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Introduction:

Learning English as a Second Language (ESL) can be a challenging yet rewarding journey, especially for adult Hispanics. With the advancements in multimedia technology, online courses have become an excellent option for accelerating your ESL study. In this blog post, we will explore the features of a great adult ESL study course, the easiest ESL skills for adults to develop, and how you can exercise those skills daily. Additionally, we will discuss effective strategies to accelerate the development of these skills, ensuring your progress in mastering the English language.

1. Features of a Great Adult ESL Study Course:

When choosing an online ESL course, look for the following features to ensure an effective and personalized learning experience:

a) Multimedia Technology: A great course should incorporate various multimedia elements such as videos, audio recordings, interactive exercises, and visual aids. These resources enhance engagement and provide a dynamic learning environment.

b) Personalized for Hispanics: Seek courses that understand the unique challenges faced by Hispanic learners. Look for content that focuses on common difficulties, cultural nuances, and English cognates (words similar to Spanish) to facilitate comprehension and retention.

c) Structured Curriculum: A well-structured curriculum is essential for systematic learning. Look for courses that cover all language skills, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing, with clear progression and achievable goals.

2. Easiest ESL Skills for Adults to Develop:

While each learner is unique, certain ESL skills tend to be easier for adults to develop. These skills include:

a) Listening Comprehension: Start by listening to simple conversations, podcasts, or audio recordings. Focus on understanding the main ideas, key vocabulary, and sentence structures. Gradually increase the difficulty level as your comprehension improves.

b) Reading Comprehension: Begin with short texts, such as news articles or blog posts, and gradually move on to more complex materials. Pay attention to context clues, unfamiliar words, and sentence structures. Practice summarizing and discussing what you’ve read to reinforce comprehension.

c) Speaking Fluency: Engage in conversations with native English speakers or fellow learners. Practice speaking regularly, even if it’s just by yourself. Record your voice and listen for pronunciation and intonation. Join online language exchange platforms to find conversation partners.

3. Exercising ESL Skills Daily:

To accelerate your ESL development, it’s crucial to exercise your skills daily. Here are some practical tips:

a) Set aside dedicated study time: Allocate a specific time each day for focused language practice. Consistency is key to progress.

b) Use language learning apps: Utilize language learning apps that offer daily exercises, vocabulary drills, and interactive lessons. These apps often provide personalized feedback and progress tracking.

c) Immerse yourself in English: Surround yourself with English as much as possible. Watch movies or TV shows in English, listen to English music or podcasts, and read English books or articles. This exposure will help you become more familiar with the language.

4. Accelerating Skill Development:

To accelerate your ESL skill development, consider the following strategies:

a) Practice with native speakers: Engage in conversations with native English speakers to improve your fluency and gain exposure to natural language usage.

b) Join online ESL communities: Participate in online forums, discussion groups, or language exchange platforms to connect with other learners and native speakers. Collaborative learning can enhance your progress.

c) Seek professional guidance: Consider working with a qualified ESL tutor or enrolling in online language courses that offer personalized feedback and guidance. Professional assistance can help identify areas for improvement and provide targeted instruction.

Conclusion:

Accelerating your study of ESL is within your reach, thanks to the power of online courses. By selecting a course that incorporates multimedia technology, is personalized for Hispanics, and follows a structured curriculum, you can embark on a successful language learning journey. Focus on developing listening comprehension, reading comprehension, and speaking fluency, and exercise these skills daily through dedicated practice and immersion. By implementing effective strategies and seeking additional support when needed, you can accelerate your ESL development and achieve your language goals.

