SPI114 Practice

Students always say...I can read Spanish and I understand what people are saying (most of the time), but I just can't speak it. So, I say, you can speak it, you just need to practice.

Here's a way to practice your speaking, improve your fluency, and your pronunciation.

Option 1.
Copy... Here is Pablo Neruda's "Puedo escribir los versos más tristes esta noche". I chose this poem, because Neruda speaks slow and therefore is less intimidating. Yes, the poem is very dramatic. I'm hoping that takes a little of the "fear" out of it and puts a little "giggle" into it...less stress. His pronunciation is clear and fairly easy for you to understand. Repeat what he says as many times as you can. The more you practice, the more fluent you'll become.

http://youtu.be/jF79a4K9wGg


If you are studying to become an interpreter, practice repeating Neruda's lines as soon as he's finish. First, practice in Spanish. Work on getting your timing and rhythm and focus together...believe it or not, repeating in Spanish is not as easy as it sounds. Once you can do that successfully, work on doing the same thing in English.

Option 2.
If you're comfortable with your pronunciation and just worried about your fluency...practice reading the poem. Read it out loud. Record yourself speaking so you can hear the words, you'll know if you are saying them right or wrong. Recording also allows you the opportunity to check your accuracy and your fluency.

Again the more you practice, the better you become.

http://www.mat.upm.es/~jcm/neruda.html

Try speeches by Che, Castro, Chavez and others.

Buena Suerte