This book was written by Patrick Jackson, a native New Yorker who has lived in Colombia since 2007. He has traveled to several Spanish-speaking countries to learn Spanish, including Panama, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Spain.
For the most part, he is a self-taught student of the Spanish language. In his efforts to learn Spanish and speak Spanish, he noticed that native Spanish speakers were reluctant to correct his errors. Not only in Colombia, but also in New York City, where he had many native Spanish speaking friends from the Dominican Republic.
As native English speakers, we do the same. Unless the native Spanish speaker is a child, we rarely correct native Spanish speakers when they commit errors when speaking English. Whether the unwillingness to correct others is from a feeling of indifference or a fear of offending someone, we rarely, if ever, correct them even if they are close friends.
As a result, the foreign language learner continues to make the same mistakes over and over again. Unfortunately, when you commit errors when speaking a foreign language, some people may make assumptions about your intelligence or level of education. And if living abroad, some people may make assumptions about the degree of respect that you have for the host country’s language and culture because of your written and spoken blunders.
In 2001 while still living in New York City, Patrick started writing notes in a notebook every time a Spanish instructor would correct his Spanish. At the meet-ups that he attended or other Spanish language exchange meetings that he attended, there were always a couple of Spanish instructors who were willing to correct his blunders. It didn’t take long before I had a notebook full of my mistakes.
When he moved to Colombia in 2007, he continued the practice of taking notes every time a Spanish professor corrected his Spanish. But by that time, his Spanish had improved enough where he could easily spot the speaking-Spanish errors of other Americans and foreigners in Colombia. He made it a habit to never leave home without a pen and a notepad to make sure that he was ready whenever he heard a mistake spoken in Spanish by a non-native Spanish speaker. With the advent of the smartphone, he transitioned from a pen and notepad to taking either voice notes or written notes with his smartphone.
This book is an accumulation of notes of speaking-Spanish mistakes that he either personally made or heard others make over a span of more than 15 years. His motivation for writing this book is to provide you with a resource that will help you avoid over 100 of the most common errors and pitfalls that native English speakers make when speaking and writing Spanish. A native Spanish-speaking professor who teaches the Spanish language could have also written such a book. However, only a native English speaker could truly explain to you ‘why’ we make these errors. By providing you with a better understanding of ‘why’ we make these errors, he hopes this increased understanding will prevent you from making the same mistakes over and over again.
Patrick hopes that you not only enjoy this book but also learn how to avoid many of the most common errors and pitfalls that English speakers make when learning and speaking Spanish. Besides learning to avoid many common mistakes, you will also learn lots of Spanish words and phrases that are commonly used in Latin America but rarely taught in Spanish books and courses.
For the most part, he is a self-taught student of the Spanish language. In his efforts to learn Spanish and speak Spanish, he noticed that native Spanish speakers were reluctant to correct his errors. Not only in Colombia, but also in New York City, where he had many native Spanish speaking friends from the Dominican Republic.
As native English speakers, we do the same. Unless the native Spanish speaker is a child, we rarely correct native Spanish speakers when they commit errors when speaking English. Whether the unwillingness to correct others is from a feeling of indifference or a fear of offending someone, we rarely, if ever, correct them even if they are close friends.
As a result, the foreign language learner continues to make the same mistakes over and over again. Unfortunately, when you commit errors when speaking a foreign language, some people may make assumptions about your intelligence or level of education. And if living abroad, some people may make assumptions about the degree of respect that you have for the host country’s language and culture because of your written and spoken blunders.
In 2001 while still living in New York City, Patrick started writing notes in a notebook every time a Spanish instructor would correct his Spanish. At the meet-ups that he attended or other Spanish language exchange meetings that he attended, there were always a couple of Spanish instructors who were willing to correct his blunders. It didn’t take long before I had a notebook full of my mistakes.
When he moved to Colombia in 2007, he continued the practice of taking notes every time a Spanish professor corrected his Spanish. But by that time, his Spanish had improved enough where he could easily spot the speaking-Spanish errors of other Americans and foreigners in Colombia. He made it a habit to never leave home without a pen and a notepad to make sure that he was ready whenever he heard a mistake spoken in Spanish by a non-native Spanish speaker. With the advent of the smartphone, he transitioned from a pen and notepad to taking either voice notes or written notes with his smartphone.
This book is an accumulation of notes of speaking-Spanish mistakes that he either personally made or heard others make over a span of more than 15 years. His motivation for writing this book is to provide you with a resource that will help you avoid over 100 of the most common errors and pitfalls that native English speakers make when speaking and writing Spanish. A native Spanish-speaking professor who teaches the Spanish language could have also written such a book. However, only a native English speaker could truly explain to you ‘why’ we make these errors. By providing you with a better understanding of ‘why’ we make these errors, he hopes this increased understanding will prevent you from making the same mistakes over and over again.
Patrick hopes that you not only enjoy this book but also learn how to avoid many of the most common errors and pitfalls that English speakers make when learning and speaking Spanish. Besides learning to avoid many common mistakes, you will also learn lots of Spanish words and phrases that are commonly used in Latin America but rarely taught in Spanish books and courses.