ESL courses, designed specifically for Hispanics, incorporate several components to facilitate rapid English language skills acquisition. These components are intended to provide Spanish-speaking adults with an easier, faster, and more enjoyable learning experience. Here’s a breakdown of these components:

1. Liberal use of English-Spanish cognates in vocabulary training: Cognates are words that have similar meanings and spellings in both English and Spanish. By incorporating cognates into vocabulary training, learners can quickly grasp the meanings of new English words based on their existing knowledge of Spanish.
2. Instant switching between English and Spanish for grammar comprehension: By seamlessly switching between English and Spanish during grammar lessons, learners can better understand and compare grammatical concepts and structures. This approach helps them connect the dots between the two languages and facilitates comprehension.
3. Voice recordings for listening comprehension and pronunciation: Voice recordings are used to train learners’ ears for listening comprehension and help them develop proper pronunciation. By listening to native speakers, learners can improve their understanding of spoken English and work on emulating the correct pronunciation and intonation.
4. Videos demonstrating conversational English: Videos are utilized to showcase the English language being used in realistic conversational situations. This provides learners with exposure to intonation, cadence, stress, and other aspects of natural spoken English. By observing real-life conversations, learners can gain insights into how the language is used in practical contexts.
5. Listen and repeat drills: Listen and repeat exercises are designed to help learners practice saying and repeating words or phrases being taught. This repetition enhances their pronunciation skills and helps them internalize the correct usage of English words and phrases.
6. Practice reading and writing using relevant subject matter: Learners engage in reading and writing exercises that utilize subject matter relevant to their level of proficiency. This ensures that the content is appropriate and meaningful, allowing learners to apply their language skills in practical ways.
7. One-on-one and small group Zoom classes with native speakers: To provide personalized attention and support, one-on-one and small group classes are conducted via Zoom with native English speakers. This allows learners to interact directly with experts who can provide guidance, answer questions, and provide feedback on their progress.

By incorporating these components into ESL courses, the aim is to create a comprehensive and immersive learning environment that maximizes the language acquisition process for Spanish-speaking adults learning English as a second language.

Regenerate response

ChatGPT may produce inaccurate information about people, places, or facts. ChatGPT 

Introducing Our ESL for Hispanics Courses: designed for Hispanic adults.

Are you a Spanish-speaking adult? Are you looking to master English as a second language? Look no further! Introducing our ESL for Hispanics courses, meticulously designed to provide you with the easiest, fastest, and most enjoyable experience as you embark on your English language journey.

We understand the unique challenges faced by Spanish-speaking adults, which is why our courses are tailored specifically to cater to your needs, ensuring a seamless and accelerated language learning experience. Here’s why our courses stand out from the rest:

Accurate Placement: To ensure efficient learning, you need to start at the right level! Too easy, boredom sets in… too hard, you lose motivation. We begin by assessing your current proficiency in the 4 essential skill areas: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Our free placement exams accurately identify your level of competency so we can recommend a starting point for each skill in your journey. Say goodbye to one-size-fits-all classroom approaches!

Engaging Online Courses: Our dynamic online courses have been meticulously crafted to engage and empower you. We make liberal use of English-Spanish cognates in vocabulary training, fostering rapid growth in your word repertoire. Instant switching between English and Spanish ensures a deep understanding of grammar concepts.

Immersive Multimedia: Learning a new language should be an experience, not just a task. That’s why our courses incorporate a wide array of multimedia resources. You’ll benefit from voice recordings that train your ear for listening comprehension and perfect pronunciation. Short videos depict real-life conversations, showcasing native intonation, cadence, and stress. Listen and repeat drills help you practice newly acquired words and phrases effectively.

Relevant Reading and Writing Practice: We understand the importance of applying language skills in practical scenarios. Our courses provide ample opportunities for reading and writing practice, using level-specific subject matter that keeps you engaged and motivated.

Personalized Attention: We believe in the power of individualized learning. Unlike overcrowded classes, our one-on-one and small group Zoom sessions with native speakers ensure you receive personalized attention and guidance. It’s like having a front-row seat, with lessons designed exclusively for you. It’s the next best thing to a private tutor!

Easy, Fast, and Enjoyable: Our comprehensive approach, combining effective teaching methodologies and engaging resources, guarantees you the easiest, fastest, and most enjoyable learning experience. We prioritize your progress and strive to make each lesson an exciting and personal step forward on your language journey.

Don’t settle for generic language courses that fail to address your specific needs. Join us and unlock your full English language potential. Start your personalized ESL online classes today and embark on a transformative learning adventure!

Learning English for Spanish speakers: 5 Common difficulties — and how to overcome them!

Is English difficult for Spanish speakers?

