Kick butt in Spanish

admin | Bola de Nieve | Thursday, March 26th, 2009


You know most Spanish classes teach you everything… but when you finish you can’t do anything.Here’s what I mean.It’s all there in the class, all the verb conjugations, subjunctive modes, irregular verbs and on and on and on. Yet, not 1 out of 20 people who take those classes get to speak any real Spanish.

Everything is covered theoretically but there is no practical mastery. So you can’t actually use what you learned to make your life better.

Theory is great if you want to pass an exam. Plus, you get a nice certificate to put on your wall. But if you want or need to speak to anybody, theory is the smallest part of the Spanish puzzle.

If you want to visit a Spanish speaking country it won’t help you very much.

And if you live in Spanish speaking country, thinking about theory can make you so hesitant and slow at speaking that it’s a real effort for anyone to listen to you.

Having a certificate is all good and well, but having command of Spanish is really what it’s all about.

Being able to say what you want to say in Spanish is fantastic.

Why be a wallflower too scared to open your mouth? When command of Spanish would give you the confidence you needto express yourself.

So how do you get this command of the Spanish?

I had a really good aha moment about this in my karate class last night.

I know it sounds strange but learning to speak Spanish boldly is a lot like learning karate. The confidence to speak up comes from knowing you can do it. And knowing you can do it comes from having done it.

Makes sense right?

Last night in the class, we spent the whole night practicing just one block and one counter punch.

You’d think practicing just two moves would be boring, but it was one of the most enjoyable classes I have ever had…

I came away feeling great.

Instead of learning 20 different blocks and countering with a punch, kick, chop, elbow, etc., and doing them all badly, we just got really good at doing one thing.

And you know what?

I feel sure I could apply it if I got in a nasty situation.

Now hopefully you won’t ever need your Spanish in any nasty situations. Learning Spanish is a more likely to bring you great joy. It’s a great skill to have, a way to meet new people, make new friends and live new adventures.

But to get everything that speaking Spanish can bring to your life you need command of the language.

And the only way to do it is a lot like the way I learn karate.

Instead of trying to learn everything and learning nothing, like with typical verb charts. You just need to master small parts of the language that really matter. Then before long, you’ll find yourself speaking more and more Spanish in clear and flowing sentences.

You don’t need to learn all of 100 plus verb conjugations at once. Most of them you’ll never use anyway. Instead why not learn first the ones that get you speaking the most Spanish.

In fact, just a handful of the most common Spanish verb patterns are used in 80% of conversation.

By learning the frequently used patterns first, and learning them well, all the confusion disappears from learning Spanish. And so does the 19 out of 20 failure rate.

That’s right, 19 out of 20 people who take traditional Spanish classes never get to speak the language. Yet, by learning one common verb pattern at a time, anyone can learn to speak fluent Spanish.

Best of all, just like the block and counter I learned to execute in the karate class, you can learn to use Spanish verbs instinctively. You can learn how to say what you want to say instantly.

Right now, I am going to show the first very easy step…

We’ll start slowly with just one simple verb conjugation, that way you’ll get a feel of really using the language. Best of all, once you master this easy step, you can use it with 80% of the verbs you already know.

To do this lesson… this is all the theory you need to know

AR verbs change to O to make the first person, for example…

Ar verb 1st person
Trabajar To work Trabajo I work
Tomar To drink Tomo I drink
Comprar To buy Compro I buy
Gastar To spend Gasto I spend
Llegar To arrive Llego I arrive
Cocinar To cook Cocino I cook
Preparar To prepare Preparo I prepare

Here’s the first Bola de Nieve Spanish Audio Lesson for you.

Now go speak some Spanish, it’s easier than you think to build fluency. Then let me know your thoughts on this easy approach to Spanish verbs conjugations by leaving a comment below.


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