Speaking Spanish Isn’t Scary?

By Chloe Bloom, Florida State University

Hello from Spain! I’ve finally made it and couldn’t be more excited to jump right into my research study and explore the city of Barcelona. First step, knowing my way around. I’ve got a metro card so that I can get from place to place around the big city and meet for interviews at cafes and libraries and of course to see the famous sights. The city is always sunny and everyone is out and about. The positive energy is contagious and I find myself unable to remove the smile from my face as I walk around even by myself. I’m looking forward to the impact that this journey will have on my life not only in the research sense, but as an individual who can manage their way around an unfamiliar, but fascinating place.
The route that I am taking to pursue my study aimed at gathering the perspectives of parents on their children’s language use and development is through the use of semi-structured style interviews. Semi-structured interviews integrate the professional skills of being organized and formulated while allowing room for personable interactions and building an authentic connection. I believe this method is most effective for the outcome that I want, which is for the results of my study to reflect the real opinions and personal motives or intentions of the participants rather than consist of simply black and white responses. In addition to maintaining professionalism and working towards these goals in English, a language that I feel comfortable and confident in, I will be navigating a handful of my interviews in Spanish.

The resources I am using for this project are minimal materialistically. I have a pen, a notebook, and my phone for audio recording. The focus of my research requires more mental preparation including structured questions, attentiveness, follow-up questions, social skills and not to be redundant but to be resourceful. Resourcefulness is the key to success. Establishing connections by not being afraid to put myself out there, introducing myself to individuals in my field, and to those who can provide insight on my curiosities is how I have gotten this far and how I intend to persevere throughout my study and beyond.
Throughout this summer, I will work towards continuing to improve my Spanish speaking abilities as well as develop my pragmatics (social skills) in the language. This will benefit me by allowing me to conduct high-quality interviews by connecting with the parents on a deeper level. However, I do perceive this aspect of language learning as a challenge, because it requires not only the basics and terms that I can read in a textbook, but also cultural participation. I am seeking out conversations with locals and learning from observation. So far in my time here, I view the Spanish people as friendly and warm. It’s exciting for me to have conversations, because Spain’s culture is very social.

As I get acclimated to my new environment and to speaking in Spanish prior to interviewing I have been walking around the city a lot, visiting several incredible attractions. Let’s see if you can recognize this famous building in Barcelona!

One of Gaudi’s works, taken at night, because look how cool! It isn’t its usual blue color… so it might be hard to guess, but there’s your hint. Alright it’s Casa Batlló, a favorite of mine!

Skills I’ve had coming into this, writing and reading in Spanish have been no obstacle for me for quite some time. The ability to have a free-flowing conversation is where I would get stuck. However, immersing myself in Barcelona has allowed me to put myself in situations where I converse with the locals, each interaction building my Spanish-speaking confidence. I am only one week in and I am not only at ease but eager to engage in conversations. It’s helped me feel more prepared to meet with participants and it feels fulfilling to have small wins along the way. Exposure is the way to go!

Speaking of, my first interview happened to be this week, in Spanish. The interview was great! It was truly amazing to meet a mom who speaks Spanish, English, Catalan, as well as a little bit of Italian and French. Impressive, am I right?! Additionally, the dad speaks those languages along with German. Their daughter is learning Spanish, English, Catalan, and German in an environment where she has a little exposure to Italian and French as well. What a diverse family! “Learning multiple languages provides someone with many opportunities for work, travel, and connection with so many people” -Mom. I felt at ease while asking her questions as well as follow-up questions and afterwards engaging in conversation about myself and my research goals, in Spanish. Still can’t get over it. While I will conduct interviews in English as well, I am so appreciative of the opportunity for growth when conversing in Spanish. This experience has been great thus far and I’m looking forward to meeting more parents and hearing their stories!

Overall, this project is equipping me with many tools that I will use while conducting, analyzing, and creating my capstone project as well as when I am in graduate school and as a future professional. Speech-language pathology is fundamentally working with others to improve their confidence, comfort, and literacy abilities, and in my case in more than one language. By putting myself in an uncomfortable environment and immersing myself in a culture different from my own to develop language skills in my L2 (second language), Spanish, my hope is to be better prepared in helping children in the future during the pursuit of navigating multiple languages.

Hasta luego!