The most straightforward answer to this question is “yes”, simply because learning any new language can be tough! It’s easier for Spanish speakers to learn other Romance languages (e.g., Italian, Portuguese, French). That said, languages such as Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean would be even more difficult than English. 

This is because there are some advantages to learning English as a Spanish speaker: the two languages share the same alphabet (mostly), over a thousand cognates (words that are spelled similarly and mean the same thing), some grammar constructs, and many sounds. 

Therefore, while learning English may prove difficult for some Spanish speakers, it is a realistic, attainable goal that has already been achieved by thousands of people around the world.

What is the hardest part of learning English for Spanish speakers?

After spending several years teaching English to Spanish speakers from Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Nicaragua, and other Latin American countries, I would have to say that the most difficult aspect of learning English as a Spanish speaker is the same struggle that most people face when learning a new language. They try to apply the rules and logic of their native tongue to the language they want to learn. 

For instance, many of my Spanish-speaking students had difficulties remembering to use the auxiliary verb do in open-ended questions (e.g., Where you work? v. Where do you work?) because there is no auxiliary verb used in the construction of these questions in Spanish. They made this same error over and over because they tried to convert Spanish questions into English questions. 

Likewise, it was hard for them to pronounce the S in third person singular present tense verbs ending with a consonant (e.g., She walk v. She walks) because, in Spanish, consonant clusters like these do not exist and an S at the end of a word follows a vowel sound (e.g., fotos, casas, cables). 

Therefore, the biggest task for Spanish speakers to learn English is to look at the building blocks of both languages (i.e., grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation) and work to understand the constructs, words, and sounds that are different. The following list will provide a great starting point for this journey and help Spanish speakers recognize the various obstacles that lie ahead.

5 Common Difficulties for those Learning English from Spanish

1. Pronunciation

Even if you speak English with flawless grammar and precise vocabulary, inaccurate pronunciation might still prevent others from understanding you. 

This is especially difficult for Spanish speakers because Spanish is a phonetic language. That means speakers can sound a word out simply by reading it because the sound for each unit of letters stays the same in almost all situations. 

For example, the letter E in Spanish always sounds like the letter E in bet. In comparison, there are three different ways to pronounce the letter E in English, as demonstrated by edit, eat, and enough (or it could be silent altogether, like in take!). Naturally, this is pretty confusing for native Spanish speakers, who are used to more consistent pronunciation rules! 

On top of that, some sounds exist in the English language that do not exist in Spanish at all (e.g., TH in think, V in vote, A in cat). Spanish speakers sometimes struggle to produce sounds that they have never made before. Here are some of the most common pronunciation errors that Spanish speakers make in English to look out for:

• Adding an E sound before words that begin with an S and are followed by a consonant (e.g., eschool for school, estrike for strike, esport for sport)
• Pronouncing the TH sound as T (e.g., tirsty for thirsty, bote for both, broter for brother)
• Pronouncing the V sound as B (e.g., bery for very, eber for ever, bictory for victory)
• Deleting consonants at the end of words that follow a consonant (e.g., tas for task, lof for loft, firs for first)
• Pronouncing vowels as if speaking Spanish and not English (e.g., heet for hit, fot for fat, gote for got)

How to overcome it… 

There are many general strategies you can use to improve your overall pronunciation, such as:

• Recording yourself to identify mistakes
• Slowing your speech to focus on making accurate sounds 
• Practicing speaking in front of a mirror to make sure your mouth and tongue move in the way they should. 

However, it is important to identify which aspects of English pronunciation are most challenging for you, so you know exactly what to focus on. This is best accomplished by working with a tutor or a language buddy who can help pinpoint which sounds need the most improvement. Once you know where you’re struggling, you can search the internet for targeted resources about sounds. Think specific tips, explanations, and examples for Spanish speakers from online articles and YouTube videos.

2. Words with Multiple Meanings

In Spanish, as in English, there are plenty of words that have more than one meaning. For example, the word cola in Spanish can mean a line of people or cars, the tail of an animal, or glue, depending on the context of the sentence. 

