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Becoming a tutor? When I signed up for this website, I thought about becoming a tutor and being able to teach people Spanish. However, the truth is that I lack the necessary abilities. I enjoy giving people advice, correcting their notebook entries and answering their questions, but I still feel that I have no methodology to teach. If I ever have to give a class to a complete beginner, what should I start with? The phonology? Or will they figure it out on their own? Should we just talk or give them exercises? What kind of exercises? How to account for the dialectal variation in the Spanish language? Should I correct grammar mistakes or should I rephrase everything so that it sounds more idiomatic? Apart from that, many people want to talk through Skype, but I'm terribly shy, what if I forget all of my English or if I can't understand their accent? I would be making a fool of myself, my English is not perfect either. My parents always tell me "You're very kind to other people, if at anytime you need to give classes, you'd do it perfectly!" But I don't agree. Nevertheless, despite my insecurities, I love helping other people, it feels good when someone tells you "Thanks! Now it's clear to me!" and that's what matters. Even though I'm not a teacher or a tutor, I feel determined to help you all.

25 lutego 2016

Pronunciation of Spanish "r" and "rr" (with IPA)

If you're learning Spanish, apart from the fact that pronouncing the "r" sound is already difficult, you may have noticed there are two ways to write it on paper, possibly making matters more difficult. In this post I'll clarify when to pronounce (using IPA transcriptions): /ɾ/ (alveolar flap) and /r/ (alveolar thrill).

Now with the easy one: "rr" is always pronounced /r/, and is always found in the middle of a word. For example

perro - /'pe.ro/

carro - /'ka.ro/

"r" can be pronounced either as /r/ or /ɾ/ depending on it's position and what surrounds it.

"r" in the beginning of a word, is always /r/. For example:

rata - /'ra.ta/

río - /'ri.o/

"r" at the end of a word can be either /r/ or /ɾ/, but usually /r/. For example:

cantar - /kan.'tar/ /kan.'taɾ/

jugar - /xu.'gar/ /xu.'gaɾ/

However, if the following word begins with a vowel sound, it becomes necessarily /ɾ/. For example:

amor eterno - /a.'mo.ɾe.'ter.no/

comer higos - /ko.'me.'ɾi.gos/

"r" at the end of a syllable, can be either /r/ or /ɾ/, but usually /ɾ/. For example:

arma - /'ar.ma/ /'aɾ.ma/

eterno - /e.'ter.no/ /e.'teɾ.no/

"r" in any other position inside of a word, is /ɾ/. For example:

brazo - /'bɾa.so/ /'bɾa.θo/

fruta - /'fɾu.ta/

creer - /'cɾe.er/

mirada - /mi.'ɾa.da/

prueba - /'pɾwe.ba/

drama - /'dɾa.ma/

grillo - /'gɾi.ʝo/

EXCEPT when it comes after "l", "n" or "s", OR when "r" comes after the prefix "sub-". For example:

honradez - /on.ra.'des/ /on.ra.'deθ/

alrededor - /al.re.de.'dor/

desregular - /des.re.gu.'lar/

subrayar - /sub.ra.ʝar/

Keep in mind some of these sounds can vary a little in different regions of Spain, Latin America or the Philippines. Hope you find this helpful!

23 lutego 2016

Are dialects troublesome when giving advice?

Hello everybody,

Despite being a native speaker, I'm very well aware of the fact that Spanish dialects can sometimes be very different, and we sometimes may come up with different interpretations, suggestions and explanations. We sometimes have trouble understanding people that come from another Spanish-speaking country.

Have you ever felt the difference in dialects might makes some things a bit hard to explain to a beginner? Have you ever feared contradicting someone else's advice due to this?

22 lutego 2016