¿Habla español?
With the United States being home to over 37 million native speakers of
Spanish, learning the language is becoming important to many non-speakers.
I began studying Spanish a couple of years ago. I realized if I were to meet the needs of
many library patrons, I needed to bridge the communication gap with at least
some knowledge of Spanish. I studied
Chinese in college but, due mostly to shyness, I never really obtained a working
knowledge of the language. Here was my second
chance-- to jump in, apply myself to learn and use a second language! Today, I
cannot say that I am a fluent Spanish speaker, but what I have learned has surely
helped me working at my library in Hightstown.
I have found that people appreciate the effort that one makes to connect
and communicate with them.
Whether the reason you want to learn Spanish is because of work,
travel, a desire for a mental challenge, cultural curiosity or friendship, the
library has many high quality resources for self instruction. Some materials will be for cursory knowledge,
say for travel skills, while others are for more extensive learning.
The library system’s databases have two excellent offerings available
to our patrons. The most comprehensive
resource we have available is called Mango Languages. This online language
learning system offers three levels of instruction. Begin with Basic if you are new to learning
Spanish. I used it, then continued with
the next course - Complete 2.0 - and am now half-way through the final course -
Complete 1.0. (Yes, you read that
right. Complete 1.0 is the advanced
program, not Complete 2.0.)
Our new online language learning database, Pronounciator, is less
extensive than Mango, but is a great place to start to learn a language. It has two things that Mango does not: one, a pronunciation correction feature and
two, you can learn Spanish (and 44 other
languages) using any of 75 languages as a starting point, including
English. As an example, if your native
language is Hindi, you can use the Pronounciator program in Hindi to learn
Spanish. Those are cool bonuses.
If you have any questions about connecting to Mango or Pronounciator
through our databases page, ask for assistance at your branch’s Reference Desk.
My favorite Spanish learning resource available through the library is
the Pimsleur audio program. It does not
require a book. You can use it while moving
around, like walking and biking, or in the car and it really does teach you the
language. Pimsleur starts with basic
conversational Spanish (available on audio CD or Playaway), then you can move
on to Spanish 1, Spanish 2 and Spanish 3.
It is best when learning a new language to use a variety of
resources. This is both to avoid boredom
and to get the most out of different teaching approaches. Our library catalog has books, audio CDs and
Playaways, DVDs and computer software to supplement language learning. Below are other materials that have helped my
learning the most:
Audio CDs:
Books:
Once you feel like you have a rough grasp of the language, you can
spread your wings! Use our librarycatalog to find Spanish language movies--watch with the English or Spanish subtitles. It is easier to follow if you have seen the
movie and are familiar with the story. To
read Spanish language books, I began with children’s poetry and other simpler
children’s books. Have fun with it!
- Kim L.
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