However, even though a Spanish word may have various meanings, it’s rare for one translated English word to carry all of the same meanings. Look out for the following common mistakes on this theme:

• Make/Do: In Spanish, hacer means both make and do, so many Spanish speakers use the word make when they should use do (e.g., make your homework instead of do your homework, make business instead of do business).
• Lose/Miss: In Spanish, perder means both lose and miss, so many Spanish speakers use the word lose when they should use miss (e.g., lose the bus instead of miss the bus, lose the interview instead of miss the interview).
• Story/History: In Spanish, historia means both story and history, so many Spanish speakers use the word history when they should use story (e.g., tell a history instead of tell a story, a fantasy history instead of a fantasy story).
• Know/Meet: In Spanish, conocer means both know and meet, so many Spanish speakers use the word know when they should use meet (e.g., know new people instead of meet new people, know my friend’s brother instead of meet my friend’s brother).
• Listen/Hear: In Spanish, escuchar means listen and oir means hear, but in certain contexts they are used interchangeably. This is why many Spanish speakers use the word listen when they should use hear (e.g., Do you listen me? instead of Do you hear me?).

How to overcome it…

A great place to start in working through this challenging aspect of learning English is to become more aware of the many words with multiple meanings in the Spanish language and identify which English translations are the most confusing to you. 

Here are some resources to get you started: make/do, lose/miss, history/story, know/meet, listen/hear.

3. Literal Translations

When acquiring a new language, it is natural for learners to attempt to directly translate from their native tongue to English. However, translating phrases and expressions word-for-word from Spanish to English can produce grammar errors. Below are some common examples of these mistakes:

• “I am agree” (Estoy de acuerdo) instead of “I agree”
• “I said that no” (Dije que no) instead of “I said no”
• “For how much time?” (¿Por cuánto tiempo?) instead of “How long?”
• “Depends of the weather” (Depende del clima) instead of “Depends on the weather”
• “Six and a half in the afternoon” (Seis y media en la tarde) instead of “Six thirty in the afternoon”
• “The people is beautiful” (La gente es hermosa) instead of “The people are beautiful”
• “She has five years” (Ella tiene cinco años) instead of “She is five years old”
• “It’s the car of my sister” (Es el auto de mi hermana) instead of “It’s my sister’s car”

How to overcome it… 

It’s best to become aware of common translation errors early on so that you do not become fixed in bad habits. You could even try keeping a journal of phrases you notice which do not directly translate from Spanish to English, to keep track of these tempting mistakes!

4. False Friends

Luckily for Spanish speakers, there are hundreds of words that both English and Spanish share: actor, hotel, mediocre, popular, bar, vulnerable, chocolate, etc. These words, also known as cognates, are spelled similarly and share the same definition.

Unfortunately, not all words that look the same in both languages have the same meaning; these mismatched words are what we call “false friends” because they appear to mean the same thing, but do not. The following word pairs are examples of this common difficulty:

• Actualmente/Actually: Actualmente means currently, whereas actually means the truth of a situation.
• Carpeta/Carpet: Carpeta means a folder, whereas carpet means a floor covering.
• Éxito/Exit: Éxito means success, whereas exit a way out of somewhere.
• Largo/Large: Largo means long, whereas large means big.
• Ropa/Rope: Ropa means clothes, whereas rope means a thick cord.
• Últimamente/Ultimately: Últimamente means recently, whereas ultimately means finally.

How to overcome it… 

Unfortunately, there isn’t a quick way to memorize every Spanish-English “false friend”! However, one way to address this issue is to print out lists of these words to place on a desk or in a folder. Learners can then go through one set of “false friends” a day and/or check off word pairs that they encounter in conversation, classes, or reading material. Alternatively, students can use “false friend” practice exercises to identify which word pairs they are unaware of or using incorrectly.

