Suddenly Facebook is telling me — in so many words and short videos, out of the blue – I need to learn French. This guy I call Al (short for Al[phonse] Guhrithum), who seems to know everything else about me, doesn’t appear to realize I’ve already been there and done that.
When I lived in Francophone Africa for five years (’96-’01), I had no choice. I was the only one around, apart from one American missionary who was seldom in town, who spoke English. For me it was speak French or don’t speak with anyone at all. So I learned. It wasn’t Parisian French, alas. But it was passable French. I got by.
One of my tricks was to memorize five new French words every day. Those words accrued, as accumulated things do over time. To the point where now, when these French-lesson ads pop up on Facebook – lively young French people anxious to teach me their delicious language so the next time I’m in Paris I won’t embarrass myself – I think, Merci, mais non. I’ve moved on to new words in another language. And I doubt I’ll ever make it back to Paris.
This new year, 2025, marks the tenth year I’ve lived full time in Spanish-speaking Mexico, and I wish I could tell you I’ve learned to speak Spanish fluently in all this time. Far, far from it, I’m afraid. I blame this failure on two main things: (1) There are way too many English-speaking gringos here in San Miguel de Allende; and many Mexicans – always so accommodating — speak better English than I do Spanish, and they like to practice their English with me. And (2), I’m more than a quarter century older than I was in Francophone Africa, and my brain has shrunk. I have the CAT scans to prove it.
But I haven’t given up! Determination is one of my middle names. I still have a private lesson every Monday afternoon at the Biblioteca with mi querida maestra (my dear teacher) Edith.
(My maestra Edith Matehuala, at the Biblioteca in San Miguel de Allende)
Edith and I focus our weekly sessions on conversation and culture. (I gave up memorizing dry grammar rules a long time ago.) Edith rattles on in Spanish about Mexico’s history, or current world events, or whatever her enormous family (she was one of thirteen children) is up to, or whatever else is on her always interesting mind. I try to follow it all, transfixed, and comment or question now and then.
Over lunch every day I do a Duolingo lesson or two. Once in a while I get a perfect score, and the little cartoony characters jump up and down and make a fuss. Positive reinforcement. And sometimes I half-watch Spanish programs on the TV in my studio in the evening while I’m doing something else, like painting.
But with this new year I’ve added a new facet, borrowed from my old French habit. I’m now choosing three — more doable than five — new-to-me words in Spanish to memorize and apply throughout the day. Yes, this was a 2025 New Year’s resolution. So far, so good. (But it’s still early in January.)
How this came about:
The last time I was in New York, about eight or nine years ago now, I bought two boxes of Spanish vocabulary study cards, each containing one thousand words, which I at the time (silly me) thought I’d zip through in no time:
Well, I recently excavated those unopened boxes from a storage bin, dusted them off, and decided to jump in. It’s now or never, I tell myself. Language learning is good for the old brain, I tell myself. This May I’ll turn eighty.
So now, as part of my faithful lifetime early morning ritual (tea drinking, journal writing, praying), I choose three Spanish words at random from the first box, and make a silly sentence using these three new words to repeat to myself throughout the day.
For example: Last Sunday’s word choices were la alfombra (rug), arrugado/a (wrinkled), and detrás (behind, in back of). The sentence I made of them was: La alfombra arrugada está detrás del sofa. (The wrinkled rug is behind the sofa.)
I’m treating this like a game, a little like language solitaire.
My new pal Al tells me again what we all already know, but it doesn’t hurt to repeat: “Learning a new language in older age can have many benefits, such as helping to protect against dementia, improve executive control, and enhance working memory. … Research suggests that you’re never too old to start learning a new language.”
The point is, I think, not to allow ourselves to atrophy. As long as we’re alive, to be truly alive and awake we must continue to learn and grow and maintain a healthy thirst for the new – new experiences, new books, new thoughts, new worlds, new languages, new words. Adiós por ahora.
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Muchas gracias, querida! Estoy muy emocionada sobre tu mesaje!
Gracias, querida amiga! Nos vemos pronto, espero. 🙂
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, Bonnie. I can relate, having just finished something like 1,300 days of Duolingo Spanish. I met some French people in Taos at Christmastime and found that while my accent was still good (according to them), I couldn’t communicate with them nearly as well as before I started learning Spanish. But Spanish is a much more useful language; even living in Taos I can choose to use it!
Love your idea of learning three words a day and putting them into a sentence to familiarize yourself with them. I’m going to try to find those word packages that you have and start doing that practice myself! I’ll let you know how it goes.
Give Edith my best, and tell her she looks fabulous in that photo. I hope she’s as happy as she looks. Ella ha sido una buena amiga para ti! Love to both of you.
xoxo ~ Be
I thought you’d like this one, BeDear, because I know how devoted you’ve been to new-language-learning! You’re way ahead of me with your Duolingo lessons. I’m impressed! As I’ve probably told you, Edith is going to law school on weekends. She’ll be graduating late this year. Quite a wonderful accomplishment. She’s terrific.
I absolutely love and appreciate your thoughts
Thanks so much, Bill. Who doesn’t love to be loved and appreciated! 🙂
Thanks for your thoughts, even an example of this old-school, effective language learning technique. Living in
Arizona, I can use Spanish daily, but have always wanted
to learn Polish, my mother’s first language. You remind
me it may not yet be a lost possibility. Muchas gracias.
