How to Use Context to Set More Effective Spanish Goals

Learning a language is super contextual. What I mean by that is, the words you need and learn are entirely dependent on the situation in which you find yourself. Context is why you have to ask your doctor to explain terms she uses and doesn’t think twice about. It is why someone who is a 5-star chef is going to know different jargon from an printmaker, and a printmaker from an aerospace engineer.
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Context is the entire reason I felt insecure about my Spanish when I started teaching, even though many people had described me as “fluent” by that time. It is also the reason why I decided to agree to start teaching my co-workers Spanish, even though I balked at the idea in the beginning. Let me explain.

Spanish Tip

Start noticing the things you say that are your own form of "educator jargon" that you likely don't notice because they are obvious to you in English ... but you wouldn't know the same "easy" terms in Spanish.

The Story

I started taking Spanish in school, as many people do. Though I got good grades, no one would say that I “spoke Spanish”. I finally began speaking was when I started spending summers in Central America and Mexico, first as a volunteer and then as a staff member for the non-profit that changed my life trajectory. (More on that in a future email). I was given increasing levels of responsibility that correlated with my level of Spanish proficiency, and after college, I was hired to teach literacy and all the first grade subjects in Spanish (except Math was taught in English) to native Spanish-speakers at my school 12 miles north of the Texas-Mexico border. By this time, I was both proud of where my Spanish had gotten, and also terrified that someone would spot me as an imposter.

My fear that I didn’t have strong enough Spanish to do the job I was hired to do intensified immediately when I started having parent conversations: on the phone, during conferences, etc. 

I recognized immediately what had happened: I had become really good at the vocabulary and using language in the context I needed to operate in that non-profit setting. I could buy a bus ticket, get off at the right bus stop in the middle of the countryside, set up host-families for volunteers, explain our meal rotation plan, and get to know people really well. I knew vocabulary that seemed advanced: “fundraiser,” “non-profit organization,” “youth leadership” and “counterpart”. But when I started working in a school, there was vocabulary that didn’t seem as advanced that I just didn’t know: “report card,” “field trip,” “dismissal” and even "bathroom break".

I knew that this had nothing to do with how advanced or not advanced these words are. They are all just words, none more difficult than another. The thing is, they are used within specific contexts. Because I had lots of experience with the language of my non-profit, I had gained a lot of proficiency, and because I had not taught nor attended school in Spanish, there was a whole set of vocabulary I had never been exposed to before. Of course I didn’t know it!

The thing is, I still didn’t know that what was happening to me was normal, and even inevitable when acquiring a second language. As a result, I was very self-conscious about asking for help from the plethora of people around me who were native Spanish speakers. What a missed opportunity!

Six years later, when I found myself in Missouri, and multiple co-workers asked me to teach them Spanish, I was resistant to the idea. Again, I didn’t feel like I had earned the right – after all, I am still learning Spanish every single day! How could I be a Spanish teacher? But people kept asking. So I reflected on my own experience, and remembered how there was all of that specific vocabulary that was essential to my success speaking Spanish in a school that, as wonderful as my Spanish teachers were in school, no one ever taught me.

It was then that I realized that I did have something to offer all those colleagues who were asking me. I could teach the Spanish that they needed in schools, that no one else teaches. That is when Spanish for Educators was born: first with a bunch of my own colleagues, in a rented basement. Then I began to specialize further when asked to teach a course for office professionals at a neighboring district.

Spanish for Teachers, Spanish for Office Professionals, Spanish for Nurses and Counselors … and now, starting in January, Spanish for Relationship-Building. These are all classes you can either bring to your district for a private course or, when available, you can join a public course.
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I quickly discovered that I love teaching Spanish to educators, because I am able to see people, even if they have never taken Spanish before, start to have meaningful conversations at school and feel good about what they are able to do. Relationships start to happen, and people’s eyes open to what they are capable of when they have the right words and the right practice. That is amazing.

Call to Action

​As you go about your work each day, write down specific things you want to learn how to say. In fact, if you would add yours here, I will refer back to it when making micro-lesson videos in the future.
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I promise, just writing them down will help. You might not know how to learn how to say them immediately, but you will start to notice trends, you will start to pick things up around you that you normally missed, and you will become more conscious of your goals, which will make you a more effective student of whatever approach you take to learning Spanish. And sometimes, you’ll be able to simply look up a word and call it a quick win.

Better Together

If you have Spanish-speaking families at your school or district, but not a lot of Spanish-speakers on staff, and you would like staff to be able to welcome and include families with more grace and joy, Spanish for Educators is the answer.

Classes include Spanish for Office Professionals, Spanish for Teachers, Spanish for Nurses & Counselors as well as Spanish for Relationship-Building, which is suitable for staff in any number of roles.

You can enroll staff members the September cohort of Spanish for Relationship-Building a public course for all roles in schools, no matter where you work, to help you build relationships with Spanish-speaking students and families.

If you want to learn more about a private Spanish course for your district, just book a free no-pressure call to learn more.

Un abrazo,
Anne