5. Grammatical differences

There are several English grammar concepts that are difficult for Spanish speakers to grasp. English grammar contains some rules which follow a completely different structure to those in Spanish. Here are a few common grammar mistakes:

• Personal Pronouns: In Spanish, su can be used to represent the English pronouns him, her, his, and hers; therefore, it may be difficult for Spanish speakers to remember which pronoun to use when one of the aforementioned is required in English (e.g., my sister left his jacket v. my sister left her jacket).
• Order of Adjectives & Nouns: In Spanish, the adjective is typically placed after the noun, whereas in English the adjective is typically placed before the noun; as a consequence, many Spanish speakers mix up the order of these words when speaking English (e.g., ten days more v. ten more days; a dress ugly v. an ugly dress).
• Subject Deletion: In Spanish, verb conjugations also indicate who the subject of the action is, so Spanish speakers often leave out the subject of a sentence because it is understood. Accordingly, Spanish speakers may forget to include the subject of a sentence when speaking English (e.g., is a nice day v. it is a nice day; want to go v. they want to go).
• Multiple Negation: In Spanish, the use of “double negatives” is grammatically correct; as such, when speaking or writing in English, Spanish speakers often use multiple negations without thinking twice (e.g., he did not do nothing v. he did not do anything).

How to overcome it… 

Grammar is one of the most challenging aspects of language learning! Instead of memorizing phrases and sentences, the best way to learn to speak English with grammatical accuracy is to take the time to learn its rules and how to apply them.

This can be done through websites that offer explanations of various English grammar concepts or by practicing exercises for specific concepts, such as personal pronouns, order of adjectives/nouns, subject deletion, and multiple negations.

A brief afterword

It might feel intimidating to read a list of obstacles you must overcome to learn English. But knowing exactly what you’re facing is the first step to overcoming it! When you know the influence of Spanish on your understanding of English grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary, you can tackle each specific issue through targeted resources. English fluency, here you come! 

Article by:Nicolette FilsonPreply tutor

14 articles

Nicolette is an experienced English educator with a B.A. in secondary English education, an M.A. in English linguistics, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction – English education & literacy. She has had the immense pleasure of putting this knowledge into action over the last 12 years as a high school English teacher, university instructor, academic tutor, editor, and curriculum writer in both the U.S. and abroad.

What is the Difference between Hispanic and Latino?

Updated on September 21, 2021 Fact checked by Sean Blackburn

Are you wondering what the difference is between the terms Hispanic and Latino? While Hispanic usually refers to people with a background in a Spanish-speaking country, Latino is typically used to identify people who hail from Latin America.

These identities can be claimed by anyone, regardless of their heritage. Researchers and publishers (including the U.S. Census) do not dispute how people identify.

To use these terms appropriately, it helps to understand their differences and when it is appropriate to use each one. Knowing the origins of the Hispanic and Latino labels, what they mean, how they are used, and how people self-identify helps you gain that understanding.

Hispanic vs. Latino

You might think of Hispanic and Latino as terms used to describe racial categories, similar to the terms White, Black, or Asian. However, the groups that comprise Hispanics and Latinos are actually diverse in terms of race.

The terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” refer to ethnicity, culture, and identity. They are groups based on shared culture rather than skin color, race, or other physical features. However, the groups are also broader than ethnicity, which can make the terms confusing.

Hispanic

Hispanic refers to people who speak Spanish or who have a background in a Spanish-speaking country. In other words, Hispanic refers to the language that a person speaks or that their ancestors spoke. Some Hispanic people speak Spanish, but others don’t.

For this reason, Hispanic people may vary in their race and also where they live or originate. For example, a person from the Dominican Republic and a person from Mexico might both call themselves Hispanic because they share in common a spoken language and a legacy of Spanish colonies.

Latino

In contrast, Latino refers to geography: specifically, people from Latin America including Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Like being Hispanic, being Latino says nothing about your race; Latinos may be White, Black, Indigenous, Asian, etc.

However, it is important to note there is some discussion about whether people in the Caribbean actually identify as Latino in the case of non-Spanish-speaking countries.

For example, the majority of Haitians do not identify as Latinx despite being part of Latin America. Jamaica, an English-speaking nation, isn’t always included as being part of Latin America either, and Jamaicans do not tend to identify as Latino.

The Bahamas, Curaçao, and Dominica are also places that are occasionally lumped into Latin America but are not Latinx or Hispanic.

A Hispanic person may also be Latino, but this is not always necessarily the case. For example, a person from Spain would be Hispanic but not Latino because Spain is a Spanish-speaking country but not a Latin American country.

