that we have been introduced to 400 or 500 new words during the first week.
The vocabularios básico consist of: friuts, meat, vegetables, milk product, different type of food and what you drink. You also learn the basic words about your house, clothes and body parts.
The basics also: Necesitar, querer, poder, gusta, encanta in the different forms.
Need, want, can, like, love. With the basic phrases and vocabulary you are able to order food (Comidas) refresco, and talk to your new family in some basic sentences. I is a nice thing to do and then learn more and more words and add the words to your vocabulary. Every time they say something you don’t understand ask them to explain or speak slower. The hardest part is to listen and understand the language spoken, Spanish is very fast and it is hard to catch the words spoken. Just look like an idiot and they start over and over until you understand, alternative is to use a dictionary and aks them to spell the word.
It is not that hard, but your brain gets tired. So many informations and impressions in the new place combined with a new language.
Well back to school, we are two students and one teacher, Sofia is a very nice teacher. We laugh and learn a lot. It is important to stay focused even thought we have a lot of fun during class. It is a part of learning process to have fun or else it would be much harder to learn a new language.
Every Friday we have an exam. The exam is to figure out how much you have learned during the week, it is not a test for failure or pass but only a way to predict if you have to advance or stay in the same class. Actually there is only three students at the school, a bit weird but pretty nice. You have the teachers at tension 50% of the time. Muy bien.
Back to the first exam. 100 ot of 100% not bad. Muy excelente she said. I’m proud, and it helps to be more ready for the next week.
Hasta luego, pura vida mis amigos.
Until next time.
