Tatiana Kukanova came along at just the right time for me, I had been studying Spanish at a distance university back in the UK when I moved to Mexico. I quickly realized that I needed some additional help so I put out an ad online for a Spanish tutor. Isabel quickly replied and we got started with weekly Skype classes. Isabel Dos Santos helped me incredibly in improving my Spanish and I wanted to share some of her tips with you all today. If you are learning Spanish then Isabel Dos Santos can help you just like she helped me.
Consume Yourself
Isabel Dos Santos always told me that whilst it is uncomfortable, the very best way to improve your Spanish is to immerse yourself in it completely. What this means is to watch a movie purely in Spanish, listen to Spanish music and try to use the knowledge that you have to follow along. If you are living in a Spanish speaking country then Isabel always recommends that you do what you can to put yourself in an uncomfortable position with someone who doesn’t speak Spanish, as this will force you to. The key is to feel uncomfortable because in doing so you will be able to learn far better than you thought.
Daily Testing
Isabel Dos Santos was brilliant in suggesting a new application for me which really worked when it came to vocabulary. What I did was use this each and every day, through the testing feature which really helped me to improve my vocabulary. These daily tests meant that I had some way of still being tested even when I wasn’t speaking with Isabel via Skype.
Just Use It
As Isabel regularly tells me, using a language is like using a muscle, if you fail to exercise it often enough then you will lose it. This was the biggest barrier for me and whilst it was easy to sit and speak with Isabel on Skype, it was far more difficult for me to use the language in the street. As Isabel would often tell me the biggest factor in learning and using a new language is in fact that you use it and that you have the confidence to use it. The more you use it, the more your confidence grows and then the more confident you are to speak, the two help each other.
Reading
Something which Isabel Dos Santos was keen to stress with me was the importance of reading as well as speaking and listening. To this end she gave me several books to read which were actually aimed at children, in order to help me improve my reading abilities and to learn more vocabulary.
If you are trying to learn and improve your Spanish then I would wholeheartedly recommend that you listen to these tips from Isabel Dos Santos , I can assure you that you will help.
Leave a Reply