Tips and Advice - Tom Seryak

Spanish pronunciation is one of the easier aspects of learning the language, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t present some challenges.

If you’ve ever had your tongue twisted while trying to pronounce difficult words like “desafortunadamente”, then this is the article for you.

I’ll be sharing a technique that I have used to quickly master the pronunciation of difficult words that contain lots of syllables, such as:

Definitivamente
Electrodoméstico
Indemnización
Adelgazamiento
Desafortunadamente

and, last but not least:

Otorrinolaringólogo

Let’s get started.

Explanation of the Verb Gustar + Practice

By Tom_Seryak

On May 10, 2023

In Tips and Advice

If you’re looking for an explanation of how the verb “gustar” works in Spanish – you’re in the right place.

My Grandma Likes to Read

Recently, a Spanish learner posted a question on the Facebook page “Learning Spanish” about why her answer to a Duolingo exercise was incorrect:

Here was my response:

Let’s take a deeper look into my explanation for how we talk about things we like in Spanish.

whatsapp, communication, smartphone-1357489.jpg

Guide: Spanish Listening Practice

By Tom_Seryak

On May 3, 2023

In Listening Practice, Tips and Advice

You’ve just broken your language app streak record and are feeling confident about your upcoming vacation in Mexico.

After all, you are able to understand the majority of the Spanish you hear on the app and have even ventured onto YouTube and watched hours upon hours of videos from your favorite Spanish learning channels.

And then you step off the plane and hear this:

…and meet reality head on. Between the speed, regional accents and slang there seems to be a decent sized gap between the Spanish spoken in language learning materials and that spoken on the street.

I’ve created this group to help close that gap.

How to Understand Fast Spanish

By Tom_Seryak

On March 28, 2023

In Tips and Advice

If you have ever thought to yourself that Spanish sounds like the fastest spoken language in the world, you are wrong.

Spanish is the second fastest language in the world behind Japanese.

However, just because Spanish is fast doesn’t mean you should throw your hands in the air and give up. There are techniques that you can apply during your listening practice that will help you understand even the fastest of the fast.

How To Set Language Learning Goals

By Tom_Seryak

On January 19, 2023

In Tips and Advice

“I want to become fluent in <insert foreign language here>”

I hear this phrase so often and can’t help but be reminded of my early days with Spanish and strangely, my time spent working as a personal trainer.

There’s nothing wrong with the desire to become fluent. In fact, that desire is what inspires us to start the process to begin with.

However, “I want to become fluent” is a result oriented and future oriented goal much like these commonly stated fitness goals:

“I want to lose weight”
“I want to get stronger”
“I want to look better naked”
Etc.

The desire is natural, but if you don’t take the additional step that I’m going to propose in this post, you’re likely setting yourself up for failure.

How to Stop Translating in Your Head: Part 2

By Tom_Seryak

On November 19, 2022

In Tips and Advice

This is part 2 of the series “How to Stop Translating in Your Head” that I have written with the purpose of giving you the tools and/or techniques that you need to both understand and produce a foreign language without translating.

If you haven’t read part 1, I recommend reading it first before you continue with part 2. You can access part 1 here.

Lost in Translation
Is Language a Skill?
Step 1: Observe
Step 2: Practice
Step 3: Automatic and Intuitive Free Production
Wrapping it all up

Lost in Translation

Have you ever found yourself thinking in English and then attempting to translate to Spanish (or another target language)?

It might look something like this:

Someone asks you, “¿Dónde estás?”

You think to yourself, “Ok. This person wants to know where I’m at. I’m at home, so let me break that down piece by piece:

I am = Yo soy

At = a

Home = la casa

How to Stop Translating in Your Head

By Tom_Seryak

On October 30, 2022

In Tips and Advice

How we understand language
Understanding the target language through association – a 4 step process
How to search for comprehensible input on YouTube

Do you often find yourself translating to and from English while attempting to communicate in Spanish?

I know that it is tempting to find meaning through translation – it’s a type of instant gratification that I’ve fallen victim to countless times.

But just like other things that we’ve all done that provide us instant gratification, such as hitting the snooze button on the alarm, eating junk food and wasting time on social media, there is a price to pay. With language learning, the price is hefty and gets worse with time.