It is very nice to find a group such as this on EDUFIRE. I am learning spanish as a second language for 2 reasons. 1. I want to be equipped to apply and be granted a bilingual job. 2. I am engaged to a Peruvian who has 3 minor children that does not speak English at this time.

I have been studying spanish for quite sometime before I met my fiancee’. So I had the basics. I continued to purchase study materials and software to increase my learning. Earlier this year I took a college course in intermediate/advanced spanish and did quite well.

The problem that I have been finding is there are a great deal of teachers and tutors offering help but with out a real effective method of teaching someone like me. That is what I desire. Maybe one day, I will become the teacher that I need. And I will teach others in a more effective way.

Can anyone relate to this? Let me know.

Rochelle!

I know what you’re saying and that’s mainly the limitation of the traditional teaching method. It is there, designed, written and presented – yet somehow every individual student is to somehow fit into these systems regardless of their individual needs! Taking a step back and objectively looking at it one can see that it makes no sense at all. One size rarely ‘fits all’.

We have so many fabulous Spanish tutors here of eduFire! I suggest writing up a message about your needs and sending it to a few who have a profile you like. I bet you’ll get some great replies back!

Welcome and great that you joined us! :)

Thanks Marco. Truly a great suggestion.

Rochelle, I totally relate. The reality is that listen and repeat doesn’t always work. Some people are very visual and need lots of visual cues to tie into languages and other educational persuits. I definitely love what Marco suggested, do go ahead and let tutors know how you’re hoping to be taught and what you need. It will make their job easier to know what you need and your tutoring sessions go more smoothly. The great thing about having a private tutor is they can tailor their lessons to you.

Thanks Christina. I have such high regards for your opinions.

Hi Rochelle,

I think you have come to the right place to find a tutor that can meet your needs. Each tutor I had requested a list of my interests and why I was learning Spanish and then they tailored each lesson for me and my interests. So many great tutors here on eduFire it will be hard for you to choose just one :)

Good luck and welcome to the community!

Rochelle,

Yes, I can relate. Teaching intermediate and advanced students is far different from teaching beginners. The 1-1 methodologies used (and that can be used) on systems like Edufire are also radically different from what goes on in the classroom. The freedom of not having a fixed text or curriculum often means that things can flounder if teacher and student are not clear on what they expect and fail to constantly communicate about the teaching/learning experience.

I find myself sometimes changing techniques with a student after a couple of lessons because what I am doing is not working. Sometimes I change techniques because the student is getting bored with what we are doing. Sometimes I change just because I feel we need to do something different.

I also have students who find the change from the classroom to the individualized setting a challenge. This setting is much harder on Day 1, because all the attention is on the student. There is no “gentle ease in” to the semester. Do not give up on Edufire, however, as it is the best way to practice speaking your new language.

Let me know if there is anything else I can share with you.

Rochelle

I developed my own conversational method. I’ll get you speaking spanish.

Hasta luego

Hey Rochelle – I think you have totally hit on why eduFire is such a great platform and community. You have access to a wide variety of tutors who can customize your language learning experience!

Oh, and we’re a lot of fun too!

Rochelle and I yours =)

Hi Rochelle, although I am not a spanish tutor but I can still give you some general hints about learning a language. I agree with Charles about the differenve between teaching beginners and intermediate. I can consider the student with a beginner level as a white paper. I, as a tutor, can draw the protrait I want on it. If I am not a good tutor, there will be something missing in this portrait. However, the intermediate level student will be already a portrait that was drawn by another tutor or even more than one. The clever tutor now is the one who can find where is the missing colors there so he can make it a perfect one.

On another words, I meant that you have something missing although you have been learning Spanish for a long time. You need to find the suitable tutor who can strengthen your weak points and continue with you towards the next level.

At the moment, 2 of my students are not intermediate and upper intermediate level and since I started with them, I am still discovering what they have missed already and I am improving them towards the next level. I think they are happy with that.

So, you only need to find that clever tutor and you will be doing great. I am sure that Edufire is the best place for that as you can try a session with a few tutors and then you can choose the best. You don’t need to pay for a course or more than a session per each tutor in advance.

Good luck!

Hi Rochelle,
My view on teaching methods is this: teaching/learning methods are NOT keys. Time spent on the language is THE key.

Many people fail to pick up a language, usually not because of the learning methods, but simply that they have not spent enough time with the language. Why haven’t they spent enough time? Most of the time, it is due to the lack of motivation. How do you get motivated and keep being motivated? This is going to be a huge topic to discuss.

Hi Rochelle,
I understand what you are saying. I have been studying Spanish for some time and feel frustrated at times that I am not learning as much, or as quickly, as I want. I have come to believe that since it requires so much time to achieve fluency, that I have to take pride in every small step. Also, it takes time to find a teacher who is the right fit for you. As a psychologist, I often meet people who say that therapy doesn’t work, but they have only tried one or two sessions with one therapist. While I can’t be the ideal fit as a psychologist for everyone, neither can a teacher be the ideal teacher for every student. After trying many different teachers, I have recently started working with a teacher (Graciela is terrific!), and I have found my Spanish to be improving much faster than I had expected. It is still hard work of course, but I am seeing real progress. I guess that I am saying that one of the best things about edufire is that you have the opportunity to try out different options to try and find the best fit. Good luck!

