I've just read..............
 

My first book in Spanish..............and I'm feeling a little bit chuffed with myself :o
Just wanted to share that with you peeps!

My friend lent it to me and really encouraged me, saying she was sure I would be able to cope with it and enjoy it.
And I did!

For anyone who's interested, it was called "El Niño con el Pijama de Rayas" by John Boyne (translated from English)
I would heartily recommend the book to everyone; either in Spanish or English.
It's a wonderful story - albeit a very sad theme.
It's about the relationship between two boys during the War; one German, one Jewish.
It's essentially a book written for children; but one that adults will appreciate even more, because of the extremely clever style in which it's written. To say any more would give too much away.
An extremely poignant and moving story.

If I'd been reading the English version, I wouldn't have been able to put it down, and I would have finished reading it in about 2 hours.
As I was reading it in Spanish, I found I could only manage it in bursts of about an hour at a time.
It was an incredibly useful way of learning sentence structure, verb endings and new vocabulary.
I even found that at times I was reading it without consciously translating it into English, so that was pleasing.

Anyway, just wanted to share my "feel good" feeling with you!

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WELL DONE YOU!!!!!!!

What a wonderful achievement. So pleased that you have mastered the language sufficiently to be able to read a book. Do hope that you are patting yourself on the back very hard and very often. I bet that when you read the last word you grinned from ear to ear and that you are still grinning now.

Definitely deserves Karma...if it allows me.

Rosemary

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Excellent. You are right to be proud of yourself.

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Aaah! Thank you ladies :) You are very kind.

I was most pleased about the fact I actually enjoyed reading in Spanish; but of course that was helped by it being such an excellent story.

I suppose I posted about it, because I hoped I might encourage people to give it a go (this book, or any other)


Have you read any Michael Morpurgo books at all?
They're essentially children's books, but most of them are also an excellent read for adults.
The lad I used to support at school always used to pass his books on to me to read.
Bless him, when he knew I was leaving, he said "Well, if you're going to Spain, you'd better read this!"
It was called "Toro, Toro" and was superb - set in the Spanish Civil War.

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Thank you for the karma Rosemary (and you Crispy!)

I can't tell you too much about how I felt at the end of the book, because it will give it away...............but I wasn't grinning :(

I know what you mean though, so thank you again.

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Well done Brisca!!! :thumbsup:

When I moved to England I realised that I'd only been taught written English so I could only read and write, I couldn't understand anything or speak a word. I used to watch everything on TV with subtitles, they helped immensely until I became fluent :)

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Thank you anabella :)

I need to start working on my written Spanish skills now.
Unless I've got my dictionary by my side, I can never remember where all the accents go..........and of course, they can change the meaning of a word entirely!

I'm managing to text in Spanish - and my friends seem to understand me :unsure:

How long would you say it took you to feel confident in your spoken English?
I'm feeling a bit frustrated at the moment, because I feel a bit like a 2 and a half year old!!
(I suppose that kind of makes sense though, because I've been here for almost two years now, and had a very basic knowledge of Spanish before I came.
I can understand almost everything that is said - until a new word gets thrown in - but I can't express myself as quickly or unhaltingly as I would like to.

Did you find that too?
What helped you to progress and feel more confident?

I'd really appreciate your advice.

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I take my hat off to you WELL DONE ,I'm sooooooooo lazy haven't picked my
Spanish course up for months TUT TUT , brilliant achievement for you :thumbsup::thumbsup::wub:

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Thanks Jean :)

Am just off to do some weeding now in the new house (well, garden! ;)) so will catch up with you later.
Have got friends coming for dinner tonight, so I shouldn't really be on the computer at all today!

The 4 friends who are coming are all Spanish.
3 of them are from my walking group, so I'm perfectly used to talking to them. However, the other friend is the young man who comes to me to practice his English conversation skills..........and I'm feeling really nervous about speaking Spanish in front of him - because his English is SO good! :o

I've got butterflies in my stomach, just thinking about it!

Hope all is well with you?
Love Sam xx

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I'd say about a couple of years but it depends ok your circumstances and how much you interact with others.. I did feel like an idiot for a while but this feeling goes away when your language knowledge improves..

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Well done Sam :thumbsup:

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Thanks for the reply anabella.

I guess that's why I'm feeling frustrated then :frown:
I've been here two years, and I couldn't describe myself as fluent by any stretch of the imagination.
I know non native speakers can never really achieve true fluency - but I do wish I was a bit more advanced.

I socialise ALL THE TIME!!!! (Just ask my O/H!!) ;)
Maybe this year I'll notice an improvement then; I'll just try and chill out about it.

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Many thanks Lionda :)

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Thats fantastic brisca, your're an inspiration to us all!! I've been having Spanish lessons for a couple of years but because I only get to try it out when I am over on holiday, my progress is not as fast as I'd like!! I'm going to look for your book and have a go :unsure:
I like to listen to spanish radio when I'm on the computer and we only have spanish T.V at our place, so that helps. I like watching the quiz shows as they often put the questions written on the screen. my favourite is Pasa Palabra!! Sad eh?

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My daughters just finished reading this book (in English) and it made her cry. She is as tough as nails but she loved this book. Couldn't wait for it to end but didn't want it to as well.

Well done for reading it in Spanish as I can't imagine a lot of the language would come up in every day words. We move out begining of March and all the Spanish is in one ear and out of the other so I feel quite hopeful now.:thumbsup:

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Not pathetic at all. We only have Spanish TV too and love Alta Tension, Money Money and Pasa Palabra for the same reason. For a good laugh about the inconsistency of translations watch Red Dwarf in English with Spanish sub-titles it is amazing.


