My Secret to Learning a Second Language

I studied Spanish in high school.

And by the word "studied" I mean I was in the class for two years, I got straight A's, and I didn't learn a single thing about how to communicate with someone using Spanish.

So when it came time for me to learn Portuguese, I was lost. I knew that other languages were different from English; not just in the fact that they had different words but also different sentence structure, different grammar, different pronunciation, and so on.  What a daunting task! I really needed to find a different way to look at it if I was going to figure out how to communicate in Portuguese effectively.

The very first thing I needed to do was completely change the way I thought about other languages. I figured, I have been in school for so long and even during my studies for my second Master's degree I was still learning new words that were more specialized for my field. I was constantly adding to my vocabulary and a lot of the time these words described things I already knew, but had always explained in a different way. New words in another language had to be thought of as just that; new words. An expansion of my vocabulary. It wouldn't be easy, but it could be done!

Honestly, after that the rest was just a matter of repetition, plus reading, writing, listening and speaking practice. I felt the need to master the basics on my own before contacting any native Brazilian; I didn't want them to feel like they were wasting their time on someone who didn't even know their colors or how to count to ten. I made it a goal to get to an elementary level by myself and then find a "teacher" with whom I could converse.

Here come the resources. Rosetta Stone was first, as everyone always raves about its effectiveness. Yeah, no. I learned like four words and I didn't understand the why or how of anything because there weren't a lot of resources to back it up. Luckily, I only did the trial version because that would have been a HUGE waste of money if I had actually invested in the program. After some research, I found Duolingo. I don't know how it took me so long to hear about this because it's the most amazing program, app, website, and so forth all in one - plus it's FREE. Playing through that gave me an incredible base of vocabulary and simple sentence structure.

Pronunciation is difficult with a new language when you try to learn from an electronic voice. Though Duo's voice is much better now, it was a lot more harsh when I first started learning so I made a little investment into a $7 Learn Brazilian Portuguese CD from Amazon.com. I popped that into my CD player in the car and basically just listened to it on the way to and from work every single day. It was seven hours of content and made the ten minute drive more interesting. I wish there was a level two and so on because I would love to learn more words this way!

Finally, with the basics in hand, I took to italki.com to find myself a free language exchange tutor. There are THOUANDS of people online looking to practice languages they are learning and who would love to help teach you their native language... all for free. This is where I met Jean. I talked to a lot of people on italki of course, but Jean and my schedule just worked really well together so we spent a lot of time chatting in our spare moments. This is what really helped me excel in my education was being able to actually apply my language skills in real life. And he was learning English (although a little faster than I was learning Portuguese) so it made the whole process really fun and educational for both of us.

The key, though, is taking that first step and changing the way you think about language learning. Oftentimes the media makes a big deal out of people who are "multi-lingual" and there's really no reason to sensationalize this. I have met SO MANY people on my travels who know 4-5 different languages and are fluent in all of them! It only takes a small amount of time every day of practicing to get the basics down, and with the rate that people send me Facebook game requests I know there is a lot of free time that is getting wasted out there in the world!! :-)

<3 Jackie 

Getting Along in Rio de Janeiro

How do you get along with the locals in Rio? There are a lot of things that foreigners do that Brazilians would think were rude. However, mostly because we are foreigners they are pretty forgiving of us. Here's an example: saying "no." Brazilians NEVER flat out say no to anything. They always find a way to show their opposition to your request or statement without using that negative word. For instance, if I get invited over to someone's house and I can't go, my first response (even if I really really REALLY want to go) would be to say "No, I have to go to rehearsal this afternoon." But a Brazilian would just cut out the negativity all together by saying "I have to go to rehearsal this afternoon." It's the slightest difference but it is nice because it removes the negativity from the conversation! On the other hand, Brazilians are notorious for not being direct and I think this is part of the reason why. They don't just come out and say "no" about anything so they can come across as wishy-washy.

A second thing that I've noticed is super rude yet I do all the time is blowing your nose in public. This one will actually get me a few disgusted looks and grunts from people around. I have a horrible habit of needing to blow my nose at the end of a meal - which often happens in a restaurant when I am within reach of a paper napkin. Brazilians will go to the restroom to blow their noses, so I have been trying to condition myself to do the same thing, but it's definitely a difficult habit to break (seeing as there has never been a problem with it in the states!!).

One last thing I would like to point out isn't necessarily rude, but a common practice in the country that's hard to get used to. Don't throw toilet paper in the toilet. It's very important. DON'T THROW TOILET PAPER IN THE TOILET. When you've been tossing toilet paper into the toilet for 20-something years, it just becomes as part of your bathroom routine. This one took a couple of tries to break. But every bathroom you will use in Brazil has a trash can right next to the toilet where paper belongs. The problem is that Brazilian toilet paper does not have industry standards for being biodegradable and therefore it just sits in the pipes until it creates a massive blockage. That, plus within the older cities there are a lot of small pipes to contend with. It can make the whole bathroom experience quite an adventure.

