Ideas para mejorar mi espanol?

[Endocannabinoid]

Bueno. Obviamente, hay muchos mexicanos y otro grupos latinos en los estados unidos y el conocimiento de otra idioma nos ayudara (disculpe, mi computadora la falta accentos) a comunicar con toda la gente. El problema es que yo me he olvidado mucho de la lengua. Tiene alguien algunas ideas que puedo aplicarme para mejorar mi espanol para que yo pueda marcar la caja en mi aplicacion que dice que hablo espanol? Tambien, no puedo tomar una clase; no tengo el tiempo.

Okay, so for those of you who don't understand my subpar Spanish, I am interested in learning what has worked best for all of you in refreshing yourselves in a second language you have previously learned. I want to be able to communicate effectively with any future latino patients that I will surely encounter given the circumstances in which we live. Does anyone have any methods that have worked great for you in staying fresh in your other language? Personally, I always put it at the back of my list because I'm so busy with other things. Also, I can't take a class because I don't have time.

I also wonder the necessary language skills one needs in order to mark another language on the AMCAS application. Give me time, and I can communicate just fine with a fluent Spanish speaker. They may have to slow it down a bit and I may fight through a particularly thick accent, but I can do it, usually. Do you think I could mark Spanish for this level of proficiency or does checking a box require one to be completely fluent?

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[funkydrmonkey]

Tu necesitas obtener una vida! ...jajaja...

I say, you are pretty proficient... Why not go to some 3rd world country and volunteer there. That kind of language immersion would be really beneficial if you want to become better.

 

[MadEvans]

Personally, I always put it at the back of my list because I'm so busy with other things. Also, I can't take a class because I don't have time.

I agree with you, it is soooo hard to stay fresh. Your spanish isn't half bad by the way, I'm right about where you are when it comes to writing. I've practiced a bit by spending some time in Peru, which was really helpful. I work at a company where a lot of our clientele are spanish-only-speakers. This has helped a little bit.

Honestly, I don't think taking more classes is the answer. At a certain point you are full of knowledge and just need to put it into practice. The more minor aspects of the language will come best with practice. I'd say spending a summer in a foreign country where you can immerse yourself would be the best idea. And then, get a job where you get to use it every once in a while or keep in touch with some of the friends you make in the foreign country.

 

[zenlike]

Use meetup.com to find a local Spanish conversation group.

 

[216397]

Creo que escribes bien en español--si trataras de mejorar, no sería dificil. El libro "La lengua de heredamos" me ayudó mucho cuando estaba aprendiendo. También te recomiendo que practiques con otras personas...siempre es la manera mejor para aprendar otra lengua.

 

[WhiteCoatFuture]

También te recomiendo que practiques con otras personas...siempre es la manera mejor para aprendar otra lengua.

I feel Immersing yourself in another language by moving to another country is definitely the best thing you could do. If, however, like me you're not in a position to up and move, I definitely agree with Lady Marid that finding another person to practice with is also a great option.

In the meantime, until you find someone to practice with, I find watching spanish television is helping me out a bit. Maybe you could give that a try. You can even be crazy like me and talk back to the tv . After all, for me, it's speaking the language that I find more difficult than writing or understanding, simply b/c I dont have the opportunity to practice it as much.

 

[smq123]

I want to be able to communicate effectively with any future latino patients that I will surely encounter given the circumstances in which we live. Does anyone have any methods that have worked great for you in staying fresh in your other language?

You kind of DO need to take a class, though.

In undergrad, I took grad-level classes that were conducted only in Spanish. I watch movies without subtitles. I have friends who speak only Spanish, and no English. And, even so, there are a number of things that patients say to me that I can't understand. There is a VAST difference between hearing Spanish spoken by a healthy 24 year old, and hearing Spanish spoken by a frail 87 year old who is terminally ill. There are also a lot of phrases that you just do not hear in everyday conversation, as well as a ton of slang.

If you could, language immersion wouldn't be a bad idea. Hanging out at Latino health center to volunteer would also be a good idea.

I also wonder the necessary language skills one needs in order to mark another language on the AMCAS application. Give me time, and I can communicate just fine with a fluent Spanish speaker. They may have to slow it down a bit and I may fight through a particularly thick accent, but I can do it, usually. Do you think I could mark Spanish for this level of proficiency or does checking a box require one to be completely fluent?