You’re so welcome, Marie. Yes, I like this old-school flash-card approach to vocab.-building. But if you find that Duolingo also offers Polish, I recommend you try their method as well. Duolingo is lots of fun!
¡Gracias por todo, Bonita Bonnie!
I totally agree that learning another language, especially when you live where that language is primarily spoken, has amazing benefits. So glad to be on your email list. WOW is Wownderful!!
Thank you, dear Jean! So good to hear from you. I hope you’re doing well. Glad you’re liking my WOWs, which I write now as my muse nudges…
Gracias Bonita por tu amable comentario. Tu eres una muy buena estudiante, muy persistente e inteligente, es un placer ser tu maestra. Tu Español es muy bueno, ojala que tengas la oportunidad de practicar con tus amigas, como lo haces en nuestra clase que hablas y entiendes muy bien. Recibe un fuerte abrazo!.
Gracias, querida Edith, for your very kind comment. I hope that WOW readers will find a way to translate it and in so doing learn some new words! 🙂 See you on Monday (nos vemos el lunes), BB xx
You represent a lot of us who struggle to learn the language of our adopted country, Bonnie! xoxox
Right, querida Kim — it’s not easy for any of us! 🙂
De acuerdo, amiga Bonnie. Me gusta muchos con todos sus mensajes en esta “newsletter” (oh, dear can’t find that word in my Spanish/English dictionary).
How fun also, to learn that you are doing Duolingo. I’m on my 78th day with Duo learning Swedish. May emigrate to Sweden and live on my cousin’s extensive and beautiful woodland property. Just kidding!
You are so right: learning a new language keeps our 80 year-old brains “alive” and functioning! I’m 82 and glad to learn you have a May birthday. Mine is in April. Perhaps we’re fellow Tauri, or are you a Gemini?
Like you, I love the “old fashioned way” of learning a language, using flash cards, remembering my French classes in the 60’s–très bons! I like your idea of learning three new words a day and putting them in sentences. Will try that with my Swedish but better do so with my Spanish, too, as we’re heading down to San Miguel as you know soon! Abrazos!
Yes, we’re both Tauruses, Sher! We have lots in common! I’m looking forward to our lunch here in Feb. In the meantime, keep studying your Swedish — and dreaming of life on your cousin’s property in Sweden. 🙂
Muy bien, la Bonnie! You were my Spanish student too, y una excelente estudiante. I remember that you told the story of your parrot en español.
What an incredible memory you have, querida Te! That must have been about a dozen years ago! Gracias for your kind words. You are a fun teacher! — xx
Mango is a bit better than Duolingo, I think.
Oh, I’ve never heard of Mango. I’ll have to look into it…
Loved your blog today. Hmmm You and I both Bonnie. I have been here longer than you, and am older, but still struggling to come FLUENT in Spanish. I lived in Italy for 8 years, France for a couple, and Brazil for 12, so have gone through the process of learning Italian, French and Portuguese, but always seems to stop at a usable intermediate level of the language. I feel my brain has a language salad inside and I often find another language word raising its head when I am speaking Spanish. But like you, I am not giving up and have earmarked 2025 to be more serious about the acquisition of Spanish. I have just found on line Easy Spanish which offers Mexican Spanish stories with an easier understand slower spoken sound. Also I have downloaded Isabel Allende’s book Violetta in Spanish on Kindle. You can listen and read the book this way and when reading, if you dont understand a word you just click on it and the definition comes up. So much easier than using a dictionary. Perhaps we should have lunch together in Spanish on a regular basis. I am quite competitive and if you are learning faster than me I would be motivated to study more!
Must go, my Spanish lesson starts in 30 minutes!
Ah, dear Ruth, thanks so much for sharing your language-learning story. “Word salad” — I can relate to that! What a wonderful idea to read Isabel Allende’s book on Kindle in Spanish. Maybe I’ll try that, too, and we can discuss the book over lunch…
Dear Bon,
What a delightful reflection to read on a cold Sunday morning. Dear AI, if only his intelligence were as real as his artificiality! I do applaud your perseverance at speaking Spanish. I’m sure you are more proficient than this description tells us. As I look out at the snow, I send you warm thoughts from Boston.
Love,
Paul
Thank you, Paul dear! Well, as a matter of fact, as I’m slowly going through this first box of 1,000 vocab cards, I find that I DO already know quite a few of the words. Now all I need to do is learn how to string them together more effectively (and correctly)! Keep living and keep learning… It’s chilly and overcast here this morning — but NO snow, gracias a dios. Stay warm there and bundled up in bed with a good book. — BB xx
Good to hear and good for you and good tips for others. After Spanish classes 2X a week pre-Covid and 1x a week tutor during and after after Covid, six months ago I started going instead to LICEO language school on calle Del Pueblito 3X a week, one hour classes. It’s really helping. Also do DuoLingo everyday like you. The three words a day tip sounds good. Gracias. Sounds like your New Year is starting off swell.
Thanks so much, Lyn! Love your regimen. It’s an ongoing journey, isn’t it. But (I keep telling myself), good for the brain. And I’m always happily surprised when I can express myself in whole sentences in Spanish, and the Mexican person I’m speaking with understands and responds in kind.