Dreaming Spanish just came out with Dreaming French -- is that what you mean? I've been watching the videos on Dreaming French, but they don't always engage me to the level that the ones on Dreaming Spanish did.
Maybe that's another point: what interests you at one point may not at another. . .
When I was planning my first **Spanish** Camino, I did the "academic" thing. I took a course at the local community college. I hated it. The teacher was wonderful but somehow I realized that I was not spending enough time outside of class doing the homework and the many extra stuff she suggested.
When I finally went on the Camino Frances, my third Camino, I went with English, courtesy words, important, survival words like "water", and lots of smiles and pointing.
I learned that it is helpful to use Latinized words even the conversation sounds stilted to you:
Reservation instead of "booking"
ordinary instead of plain, extra ordinary
nature instead of "outdoors"
nourishment instead of "food"
You get the idea.
I also had a small notebook and pen in my pocket. I could write down a word I mispronounced and so could they. A notebook, not a phone. A phone may be intimidating.
These techniques worked when I tried to talk to locals in villages, not so much with other pilgrims who are walking fast.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with us, Danny.
Tis reminds me: I completely forgot to mention a book I dipped into and out of from the very beginning: Madrigal's Magic Guide to Spanish. In the earliest lessons, she shows you how SO MANY words in English are similar in Spanish -- just pronounced differently or spelled a little differently. E.g. every word that ends in -tion in English ends in -ción in Spanish. Things like this blew my mind. Condition. Suggestion. Conversation. discussion. I could go on. This really gave me an initial burst of confidence: I didn't have to memorize these words. I already "knew" them -- just had to modify the pronunciation and spelling!
I hadn't heard of Dreaming Spanish. I've been doing Duolingo with my daughter for about 200 days now, which is fun, but I may look into Dreaming Spanish to help my comprehension.
Is there a similar one for French?
Dreaming Spanish just came out with Dreaming French -- is that what you mean? I've been watching the videos on Dreaming French, but they don't always engage me to the level that the ones on Dreaming Spanish did.
Maybe that's another point: what interests you at one point may not at another. . .
When I was planning my first **Spanish** Camino, I did the "academic" thing. I took a course at the local community college. I hated it. The teacher was wonderful but somehow I realized that I was not spending enough time outside of class doing the homework and the many extra stuff she suggested.
When I finally went on the Camino Frances, my third Camino, I went with English, courtesy words, important, survival words like "water", and lots of smiles and pointing.
I learned that it is helpful to use Latinized words even the conversation sounds stilted to you:
Reservation instead of "booking"
ordinary instead of plain, extra ordinary
nature instead of "outdoors"
nourishment instead of "food"
You get the idea.
I also had a small notebook and pen in my pocket. I could write down a word I mispronounced and so could they. A notebook, not a phone. A phone may be intimidating.
These techniques worked when I tried to talk to locals in villages, not so much with other pilgrims who are walking fast.
Enjoy!!
Thanks for sharing your experiences with us, Danny.
Tis reminds me: I completely forgot to mention a book I dipped into and out of from the very beginning: Madrigal's Magic Guide to Spanish. In the earliest lessons, she shows you how SO MANY words in English are similar in Spanish -- just pronounced differently or spelled a little differently. E.g. every word that ends in -tion in English ends in -ción in Spanish. Things like this blew my mind. Condition. Suggestion. Conversation. discussion. I could go on. This really gave me an initial burst of confidence: I didn't have to memorize these words. I already "knew" them -- just had to modify the pronunciation and spelling!
I hadn't heard of Dreaming Spanish. I've been doing Duolingo with my daughter for about 200 days now, which is fun, but I may look into Dreaming Spanish to help my comprehension.