Welcome to Footnotes!

Footnotes is a blog in which you can complain, express yourself, scream, or open your heart to whatever feelings you have about learning Spanish. To learn a foreign language is always difficult and it requires practice and a lot of group work. The objective of the blog is to provide a space in which Spanish students can share their learning experience. You can ask a question, complain about a difficult in a grammar point, or give an answer or tip for those same questions and complains. Teachers can also provide new information or guidance to make the process a lot easier. You may also find some websites that may be helpful, or give new ones for the benefit of everybody. I hope you enjoy this experience and that Footnotes will be part of your learning experience. Go ahead! Empieza!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Just a little empathy


According to the October 2009 edition of The Language Educator from ACTFL, empathy with the culture and politics of the area you are learning the language from may help you to acquire a better accent. This study is based on a research made between Arab and Hebrew languages at the University of Haifa. We all know that language will open a window to a new culture. This, of course, may bring conflict, specially in areas where immigration issues and sociopolitical turmoils between groups are still a problem. Nevertheless, "teachers giving instruction in languages as second languages... must relate to the social and political connection when teaching" (10), the researchers suggest. This is important, because the window that will open might bring you new opportunities in the job market or simply as an individual. It is good to learn to put on someone else's shoes, acquire the accent you desire, and expand your knowledge to other areas that is not your own universe. What do you think?
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