Reversi - Reprinted with Permission

Like how last week I wrote a note about commitment, then this week I am writing a note nearly a week late? See how I did that? Ha! Life has been catching up to me, that's for sure, and I am trying to handle it the best I can.

 

I thought that, since it is the summer, I would have a lot less work to do and therefore more time to work on Book 2. Well, I doubt if that is going to happen at this very moment! I still want a release date this summer, and I know I gave you guys a release date of July 1, but I can already tell you that is not going to happen. I'm still shooting for having it out (at least on Amazon Kindle) by the end of this summer.

 

At the rate I am going (one book every other year) the entire 28-book series is not going to be finished within my lifetime!

J.M. Hope

Commitment - Reprinted with Permission

When you commit yourself to something, you should see it all the way through. So many people aren't like that nowadays.

 

I love seeing all the pictures of the older couples who say things like "We came from a generation where you fixed something when it is broken, you didn't throw it away." This is so true! I sit and think of everything that is disposable in our world today. Everything from plates, to furniture, to even houses! People actually put money into houses that are MEANT to be trashed after only a few years. Whatever happened to quality? To craftsmanship and pride in work? It makes sense, therefore, that we would believe all of our relationships to be disposable as well. We use them and use them until we've gotten what we want out of them, then we just get rid of them.

 

How horrible of an outlook! We need to change this in the next generation, and get back to a way of life where having someone in our life to lean on is considered a blessing and something to look forward to. The whole idea of "the ball-and-chain" and "taking the plunge" are such negative ways to look at love and marriage. Granted, marriage is not for everyone, but it should be shed in a far more positive light. Having more programs to help married couples work through their troubles would be great, but I also think that there should be manditory requirements for engaged couples to go through counseling before they can be allowed to be married. It would be so good for them to get a slap of reality to the face through the fog of "true love" that they feel.

J.M. Hope

Deadlines - Reprinted with Permission

Having deadlines always makes me nervous. I know the deadlines are of my own making for the most part, but having to have every little piece completed and ready to go by a specific date in time just plain stresses me out. I don't know if I feel as if I can't do it or what, but getting all of the stuff coordinated at the same time is difficult for me somehow.

 

At the same time, if I don't have deadlines, then I never seem to get anything done. So then I'm left with a specific NEED to make deadlines for myself.

 

Someone once suggested to me that I make deadlines for each little piece of the puzzle. I have deadlines for a lot of the things I need to do, but let's use my new book as an example. I should have a primary deadline for getting the first draft to the editor, a deadline for the second draft, a deadline for the cover art, and then a deadline for the Kindle manuscript. Maybe that will work, but I would just feel a little overwhelmed trying to keep track of all of those dates.

 

If you have any tactic you use to get stuff done and keep from getting stressed please share with a comment!

J.M. Hope

Release Dates and Cover Art - Reprinted with Permission

I've been out of town, but I am here for my weekly blog!

 

So, work on the second book is going great right now! I am somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4 of the way finished with the first draft. The guard girls are having a pretty great time with band camp, but of course there are always obstacles for them to overcome. Some of the obstacles come from within, and some come from the outside, but all of them will be worked through. I'm shooting for a release date of July 1st. We will see how this goes...

 

I've been looking for someone to work out the cover art for me on the second book. I have my original cover art, but once I had the first book published and the cover art for it professionally changed, I want to have the second book cover re-worked to offer consistency and continuity. Anybody who is interested and good with photoshop hit me up!

 

In the meantime, I'm going to get back to my writing!

J.M. Hope

Opening Ceremonies - A Rua Para Rio

Rehearsals are improving. There is a lot of "hurry up and wait" going on, except without any of the actual "hurry" part. I'm just amazed at how everything is coming together with so many thousands of people on the field of play. There have been a lot of frustrations out of this DCI alumnus over the rehearsal conditions, but if I've learned nothing else in my time with the Blue Stars it's that we are only as good as our weakest member. When there are thousands of people spanning from the age of 18 to 85, it requires much patience to make sure everyone knows their role and can do it exactly right. I value and idolize Steve and the rest of the creative team for their ability to cope and still try to keep things interesting for all of us.

I still won't give away any of the secrets since the ceremonies don't air for another week, but don't miss it!! It's going to be an amazing spectacle of Brazilian life and culture. It will be in the USA on NBC Friday, August 5th. Go watch it!! Go love it!! I might even be on TV!!

<3 Jackie