A person who is Latino may also be Hispanic, or not. For instance, while people from Brazil are considered Latino (because Brazil is a Latin American country), they are not considered Hispanic because Brazil is a former Portuguese colony, not a Spanish one.

People who are Black and Latino often identify as Afro-Latino, while other Black people of Latin American descent forego the Latino/Hispanic labels altogether.2

Differences by Geographical Area

There are also differences in usage of the terms Hispanic and Latino by geographical region. While urban areas and those on the coasts tend to prefer Latino, rural areas in places like Texas and New Mexico are more likely to use the term Hispanic.3 However, there are exceptions to this tendency. For example, the word Hispanic is generally preferred and more widely used in Florida.

  What’s the Difference Between Race and Ethnicity? 

History

While the terms Hispanic and Latino have existed for centuries, it wasn’t until they were introduced into the United States Census that they became more popularized.3 The census is used by the government to study aspects of the population.

During the 1960s, there was a common theme of poverty and discrimination among Mexican Americans in the southwest and Puerto Ricans on the east coast of the United States.

While the government initially saw these as regional issues, the joining of the Latino communities across the nation to address these issues led to a new perspective and a new method of categorization.

The 1980 census was the first to include a question asking respondents if they identified as Spanish/Hispanic as part of their ethnicity. Respondents could also identify their race (e.g., White, Black, Asian, American Indian, or Pacific Islander).

The term Latino first appeared on the 2000 census as an option for ethnicity. Later, these terms were also introduced to forms of identification such as driver’s licenses, birth certificates, and school registration forms.

In this way, the use of these labels serves the purpose of allowing the government to accurately categorize the changing population and identify trends by shared cultures.

Media and Popular Culture

Popular culture and the media have helped to connect the Hispanic and Latino communities and further popularize these groupings based on their shared experiences. Spanish-language media such as commercials, television shows, magazines, websites, news stations, and social media accounts reflect this understanding.

In general, the media appears to prefer the term Latino, likely because Hispanic tends to refer only to language, while Latino is broader and refers to people, music, culture, etc. Moreover, it’s possible that in the media, the term Latino feels more inclusive.

Latinx is a label that has emerged as an LGBTQ+ and gender-inclusive alternative to Latino and Hispanic. However, statistics suggest that many people still prefer to use Latino.

  Psychology Explains How Cultural Differences Influence Human Behavior 

Identity

According to Pew Research Center, two-thirds of Hispanic people feel that their Hispanic background is part of their racial background.4 This suggests that those who identify as Hispanic or Latino have a different conceptualization of race or ethnicity than others.

Further, within the Hispanic or Latino community, there are also differences in how people self-identify. For example, Black people may identify themselves as Afro-Latino or Afro-Caribbean. This helps to distinguish themselves from those who share their race but have different cultural backgrounds.

When to Use Each Term

How do you know when to use which term? While it’s true that the terms Hispanic and Latino can engender a sense of community and common history for those who self-identify, imposing one of these labels on another person is unhelpful.

Instead, it’s best to respect whatever label a person gives themselves or to avoid labels altogether if that is their preference. In general, there are several different ways in which a Hispanic/Latino person might identify themselves (or, they may not have a preference):

• Hispanic
• Latino/Latina
• Latinx
• By their country of origin (e.g. a person may identify as “Salvadoran,” from El Salvador, or “Colombian,” from Colombia)
• A hyphenated label (e.g., first-generation folx whose families are from a country outside of the U.S. might say that they are Salvadoran-American, or “my family is from El Salvador”)
• American

In general practice, it’s best never to ask someone about their ethnicity unless they bring it up. For some, this implies that they are a foreigner when they might have lived in the United States their whole life.

By the same token, if someone is trying to place a label on you that feels uncomfortable, you are free to choose your own identity.

A Word From Verywell

While Hispanic and Latino are sometimes used interchangeably, they have different meanings. Hispanic refers to individuals who are Spanish-speaking or have a background in a Spanish-speaking country. Latino refers to those who are from or have a background in a Latin American country.

These terms encompass culture, ethnicity, and identity and are rooted in shared cultures and not racial categories. When using one of these terms to refer to a specific person, always respect their preference.

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