I have said it once, I’ll say it again: I am at a distinct disadvantage being mono-lingual. Five or six years of French in high school and college barely left me with “Ou est la biblioteque?”
I love reminding my Spanish-speaking students that I am lost: asking a student today how do you say “Please read” in Spanish had them rolling on the floor laughing because I could not roll my R’s at the end of ‘lear’ as fluently as they (as fluently? Who am I kidding? More like, I think I just called your grandmother a donkey by mistake!)
With a bit more practice and patience I got it, and they were so proud of my success and their teaching skills. Just a reminder that sometimes showing how we (adults/teachers) make mistakes and take risks is so critical to building trust: and you know what? Once I said it well, they were justifiably proud. Gracias, estudiantes.
Postscript: http://radiolingua.com/shows/spanish/coffee-break-spanish/
