Six weeks into learning Spanish and I've quickly progressed from the basics: "Me llamo Eoin. Tengo 19 años. Vivo en el sur de Irlanda en una pequeña ciudad que se llama Cork!" to being able to talk relatively comfortably. I do need the odd prompt and lots of patience from the other person but that just my Irish accent I think! I will start a B.A. course in September (French, Spanish, Economics) with the view of ultimately becoming a translator/interpreter or teacher. Maybe even a combination of all three, who knows. I haven't always had a passion for languages because at school here in Ireland there is absolutely no emphasis on the spoken aspect and consequently students come to detest foreign languages. It's similar in many other countries I imagine with pupils having grammar drilled into them. "Thrrow enough mud at the wall and eventually some will stick," my French teacher used to say. It will but the process is no fun; language learning should be enjoyable. Speaking well is my primary goal in foreign languages and this is reflected in my approach of prioritising communication over writing/grammar etc...