Amy

Very interesting points.

I have only done tutoring and am pondering going into teaching. Part of what turns me off from that move is the fact that the teaching follows a specific curriculum & method of teaching, no ifs, ands or buts.

Tutoring for me is more personal and I like the fact that I am not bound to any particular text book & method of teaching. I think that the challenges of tailoring each tutoring session to meet the student’s needs is what draws me to tutoring.

I think the Dr. put it best that on your canvas, you may be missing some color. Good luck on finding the right tutor to get you on your way! =)

I can relate as well Rochelle. I have had sessions with some really great tutors here on eduFire, and yet some of the approaches/methods just did not mesh with my personal learning style. I am highly visual and like to see the questions/words written out as opposed to simply spoken. I honestly don’t get it at times and have to ask for the tutor to write it out for me. Then when I see it something just clicks. I find the forums to be very helpful. For the most part if I can feel comfortable chatting with a tutor and comprehend them, then I most often do well with them in a session.

Hi Rochelle!

I see your point and wish you the best of luck at finding the tutor that you really need! EduFire is a great place to learn, I’m sure one of the wonderful Spanish tutors here will be suited for you! :)

Rochelle,

If you were able to do well in an intermediate/advanced Spanish course, I think all you need to do to be fluent is practice. But not halfheartedly. You should do it whenever you can. Your fiancé speaks Spanish! Talk with him!!! If at first it’s hard to understand him because he speaks too fast, don’t worry, just keep at it and eventually your ears and your mind will get used to it.
Actually my girlfriend is Peruvian too, so what I would do is tell her not to talk to me in English for a week or something, so I could practice. It really helps. You’re so lucky that the love of your life is also a foreign language resource! Don’t let him go to waste!
Also, I really recommend that you read some books in Spanish. Find a novel that you like in Spanish, read it. Or a magazine, whatever you like.
The most important thing is that you speak and listen to hispanohablantes as much as possible. And don’t be afraid to ask what does such-and-such mean? if you don’t understand a certain word or phrase.
I hope my suggestions help you. Buena suerte!

-august

I know exactly how you feel! I am also studying Spanish at a higher level like you. EduFire has really helped me a lot. I have taken amazing sessions on here with great tutors.

August gave some really good points (I’m sure others did too, but I didn’t read the whole thread). The one thing I would add is to read out loud in Spanish for 15-20 minutes a day. Your mouth will be so tired, but it is excellent practice even if you are already good at Spanish. I like to pick up a telenovela every once in a while. It seems really silly, but I like to listen/watch while I do dishes just to hear fast speakers and listen to common dialogues (well, some are not-so-common hehe).

I am taking Spanish as well as Turkish. I know some Spanish, but it is very old knowledge and I am very rusty. On the other hand, since beginning to take Turkish lessons I have found my dh to be a wonderful resource for it. Practicing with him after a session has really made it fun, and made it cement in my mind better. Good luck.

All of the suggestions are great. I have incorporated a lot of them into my daily living. I also make sure to visit edufire as much as possible because it helps me out a lot.

I’m just beginning with edufire so I am currently trying out different tutors and so far Graciela has been the one who helps me the most. I’m hoping to at least try out 30 tutors before settling on about three. I want three tutors to really bring me up to fluency and with three I can practice listening to the different accents from the different areas.

Since being on here, I’ve been able to speak to my Puertican friend in Spanish. She says I’m doing great and I believe it’s because of my time here on edufire.

I hope edufire helps you as it has helped me Rochelle. Looking at your profile, you are doing great with the flashcards. : )

I think it’s important to find out what kind of learner you are, what do you really need. One needs a strict tutor who will control, another one needs a kind tutor, otherwise will be afraid to say a word! One needs a lot of repetitions, another one needs a lot of explanation. It take a tutor a little bit of time to understand what kind of learner you are and to adjust their style.
But there is an emotional component too. I’ve been studying German for 3 years. And the first 2 years I had an excellent teacher who I liked and admired. And I learned so much, and never skipped classes, because it was fun and pleasure. After that a new teacher came who was as professional, but just not nice, and my progress was very little if there was any.

Yulia,

Thank you for your comments, it’s so true what you said. I had the exact same experience with my first French teacher, then just like you I got discouraged with my second teacher and hardly learned anything; she was just not so enthusiastic so I didn’t feel like trying too hard….
But I think after a certain point you learn to find ways to stimluate yourself and continue learning the language on your own. At the start though, fun teachers are a must! Unless you’re really driven and you just want to learn from cds and other self-study things. But now we’ve come back to what you said about finding out what type of learner you are! hehe :) Thanks again!