I believe that AMCAS asks you to rate your own level of proficiency - you don't have to "check a box." So, you can write that you are "moderately" proficient in Spanish on your application. You just better be able to back it up in the event that your interviewer busts out in Spanish.....

 

[216397]

I feel Immersing yourself in another language by moving to another country is definitely the best thing you could do. If, however, like me you're not in a position to up and move, I definitely agree with Lady Marid that finding another person to practice with is also a great option.

In the meantime, until you find someone to practice with, I find watching spanish television is helping me out a bit. Maybe you could give that a try. You can even be crazy like me and talk back to the tv . After all, for me, it's speaking the language that I find more difficult than writing or understanding, simply b/c I dont have the opportunity to practice it as much.

Watching TV definitely helps. One thing that really helped me was renting movies that had an option for Spanish subtitles, so I could both hear and see what was being said. That really helps you pick up on accents and whatnot, since people from different areas of the world speak Spanish a lot differently.

 

[DrMattOglesby]

things that helped me:

1) living with spanish speaking roommates
2) having spanish speaking amigos
3) playing soccer/futbol
4) taking spanish classes


btw--how do you guys make an accento again?

 

[Lukkie]

Use match.com to find a local Spanish relationship.

fixed

 

[smq123]

btw--how do you guys make an accento again?

On a PC....

• Alt + 160 = á
• Alt + 130 = é
• Alt + 161 = í
• Alt + 162 = ó
• Alt + 163 = ú
• Alt + 164 = ñ
• Alt + 168 = ¿
• Alt + 173 = ¡

However, a lot of my Spanish speaking friends just don't bother using accents when they type informal emails or send text messages. It's a little cumbersome if you don't have a Spanish language keyboard.

 

[emewe]

i don't know if this is an option for you where you live, but i live in an area with a large hispanic population and several hospitals offer volunteer positions for spanish speakers to translate for patients and doctors. they start you by shadowing current interpreters then when you have some experience let you go on your own. there is a profieciency test in medical terminology, however. i'm in a medical terminology class right now to prepare to do this, but if you don't have the time for the class you could just buy the book (mine came with with CDs of native speakers, i think on amazon you have to buy them separately) and practice on your own time until you felt prepared to take such a test.
here's the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Medic...3001/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1225643174&sr=1-2

 

[URHere]

One thing you could do would be to check out a medical spanish class. Taking a course specifically for the terminology would probably fill you in on medical words/questions/etc that you wouldn't be exposed to through normal courses or immersion. As for basic conversational proficiency, just try to speak in spanish as often as you can...preferably to people who can speak it back.

 

[RUc10]

PM Travisgee, I made a thread like this a while ago and he sent me a PM that was pretty useful. Unfortunately I haven't been able to follow up on his advice. I went from being able to speak it a little and reading and writing well to now only being able to read it and understand a little of what people say. I understood everything in your post but if somebody gave me that in English and told me to say it in Spanish for them I'd be screwed.
It's all a matter of staying fresh and using it. I think the general concensus in my other thread was to Study abroad and use nothing but spanish for a while.

Good luck.

 

[Druzie]

Meetup.com seems like a good idea.

I worked in a restaurant where some coworkers spoke little English. I was able to revive quite a bit of my Spanish in the course of that year. For me, it's too tempting to take the easy route if my conversational partner knows English.

 

[Endocannabinoid]

Estoy agrecido por todo el aconsejo! Como yo dije, no tengo tiempo suficiente para asistir una clase, pero tratare usar las ideas que han presentado. Yo he visto algunos programas interesantes en la television, pero siempre son telenovelas que yo no entenderia en ingles! Bueno, me gusta la idea sobre mirar peliculas en espanol. Pienso que este me ayudara mucho. Tambien voy a tratar a encontrar una posicion donde puedo hablar con latinos. En realidad, solo puedo mejorar por practicar, ya? Bueno, muchas gracias por el aconsejo! Chau!

Thank you for all the advice. I'm sure many of these ideas will help me greatly. It would be great to stay fresh and improve upon my Spanish-speaking abilities so that I can talk more directly to future Spanish-speaking patients.

 

[dave1718]

You already speak Spanish pretty well. Congrats! It is hard to keep up... it's been five years since I've taken Spanish classes and I struggle to keep it up. But in any event, you could easily say that your languages are English and Spanish on the AMCAS application. I'd say one doesn't have to be fluent in order to say that they can speak another language.

