Looking at Unit 6 of the L161 Module, I have been
made to consider what it was that made me want to learn Spanish.
I grew up with my mother for
some of my childhood, but she didn't speak any foreign languages, nor did she
have any friends who spoke a foreign language. Similarly, my Grandparents with
whom I lived for all of my secondary schooling onwards had no foreign language
skills, and I didn't know anybody from another country. I was completely
monocultural, and had no idea what the world had to offer.
When I was in Year 5 (9 years old), we had a
teacher from the local secondary school come in to start a Spanish course with
us, once a week. I remember the very first lesson to this day. My first word
was "levántate".
I had the fortune of carrying
on with Spanish when I moved to secondary school. Many had the misfortune of
changing to French, or vice versa. Having this continuity helped me to succeed
in a subject I enjoyed.
This was the main reason for
my wanting to do it: I enjoyed it. As learning went on, I came to realise it
was quite a mature skill, and learning to communicate with what I understood to
be an alien world enthralled me. I was encouraged by my Grandparents to order a
burger and chips in Spanish when we went on our first holiday. I did it, and
the immediate effect of understanding combined with a nice smile really
encouraged me to continue. I think being a young child helped: the waitress had
a nice, slow response of "Sí señor". As an adult, I find many respond in
English, which isn't discouraging, in my opinion.
What made me want to Learn Spanish?
Looking at Unit 6 of the L161 Module, I have been made to consider what it was that made me want to learn Spanish.
I grew up with my mother for some of my childhood, but she didn't speak any foreign languages, nor did she have any friends who spoke a foreign language. Similarly, my Grandparents with whom I lived for all of my secondary schooling onwards had no foreign language skills, and I didn't know anybody from another country. I was completely monocultural, and had no idea what the world had to offer.
When I was in Year 5 (9 years old), we had a teacher from the local secondary school come in to start a Spanish course with us, once a week. I remember the very first lesson to this day. My first word was "levántate".
I had the fortune of carrying on with Spanish when I moved to secondary school. Many had the misfortune of changing to French, or vice versa. Having this continuity helped me to succeed in a subject I enjoyed.
This was the main reason for my wanting to do it: I enjoyed it. As learning went on, I came to realise it was quite a mature skill, and learning to communicate with what I understood to be an alien world enthralled me. I was encouraged by my Grandparents to order a burger and chips in Spanish when we went on our first holiday. I did it, and the immediate effect of understanding combined with a nice smile really encouraged me to continue. I think being a young child helped: the waitress had a nice, slow response of "Sí señor". As an adult, I find many respond in English, which isn't discouraging, in my opinion.
Now I can't imagine not speaking Spanish!