Amanda Gorman

I listened to my first podcast, and it was interesting to say the least. I found the podcast “Really Learn Spanish” on the EDUCATION PODCAST NETWORK and was recorded by Johan van Rooyen. He explained that the podcast would last about 10 minutes and the goal was to improve Spanish pronunciation among non-native speakers. As a future Spanish teacher, I thought it would be interesting to hear his advice. He began by recording another podcast by a random man who was interested in Mexican and Latin culture. I thought that this had nothing to do with pronunciation, and it felt like it didn’t even belong to the podcast. Van Rooyen then began to explain Spanish pronunciation. He explained that once you know the rules of Spanish pronunciation (for those of you who  need some brushing up on your Spanish—take the word  “libre” the “e” does not sound like “ay” it is pronounced as a “short eh”)  you are able to pronounce any word correctly even if you have never head it. I do not agree with him at all. Anyone who has studied Spanish knows that for every rule there is always an exception. Just knowing the rules does not guarantee you are going to pronounce the word correctly. He then suggested watching Spanish TV programs. Not only can one build their vocabulary, but they can connect an image to a particular word, and they can hear first hand the correct pronunciation. Now, this method I agree with. I have always watched Spanish television programs for both of these purposes. It gives me an idea of the intonation of certain phrases and words, and it definitely has helped to build my vocabulary. In his conclusion for pronunciation he suggested the importance of pronunciation, and if something is not pronounced right, it won’t be understood. I agree with this especially in Spanish, because one accent mark can change a word from one meaning to another without changing any spelling. His last piece of advice in the podcast was how to build vocabulary. He suggested reading as much Spanish literature as you can, even if you do not understand it, just keep reading. By the 2^nd book you should understand the gist of the story and by the 4^th book you should begin to truly understand the language. I completely disagree with this. I have been taking Spanish for several years, and I know that if I just sat down and read book after book in Spanish I would not learn what was going on. He even suggested not looking up words in the dictioinary, instead just learning to appreciate and absorb Spanish grammar and structure. I suppose, with all the reading, I would pick up some basic structures of the language, but it certainly wouldn’t help to build my vocabulary because I would not know what any of the words mean. In all, I really don’t think his podcast helped me. It may have helped people who have never taken Spanish before, or are beginning Spanish learners. However, van Rooyen made a point in saying that this podcast was under the assumption that the listener had been studying and was quite familiar with Spanish. Some of his advice was ok, but I already knew about it. A lot of his advice I really did not agree with at all. What I did like is that he tried to make himself credible right at the start when he said that he had taught in Spain for 10 years, and this was the advice he used when he taught in Spain, so at least I knew, if I assume I can trust him, that he was a credible source, and not just doing this podcast for a joke. After listening, I really do enjoy podcasts, they are interesting, and they present a new way of learning that I really have never experienced.