For my free inquiry project, I have decided to start learning Spanish. Why Spanish? I already speak French and Italian and since visiting Spain earlier this year, I have been wanting to start learning it. I found I was able to use my knowledge in the other two languages to help me understand contextually when other people were speaking Spanish, however I cannot speak the language to save my life.
As of right now, my hope by the end of this inquiry is to be at an A1 level (which means beginner or lowest level on the Common European Framework of Reference or CEFR). This might turn out to be too ambitious but I am really hoping I can walk away with a basic understanding.
https://www.english-efl.com/english-language-levels/
I am also hoping this will put me back into the shoes of a new second language learner, so that I can better relate to some of the students I have been working with. For reference, students in Core French 9 are at about a B1 level. However, many students I’ve already had the chance to work with have little to no prior knowledge of French and also do not have English as a first language. I am therefore most excited about this inquiry providing me with a fresh perspective.
Adiós!
juliamarina
September 22, 2023 — 3:27 pm
Alicia! I am so excited about your blog and your Spanish learning adventure for this project. Let me know if there is any way I can help:) That is so cool that you already speak three languages! I tried to learn French through the intensive program at our university but my brain could not handle both Spanish and French, so I am truly in awe that you are tackling Spanish with Italian and French already taking up brain space! Does Italian involve rolling your r’s? I found this YouTube video that reminds me of watching my partner try to learn how to roll his r’s for hours in our living room: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIyW9E0_oUw , it’s tough to self teach so I bet learning Spanish will help a lot!
devonmaclean
September 22, 2023 — 3:39 pm
This is a fantastic introductory post. The inclusion of your personal reason to learn another new language and gain a fresh perspective to relate with potential students is inspiring. Here is a link to Duolingo, an extremely popular language learning platform which you may have already come across: https://www.duolingo.com/