Monday, April 5, 2010

Spanish lessons

I am nearing the end of Básico Uno; final exam takes place on April 19. I did well on my mid-terms and hope that'll go for the finals, too. Studying a new language is interesting and fun, plus the October deadline is making me highly motivated to study regularly. Even though I understand Spanish OK due to my knowledge of Latin and French (and knowing the complex grammar of German doesn't hurt either), it's something else to become able to speak.

Active expression is entirely different from passive understanding.

The next step is Básico Dos.

UNAM offers this course during the Spring session as a 6 week intensive, from May 3 onwards. Intensive means 10 hours in class per week, i.e. 4x per week, from 7 to 9:30 pm, plus homework. I am planning to take it; hopefully there will be sufficient enrollment.

During the summer UNAM doesn't offer any Spanish classes. Hence, Jan and I are planning to take Spanish privately.

At UNAM there are 4 levels for Basic, 3 levels for Intermediate and 1 level for Advanced for a total of 8 levels each at 60 hours for a total of 480 hours. My goal is to complete - and be proficient in using - all 4 of the Basic levels by October. Ambitious, I know, but it's an essential part of preparation in my view that will make our journey more enjoyable and probably safer, too.

No comments:

Post a Comment