Rosemary

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Yeah!!! Another quiz fan woo hoo!! :thumbsup:
Thanks I will check out the red Dwarf :D

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Hola!Felicidades! Brisca, you're a star!:lol: Vamos a fiesta!:thumbsup:
Well done to everybody. I think the important point is to talk. The writing can come later, but it can be helped along by reading in spanish.
Carol

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Sorry, I should not have posted on this thread. You are now linked with us even if it through liking quizzes.............our user name has been well earned over many years and is not whimsical so maybe you now need to issue a disclaimer!!!!!!!

Rosemary

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Hi there cafeconleche :)

Thank you for your kind words.
I'd really recommend the book; and it doesn't matter what speed you work through it - it all helps with the learning process.
Go for it; give it a go :thumbup:

We also only have Spanish TV, but I must admit that we hardly watch it.
However when we do, it's for the quiz programmes and the news - because they're by far the easiest to understand (and I can't bear to watch badly dubbed series!!)

It sounds like you're making the most of all the opportunities that you get, to improve your language skills..........so you're several steps ahead of an awful lot of Brits who live in, or visit Spain! :ohmy:

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Thank you for your message Suzanne :)

I know exactly what your daughter meant about both wanting - and not wanting - the book to end!
I didn't cry, but I was left with a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I had realised how the story was going to end :(

The beauty of the book was that several expressions were repeated throughout it, so they became very familiar.
It was very cleverly written.

Good luck with your impending move :thumbsup:
Where are you moving to?
Don't worry about the language. The more you practice "in situ", the quicker you learn (and more importantly, you remember it!)

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Thank you Carol :)

I think you're absolutely right. The most important thing is to talk; but reading newspapers, magazines and books can really help to "plant" the words more firmly in one's head.
It's interesting to see something that can sound like a phrase, when written is actually just all one word!
Seeing something in print somehow helps the brain to retain the information (depending on your learning style, I suppose?)

Poco a poco, as they say ;)

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Hi Rosemary :)

I used to really enjoy Red Dwarf too!
I didn't see it from the beginning, but the episodes I did catch were thoroughly entertaining :D

Was that the series that generated the expression "I've got a pain in my left diode!!?"
My brother used to go around saying it all the time when he was about 14!
He drove us barmy!! :eek:

(It might have been "The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy?? :unsure:)
That's a series I never got into.

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Hi Brisca, We're moving to Benissa, hopefully a good mix of people around there and plenty of places to take the dogs for a run. Fitten me up!

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I must admit I had no idea where Benissa was.................but I've just "Googled" it, and it sounds lovely :thumbup:

The very best of luck to you, your family and the dogs with the move.

All the best,
Sam.

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Hello Brisca
Don't worry about speaking Spanish slowly, you can not speak in Spanish as quick as you speak in English, above all in the beginning. Don't worry if you make mistakes because understanding each other is the most important. Your Spanish will be better day by day without you are conscious of it. I make a lot of mistakes in English but i keep on writing and i hope you all can understand me, at least the idea i try to say.
Listening to music can help you very much. I used to listen to the Beatles, their songs helped me a lot. When you hear a sentence over and over again you finish learning it by memory and you can say it without thinking and when you say something so good it makes you feel better and more confidence ;)

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Thank you for that lovely reply marisol :)
I would send you karma, but I've already done that on another thread - so it won't let me!

Your English is EXCELLENT; you have nothing to worry about :thumbup:

I will try to relax a bit about my feelings of frustration, because I realise that it's more difficult to learn whilst feeling tense!
I am pleased with how much I can generally understand (I even get some jokes if they're explained slowly enough!)

That's a good idea about listening to music.
One of my Spanish friends said she learnt a lot of her English by listening to Michael Jackson!! :ohmy:
I can now pick out some lines in the chorus of different pop songs, and can sing along a little bit at Fiestas! :D

Have you lived in England at all?
Do you get to speak English on a regular basis at the moment?

Thanks again for your encouragement; I'll keep trying!
Sam.

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Hello Brisca,
First of all, thank you very much for you karma. I had only 4 little square under my name and now i have so much...:thumbsup: thank you and jdr and Crispy.
Don't you think my English is so good, i use the dictionary a lot of times. When i try to speak everything is different. I have been to Boston, i spent there three months, but i am studying English since i was 5, at school, you know. My pronunciation is so bad that if you hear me you can't know in what language i am talking :o
I am sure you Spanish is excellent. As much as you know the more you realize the little you know. I can remember, when i hardly know the elementary English, i felt as if i knew everything, i thought "ok, i already know how to speak English, i can say whatever i want" but, once my English was improving i realized i didn't know anything.
I think singer-songwriter as "Sabina" can help you with your Spanish. He uses a lot of Spanish idioms and the language he uses is very colloquial.

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Hello Brisca,
First of all, thank you very much for your karma. I had only 4 little square under my name and now i have so much... thank you and jdr and Crispy.
Don't you think my English is so good, i use the dictionary a lot of times. When i try to speak everything is different. I have been to Boston, i spent there three months, but i am studying English since i was 5, at school, you know. My pronunciation is so bad that if you hear me you can't know in what language i am talking
I am sure your Spanish is excellent. As much as you know the more you realize the little you know. I can remember, when i hardly know the elementary English, i felt as if i knew everything, i thought "ok, i already know how to speak English, i can say whatever i want" but, once my English was improving i realized i didn't know anything.
I think singer-songwriter as "Sabina" can help you with your Spanish. He uses a lot of Spanish idioms and the language he uses is very colloquial.

I have read it again and i hadn't written the "r" in your, sorry.

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Brisca, Brilliant, just brilliant. Well done. I too have karma'd you (or I tried but computer said NO)

My spanish is a little bit rusty though, Translated I make the title out to be "A little wind in my pygamas made me smile":D
Is that an over 18's book then:D:D