Thumbs up for vocabulary; thumbs down for grammar

Yesterday I left Spanish class happier than I had the week before.  (See last week's blog if you would like to read my lament!)  Realizing that I can't mold the class to do what I want it to, which is help me recover some fluency in Spanish, I decided to concentrate on expanding useful Spanish vocabulary. 

I listened carefully to all of the Spanish around me, both the correct language of the very expressive instructor to the more imperfect language of class members.  By the end of the class, I had jotted down more than 50 words and expressions I didn't think I could have come up with on my own in a conversation.  Here are examples of what I gained by critical listening.

cada vez que haya - every time there is ( remember to use subjunctive verb)

vigente -  in current use  (a fancy new word )

medusa- jellyfish (very important  word if you are on the beach in Mazatlán, Mexico!)

de flor en flor- (always hard to get those prepositions correct in a second language)

de hecho - in fact or actually (a great transition expression)

But about halfway through the class, the instructor began to correct participants reading short original paragraphs aloud to the class.  A participant would begin to read, perhaps use an incorrect verb tense, and receive an oral correction at that moment.  "No, not the preterite verb estuvieron; use the imperfect estaban."

It was interesting to note that for about the first thirty minutes the instructor had done only minimal grammar correction.  The atmosphere in class was pleasant.  Class members were volunteering to read, clapping when others had presented, and asking questions.  When the grammar correction became more frequent, I could feel the class atmosphere change.  Participants were more tentative and less enthusiastic.  Who wants to speak when someone is ready to pounce on your errors? 

I have played both roles in life - the language instructor and the language student.  I understand how frustrating it is to constantly hear grammar errors and not want to eradicate them (the red pen syndrome).  Surely if I just tell someone the right verb form then they won't make that same error again?  How sad that language acquisition doesn't usually happen that way.

Speakers are constantly making grammar when they produce language. "Shall I use estuvieron or estaban?" they wonder subconsciously.   To truly use more correct grammar, speakers have to make the correction for themselves in their own brains for that information to be accessible at a later time. But how does a speaker know the correct form?  We are back to critical listening.  Which verb do native speakers choose and in what circumstances?

So even if I am not finding enough speaking opportunities in class, the listening opportunities are there for me to improve my Spanish.  As I just learned in class, "No hay mal que por bien no venga." (Something good always comes from something bad.)