 

[175961]

along with what others have already said, your spanish seems fine. just make some mexican friends and have fun talking to them.
"ya ese, quieres fumar mi marijuana??"
"no, no...solamente quiero hablar espanol contigo"
"que!!?? no quieres fumar conmigo??"
"no"
"pues, vete al diablo ese, es tiempo de fumar y no hablar"

 

[chemolupusMD]

dude, it is very simple. like others said, move to another country to volunteer. If u want to make it easier, move down here to miami, u ll see that u ll REALLY practice ur spanish down here

 

[Endocannabinoid]

Como han dicho, pasar tiempo en otro pais ayuda mucho. Este es como yo aprendi el mayor de mi espanol. Me gustaria viajar a un pais latino otra vez, pero todavia no tengo el tiempo! Bueno, esta bien porque es verdad- hay muchas que estan en los estados que hablan solamente espanol. Seria bueno si puedo encontrar una posicion donde puedo hacer eso. Gracias!

Tambien, alguien sabe de un lugar o foro en el internet donde podemos hablar (o escribir en la computadora) en espanol?

 

[strongboy2005]

Bueno. Obviamente, hay muchos mexicanos y otro grupos latinos en los estados unidos y el conocimiento de otra idioma nos ayudara (disculpe, mi computadora la falta accentos) a comunicar con toda la gente. El problema es que yo me he olvidado mucho de la lengua. Tiene alguien algunas ideas que puedo aplicarme para mejorar mi espanol para que yo pueda marcar la caja en mi aplicacion que dice que hablo espanol? Tambien, no puedo tomar una clase; no tengo el tiempo.

Si puedes hablarla con la precision de puedes escribir, hazlo. Pero hay cuentos de personas que tienen que hablar en espanol en sus entrevistas, asi que ten cuidado. (lo siento, mi computadora la falta acentos tambein)

 

[Endocannabinoid]

Si puedes hablarla con la precision de puedes escribir, hazlo. Pero hay cuentos de personas que tienen que hablar en espanol en sus entrevistas, asi que ten cuidado. (lo siento, mi computadora la falta acentos tambein)

Ya, estoy un poco preocupado sobre eso. Si estoy nervioso durante la entrevista, espero que todavia podre hablar! Pero, vamos a ver, jaja. Bueno, gracias! (Alguien necesita crear un programa de la computadora que nos permite usar accentos. Me molesta mucho.)

P.S. Donde aprediste tu espanol, strongboy? O es tu idioma primero?

 

[strongboy2005]

Ya, estoy un poco preocupado sobre eso. Si estoy nervioso durante la entrevista, espero que todavia podre hablar! Pero, vamos a ver, jaja. Bueno, gracias! (Alguien necesita crear un programa de la computadora que nos permite usar accentos. Me molesta mucho.)

P.S. Donde aprediste tu espanol, strongboy? O es tu idioma primero?

No, yo estudiaba espanol por tres anos (years not anuses haha) en la escuela secondaria y entonces por un semestre a la Universidad de Estado California en Fresno. Mi idioma primera es ingles. Yo creo que debes poner que puedes hablar espanol, pero si ellos comencen a hablar en espanol, no tienes miedo de decirlos que su espanol es basico y conversacional. (me encanta espanol porque muchas de las palabras son muy similares de las palabras en ingles)

 

[smq123]

Tambien, alguien sabe de un lugar o foro en el internet donde podemos hablar (o escribir en la computadora) en espanol?

Solamente escribiendo español no vale nada. Como ya sabes, hay una variedad enorme de acentos, y muchos latinos hablan con mucha rapidez. No estaras comodo con esas cosas si solo practiques escribiendo.

Como ya te dije, traducciendo para pacientes es MUY dificil. Por ejemplo, es posible que muchos mexicanos no estaran comodos hablando en español contigo. Quizas porque hables en una manera demasiado formal, o quizas porque no entiendes sus palabras de slang. O quizas porque quieren mostrarte que son mas que solamente inmigrantes pobres y sin educacion. Quizas piensen que les respetaras mas si sepan ingles. No se - pero, en mi experiencia, muchos de mis pacientes mexicanos (muchas veces) prefieren hablando en ingles.

Tambien, ustedes estan olvidando que otras cosas que, para pacientes, valen mucho mas que la lengua que el medico habla. Si puedes demostrar que, si, tienes mucho cariño, corazon, empatia, compasion, y (sobre todo) mucho respeto para tus pacientes - no importa si hables español o no.

PSSST - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO INCLUDE ACCENTED CHARACTERS WHILE TYPING...

