Native Speaker Interview Day July 2013

Native Speaker Interview Day is one of my favorite days to be your Spanish teacher. I get filled with pride and excitement watching students engage in bilingual conversations with our guests. Here are some photos from the day.

Ricco and Kori interviewing Ms. Dimate

Josh and Stevie interviewing Ms. Aguirre

Kayla and Anna interviewing Mr. Matteo

As I was listening I even learned things. I learned that when someone asks your age in Spanish and they don't want to tell you, they say "sin cuentas" which means "without counting" but also sounds like 50. That was a reminder to me that in many situations it is not appropriate to ask someone's age!

Another thing I overheard was one of our guest engaging in "chit chat" with students before the interview began. He explained that in Latin America, it is considered rude to just get straight down to work without having an informal, how are you check-in conversation. That is very different than what I am used to and I remember struggling with that a lot when I traveled, but I saw how it helped some of our students get comfortable and less nervous before they started the formal interview.

The last thing I want to mention that I overheard was one of our native speakers encouraging a student to try again. He said "No one is going to laugh at you, no one is going to make fun of you." That is very true. Many times, we are too afraid to try something because we are afraid of looking stupid or failing. When you are learning another language, and you practice that language in an attempt to try to communicate and respect someone else's background, even if you mess up, they appreciate the effort. No one is trying to embarrass you, so try your best, and learn something.