Just wanted to say Hola to everyone out there. We are taking Spanish together as a family. Someone told me that to speed up the process we should only speak Spanish at home. In other words, if we know how to say something in Spanish, say it in Spanish. This makes sense for several reasons and should be some fun. Has anyone tried this? Gracias!

As a TEFL teacher, I can only encourage you to do so. My students, who try to speak English at every occasion, are miles and miles ahead of those who just learn their lesson and do their homework. Even if you just mumble to yourself, it will give you an advantage in the thought process. Remember, you want not only to be able to speak Spanish, but to think in Spanish, too. Good luck Antonio

[quo]*Quote from * Antonio As a TEFL teacher, I can only encourage you to do so. My students, who try to speak English at every occasion, are miles and miles ahead of those who just learn their lesson and do their homework. Even if you just mumble to yourself, it will give you an advantage in the thought process. Remember, you want not only to be able to speak Spanish, but to think in Spanish, too. Good luck Antonio[/quo] Gracias! This is great advice. We are just learning but are trying to use the Spanish words instead of the English ones whenever we can. You confirmed that this is the right path.

No doubt group practice in a family would be great. I am trying to get my wife interested in learning Spanish so we can talk together. Just one precaution. I would think it would be easy in a family situation for some members to mis-pronounce words and thus influence the rest of the group so everyone should understand this and any mis-pronunciations should be corrected immediately. I would think there would be a possibility of every one getting sloppy and talking at the level of the ability of the lowest student rather than everyone taking at the level of the student with the highest ability.