Alt + 160 = á
Alt + 130 = é
Alt + 161 = í
Alt + 162 = ó
Alt + 163 = ú
Alt + 164 = ñ
Alt + 168 = ¿
Alt + 173 = ¡

This is for a PC. If you use a Mac - google "international characters keyboard for Mac."

 

[Endocannabinoid]

Solamente escribiendo español no vale nada. Como ya sabes, hay una variedad enorme de acentos, y muchos latinos hablan con mucha rapidez. No estaras comodo con esas cosas si solo practiques escribiendo.

Como ya te dije, traducciendo para pacientes es MUY dificil. Por ejemplo, es posible que muchos mexicanos no estaran comodos hablando en español contigo. Quizas porque hables en una manera demasiado formal, o quizas porque no entiendes sus palabras de slang. O quizas porque quieren mostrarte que son mas que solamente inmigrantes pobres y sin educacion. Quizas piensen que les respetaras mas si sepan ingles. No se - pero, en mi experiencia, muchos de mis pacientes mexicanos (muchas veces) prefieren hablando en ingles.

Tambien, ustedes estan olvidando que otras cosas que, para pacientes, valen mucho mas que la lengua que el medico habla. Si puedes demostrar que, si, tienes mucho cariño, corazon, empatia, compasion, y (sobre todo) mucho respeto para tus pacientes - no importa si hables español o no.

Si, yo se. Obviamente, hay ciertas cosas que todos necesitamos demostrar a nuestros pacientes: carino, compasion, amor, etc. (como dijo ud.). Pero, si es importante que sepamos como hablar en espanol. Hay muchas universidades de medico que le gustaria tener estudiantes que hablan espanol. Por ejemplo, la Universidad de Arizona Colegio de Medicina preferiria que un aplicante habla espanol. Otra escuela recomenda que estudiantes toman una clase de espanol antes de matriculacion.

Bueno. Mi computadora no puede hacer accentos con estes "hot keys" porque los he cambiado.

 

[smq123]

Si, yo se. Obviamente, hay ciertas cosas que todos necesitamos demostrar a nuestros pacientes: carino, compasion, amor, etc. (como dijo ud.). Pero, si es importante que sepamos como hablar en espanol. Hay muchas universidades de medico que le gustaria tener estudiantes que hablan espanol. Por ejemplo, la Universidad de Arizona Colegio de Medicina preferiria que un aplicante habla espanol. Otra escuela recomenda que estudiantes toman una clase de espanol antes de matriculacion.

No - what I meant (and it may have gotten lost in translation) is that knowing Spanish is actually a really small piece of the battle. You can know Spanish very fluently, but still not really "get through" to your patients. Conversely, you can have a basic knowledge of Spanish but still manage to connect with your patients. It's not just that we need to show compassion and empathy to our patients - it's that compassion and empathy is often even more important than just being able to speak Spanish.

Sometimes I felt like being a non-native and speaking Spanish was a bit frustrating at times. When you can't connect with a patient, you wonder if it's because he can't understand your weird accent, or if it's because of your limited vocabulary, or if it's just because he thinks it's a little weird because you're "ese guey," trying your hardest to speak Spanish. And it takes a bit of effort to stay objective and remind yourself that, sometimes, some patients are just walled off mentally/emotionally.

And yes, I know a lot of schools say that they would "prefer" that their applicants know at least basic Spanish. However, based on my own experience while applying to med school, being a capable Spanish speaker was not NEARLY as advantageous as I had been told..... Do I think it's important? Sure. But a) just because some schools imply that knowing Spanish is important for its students doesn't necessarily mean that it actually IS, and b) it's not compelling enough of a reason to say that you "should" know Spanish.

 

[Endocannabinoid]

No - what I meant (and it may have gotten lost in translation) is that knowing Spanish is actually a really small piece of the battle. You can know Spanish very fluently, but still not really "get through" to your patients. Conversely, you can have a basic knowledge of Spanish but still manage to connect with your patients. It's not just that we need to show compassion and empathy to our patients - it's that compassion and empathy is often even more important than just being able to speak Spanish.

Sometimes I felt like being a non-native and speaking Spanish was a bit frustrating at times. When you can't connect with a patient, you wonder if it's because he can't understand your weird accent, or if it's because of your limited vocabulary, or if it's just because he thinks it's a little weird because you're "ese guey," trying your hardest to speak Spanish. And it takes a bit of effort to stay objective and remind yourself that, sometimes, some patients are just walled off mentally/emotionally.

