Suggestions about reading Spanish

[Nic]

I have a problem. When I am speaking Spanish from the top of my head, or reading something out loud that I have written, I pronounce/read it quite well without any problems. However, when I try and read out a text or passage that I have not seen before, for example when I am in class and have to read something out of the text book out loud, I tend to trip over myself whilst I am speaking, not prounce words properly that I know how to pronounce and mix up the words. I have tried practicing to myself on a night but it doesn't seem to be working. Can anyone suggest any ways that I can solve this problem?

Thanks,

Nicola

[rod]

I have a similar problem, in particular with words that look similar to English words but are pronounced differently. For some reason, I made a terrible mess of reading 'exageraciones' the other day in class. The advice I was given is to take it slowly, to break the word up into syllables and just concentrate on pronouncing one at a time rather than taking on the whole word at once. This sounds convincing, but I still continue to have problems. Anyone else out there with better ideas? (I suspect the answer - as usual - is 'practice, practice, practice').

[eldeano]

Originally Posted by rod

Anyone else out there with better ideas? (I suspect the answer - as usual - is 'practice, practice, practice').

Er... practice, practice, practice

I would suggest, perhaps, slowing down initially until it comes out OK, and then speeding up when the confidence is there. When I was younger I used to give readings at school and stuff and was always told to go slowly. It's surprising how slowly you think you're going but everyone else believes you're going at a faster pace.

[cubix]

One technique that can help you kill two birds with one stone. Is whenever you read a story or novella, read it outloud the first time. My teacher last year who i had for Spanish Language forced us to do this, I thought it was dumb, but I picked up the content easier and I also found it helped my pronunciation.

On a side note has anyone read the "La Casa de Bernarda Alba" we just finished that story, it was kind of awesome

[greytop]

Originally Posted by rod

.... For some reason, I made a terrible mess of reading 'exageraciones' the other day in class. ....

Ejercicio leaves me needing surgery to get my tongue untied! My attempts used to leave my teacher in stitches

[landlady]

I thought it was dumb, but I picked up the content easier and I also found it helped my pronunciation.

I find the opposite, although I agree your advice is sound. When I read out aloud, especially in class, I don't really take the passage that I am reading in as I'm concentrating so much on getting the pronounciation of the words correct. I need to read the chapter first, or after, in my head to understand what the content is. My Spanish teacher says this is normal.

[Diana]

Originally Posted by landlady

I find the opposite, although I agree your advice is sound. When I read out aloud, especially in class, I don't really take the passage that I am reading in as I'm concentrating so much on getting the pronounciation of the words correct. I need to read the chapter first, or after, in my head to understand what the content is. My Spanish teacher says this is normal.

When I read aloud in class, the same thing happens to me. I, too, concentrate so much on pronunciation that I really do not understand what I am reading. However, reading aloud at home helps my pronunciation and comprehension. Speaking and reading in front of others has always made me nervous and I can imagine many others have this problem too. As everything else - for those who are not natural born public speakers - it takes practice, practice, and more practice.

[eldeano]

I remember that in one of my classes the students were encouraged to come to the lesson with a prepared article - from a newspaper, magazine or book - that they read aloud to the class. The benefit of this was that a) the student could practice and prepare, b) the other students would listen (they didn't know the content nor were they following the same text in a book) and c) it could often stimulate a subsequent class discussion.

[Edith]

Originally Posted by greytop

Ejercicio leaves me needing surgery to get my tongue untied! My attempts used to leave my teacher in stitches

Ejercicio is a real tongue-twister!

[Pepino]

In my job here in Spain, I have to set a lot of user authorisations on the computer system, so I have to say "autorizaciones" a lot. Even with all this practice, I still can't say it. I end up sounding like something out of The Two Ronnies...

aut...
aut..or..
aut..ooooor
aut..or.izzzzzz

Joder....."Permisos!"

[eldeano]

I can never get australianos to sound right - I make it sound as if I'm Australian when I say it!

[DocMolly]

A mi, me cuesta: "especializarse."

(No se si ni aun lo escribiera bien. )

[Nic]

Thanks for all the advice! It's nice to know I'm not the only one who has problems with this. I just find it really embarrasing as I'm sure most of you do because at the end of the day you are talking out loud in front of people who you hardly know and , I don't know about you, but it makes me feel inadequate.

I guess it's just gonna be practice, practice, practice...

Originally Posted by cubix

On a side note has anyone read the "La Casa de Bernarda Alba" we just finished that story, it was kind of awesome

Yeah I read 'La Casa De Bernarda Alba' last term, I did my coursework about it. I thought it was really good and subsequently went on to read 'Yerma' and 'Bodas de Sangre' which are also both very good stories.

[El Jardinero Zurdo]

Originally Posted by DocMolly

A mi, me cuesta: "especializarse."

(No se si ni aun lo escribiera bien. )

Y a mi: "religioso"...

[richardksa]

OK, here's a tip we use at the English conversation week we do with Spanish English speakers. Count the number of sylables in the word, then beat it out on the table or your knee while you say it. The strict tempo keeps you from tripping over the sylables. This is how I am completely fluent in "Desafortunadamente". I really impress the Spanish when I come out with that one!

[Edith]

Originally Posted by rod

I suspect the answer - as usual - is 'practice, practice, practice').

True. I also think we are being a bit too hard on ourselves sometimes, and that includes myself. We should allow ourselves the occasional 'bad hair day' without dwelling too much on it afterwards. Yesterday, as I was reading an article from El País Semanal out loud, I realized the words weren't coming out as well as usual, but I decided to keep on going. Whatever you do - whether it's learning a new language or practicing some kind of sport - there will always be days during which you are not performing as well as you'd wish to.

I'd like to hear more tongue-twisters from you guys: one of my worst nightmares is ajedrez (apart from ejercicio, which was mentioned earlier by Greytop).

[greytop]

Originally Posted by richardksa

OK, here's a tip we use at the English conversation week we do with Spanish English speakers. Count the number of sylables in the word, then beat it out on the table or your knee while you say it. ....

You can count, slap your thigh and speak all at the same time? Please send me some of your pills

[richardksa]

It helps if you are holding a glass in the other hand

[Jules]

Originally Posted by richardksa

It helps if you are holding a glass in the other hand

Containing something that the the Saudi authorities might not approve of?

[richardksa]

True, but then I'm in Madrid at the moment. Much nicer than Saudi.