LEARNING TIPS: SOMOS FATALES CON LOS IDIOMAS

Good morning.

Spain has one of the worst English levels in the European community. Many people have given me the following explanation:

Somos fatales con los idiomas

This statement insinuates that Spaniards have some sort of English-learning genetic defect! That's absurd.

Some of the best English speakers that I have met are from the state of Spain. However, these people didn't get their excellent level by sitting passively in an English academy as they were pushed through levels without learning much. They took charge of their learning, were motivated, and incorporated English into their daily routine.

Unfortunately, summer is a popular time to forget about English; to "take a break." But remember, one of the most difficult things about learning English is maintaining what you've already learned. If you stay in contact with English this summer, just a little, you will notice a big difference next autumn. Instead of beginning again, you will be able to continue where you left off.

I'm not talking about "studying" in the summer; I'm talking about staying in contact by doing things that you enjoy (for example, reading), but in English. To give you some ideas of how to keep your English alive this summer, I've attached a PDF document that we gave to our students, to remind them of the importance of doing something with English during the summer holidays. The document, written in Spanish, gives ideas for simple things that you can do to practice English.

I hope that you will read the document and take it seriously. I promise that if you find time to do a little something with English this summer, you will notice a big difference when you begin your classes next autumn.

I'll "speak" to you again on Monday, September 5th, the day of the first Daily Vitamin after the summer holidays. Please contact me if you have any questions or comments about today's content.

Have a great summer!