And yes, I know a lot of schools say that they would "prefer" that their applicants know at least basic Spanish. However, based on my own experience while applying to med school, being a capable Spanish speaker was not NEARLY as advantageous as I had been told..... Do I think it's important? Sure. But a) just because some schools imply that knowing Spanish is important for its students doesn't necessarily mean that it actually IS, and b) it's not compelling enough of a reason to say that you "should" know Spanish.

Oh I definitely agree with all you posted.

I can relate especially well with the portion I highlighted above. I lived in South America for a while and I can usually understand everything just fine. The problem is when I speak and they "don't understand." I mean, the vast majority do, but when someone acts completely oblivious to what I'm saying (as if I were speaking gibberish) sometimes I just have to wonder to myself... do they really not understand what I'm saying or are they just being difficult or lazy? I realize that how one enunciates and accentuates his or her words in Spanish makes a huge difference on whether the listener can comprehend what one is saying, but I'd like to think that I'm not horrible in that respect.

I don't know. I worked for quite a while teaching English to new citizens of the United States. Sometimes it was really hard to understand their English, but I always worked hard to get the general idea and never just gave up and threw my hands in the air.

I hope I'm not sounding excessively bitter, but sometimes I'll conjugate a verb slightly incorrectly and all the sudden to a native speaker I'm a a complete idiot! Well, I guess one of your points just resonated with me-- the fact that someone who is completely fluent in Spanish, yet still a non-native Spanish speaker, will not be much better off than someone who can communicate relatively well. It has been my experience that many romantic-language speakers are easily distracted by a small grammatical error when I can understand "Where has learnED you espanol?" and respond, "I took a few classes in high school" just fine.

 

[smq123]

I hope I'm not sounding excessively bitter, but sometimes I'll conjugate a verb slightly incorrectly and all the sudden to a native speaker I'm a a complete idiot! Well, I guess one of your points just resonated with me-- the fact that someone who is completely fluent in Spanish, yet still a non-native Spanish speaker, will not be much better off than someone who can communicate relatively well. It has been my experience that many romantic-language speakers are easily distracted by a small grammatical error when I can understand "Where has learnED you espanol?" and respond, "I took a few classes in high school" just fine.

Yeah, that's definitely part of it. A lot of native speakers ARE pretty forgiving, but sometimes you get one....

It also gets complicated in medicine, I think. Is the patient giving me a blank look of boredom and confusion because....
....he can't understand my accent?
....he CAN understand me, but is choosing to be a jerkwad instead?
....he doesn't trust doctors?
....he doesn't trust someone who looks so young?
....he's worried that someone will report him to INS? (Or whatever it's called nowadays.)
....he has metastatic cancer to his brain, which is messing up his mental status?
....he had a stroke?
....he has a metabolic imbalance that is making him confused and disoriented?

Frustrating.

My other pet peeve with med schools who state that they "prefer" that their applicants speak at least basic Spanish, etc., is that Spanish language classes do NOT teach you the ins and outs of dealing with a largely immigrant (AND migrant!) population.

I feel like immigrants who are here illegally tend to cocoon themselves in (for obvious reasons)....so they have an even sketchier idea of their medical history than other patients do. For instance, we had an illegal immigrant who had been treated at another hospital when he used to live in a neighboring state. He had had surgery done there, so we tried to get a copy of the operative note. The problem was....he could NOT remember the name of the TOWN in which he lived. He knew the name of the company that owned his hospital - but that company operates 11 different hospitals throughout that state. We ended up spending 3 hours calling all 11 hospitals to try to find the report....except (as it turned out) he had used a different name during that visit (he was slightly worried about deportation), so none of the hospitals had a record of his name. It was just a huge mess. Kind of wish my Spanish teacher had spent some time on THOSE kinds of issues rather than on the history of the Aztec empire or somesuch....

 

[Endocannabinoid]

It can make for quite a mess- that's for sure.

It's also very difficult with a lot of words/expressions that have more of a cultural influence or are just plain "slang" words. Well, I guess we'll see what happens in the upcoming years with all this!

 

[Medicine09]

Next summer, before med school. I'm planning on spending a month in Atenas Costa Rica volunteering at an orphanage. It's a really good way to improve your spanish and also get some volunteering in. I'm in the same boat as you. I'm really trying to get proficient, but finding it difficult. Good luck! I thought your spanish was quite good!