Learning Spanish: Myth Three - Grammar is not helpful

There has been a popular tendency, backed by certain research, to believe that grammar makes learning a foreign language more difficult. Many Spanish programs just emphasize the communication aspect, and do their best to go around any grammar explanations. Is grammar a bad thing, then?

Well, first comes language, and then we come up with something to analyze it with. That is called grammar, so it is true that when we first learn to speak, and until we become analytical, we have no need for any grammar whatsoever, we simply speak, and pick up the language naturally. That is called a native language. But... What is the difference between learning Spanish as a native language and learning Spanish as a foreign language?

• A native language is learned in a natural environment, where everybody speaks that language, and we observe the use of it in thousands of situations by different people every moment of every day. In contrast, a foreign language is learned in an artificial environment, with an actual exposure of an hour a day, at best, in a very limited number of situations, where nobody speaks the language except for, maybe, one person: the teacher.
• When we learn our native language we do not know any other. We have no assumptions on the way people communicate. We know nothing, and we are willing to learn everything. When we learn a foreign language, we cannot identify ourselves with any of it, because we already perceive our native language as the "natural" way. It is hard for us to detach all that knowledge that has shaped us for so many years. We are so used to it, we think it is our very selves. Learning a foreign language feels like if we had to give up all we know, and start all over again. Imagine if they say to you: Now walk out of your house, and leave all your belongings, money, possessions, family and friends and move to a foreign country with nothing." Pretty scary. That is how we feel about a foreign language.

So we can see that there are actual strong physical and emotional aspects that completely set apart the way that we learn Spanish as foreign language, and the way that we learn Spanish as a native language. There is one thing that can bridge this immense difference, and help us find some common ground, to advance faster and make up for all the difficulties that a foreign language presents to us. Grammar is the bridge. Grammar teaches us how a language works, and it does so in our own language, so we can first understand what this grammar looks like, and feel more comfortable about applying it.

Grammar is not the goal; it is the means to help us communicate. It is like crutches we lean on. In the beginning we may have to rely on it more, and think more about it, and it appears as if it slows down our learning process, because we cannot be "spontaneous". But as we become more exposed to the language, we think about the grammar less and speak more. In addition, grammar helps us learn about our own language, in other words, it educates us, and this is the reason why preparing our kids with a solid educational and communicative Spanish program will be crucial to help their success in college.

Well, it is important to understand that learning foreign languages does take time (no "learn to speak Spanish in 8 weeks", sorry) and sometimes grammar gets confused and transferred back and forth in our heads, from one language to another, until we are exposed to enough situations and communication with the languages.

Here is a typical example of what happens with all that grammar in our heads when we try to communicate. It may look like a bad thing, but actually, it is very good. This wonderful kid tries his best to explain his story. It is not clear what foreign language this class teaches, but the student is a native Spanish speaker. If you want to know what happened (I could understand it only when his friend briefly said it in Spanish), this is more or less the gist: The "poor" kid goes to a bar, and tries to be "cute" by "stealing" a glass. Apparently he was caught, and he got a highly disproportionate reaction from the employees. He is still in shock. That may be the reason why he is so confused as to what language to use, but he certainly deserves lots of credit, for his honesty, and his eagerness to communicate.

Hasta pronto!