Did you know that Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world, after Chinese? Currently, more than 577 million people speak it. This includes about 400 native speakers, but also a little less than 200 million those who learn it as a foreign language.
Despite the popularity of Spanish, some people still experience difficulties with it. Why? It's mostly due to the way they approach the language, as well as the culture. Use these 8 tips to bypass any obstacles on your road to Spanish proficiency.
When you're a beginner or intermediate speaker of Spanish, you need practice. Sure, you may have taken Spanish up at the college, or you're taking private classes, but that's not the practice we meant. To be able to understand and master the language, you need to use it in its truest form. Spanish in real life is much different from the Spanish we encounter in the classroom.
Travel to Spain and meet interesting people. Find someone you like and offer to do a language exchange – you can teach him English, whereas he can give you Spanish classes.
You often hear about people saying that Spanish speakers from different parts of the world don't understand each other. While there are significant differences between dialects, every Spanish speaker can understand another. No matter which part of the world you're travelling too, you can easily get by with standard Spanish.
Sure, people in Guatemala or Peru might look at you strangely, but you won't have any difficulties communicating with them. Anyone you talk to will gladly talk slower when they notice that you're a foreigner. Plus, you can enrich your Spanish knowledge with some spicy local phrases, too.
When you're learning Spanish, it's tough to let go of your fears and use it in real life. A great way to stop being scared and immerse yourself into using Spanish is to apply for a job that requires Spanish knowledge.
Many Spanish entrepreneurs who want to expand their business into the English-speaking world, and Spanish students who study in English-speaking countries use custom-written business proposals and assignments from a professional essay writing service.
● Assignment Masters. An excellent tool for content. Turnaround time is really quick.
● BrillAssignment. They specialize in different research projects and allow you direct communication with a writer.
● Proessaywriting.com. Another excellent option to get English assignments done.
● A-writer.com. A versatile service. They can help you in breaking onto the English market with their amazing research papers.
In English, when we talk about liking something, we assume that we're talking about all items of the same sort. Therefore, we don't use any articles to express this feeling.
● I like ice cream.
● I don't like football.
One of the most useful tricks about using Spanish is not to fall a victim of linguistic interference. Spanish has different rules – you must use a definite article (el, la, los, las).
To use Spanish more naturally and let natives know that you're truly knowledgeable, you have to know some colloquial habits. One of them involves using indefinite articles to emphasize a feeling or any other notion.
The same goes with "Tengo un frio" (I feel so cold!) and "Tengo calor" (I feel so hot!).
It's five o' clock. This seems like a regular sentence in English, right? Sure, it does. However, this habit of telling the time without articles, both definite and indefinite, presents a problem. Those who are learning Spanish need to remember that time always goes with definite feminine articles.
● She is a Muslim.
Spanish is full of rules that make it different from English. Remember to face your fears, learn colloquial expressions and focus on the way different articles are used. With constant practice, you will become fluent in no time.