Modern Family: different kinds of siblings in Spanish

¡Hola! It’s Brenda Romaniello here today ¿Cómo estás? Welcome to Hola Tuesday, your weekly Spanish lesson!!

I have started this week on a higher note. Last Friday I had my driving test and I’m so happy I passed. I’m super excited to be able to drive on my own and have more freedom. I’ve been postponing and procrastinating getting my driving license for years!! mostly because of fear. I have to admit I was scared of failure, of not being able to enjoy driving and passing the test. When my mum told me she was coming to visit Romi and I for Christmas, it was the big push I needed to overcome my fear. I made a decision then and there that I was going to pick her up from the airport in my own car and I’m going drive her around when she gets here.

We all have a dream or a goal that we keep postponing for fear of not being good enough, or making mistakes or not ever being good enough. The typical excuse for me was “I don’t have the time”, “I don’t have money to spend on driving lessons”, “I’ll do it next year”. At the end of the day, anything that gets on the way of your goals is an excuse that we use to avoid facing the real reason. Learning a language is not different. So, I wanted to share with you what I’ve learnt from my driving experience and give you the 4 steps (4 pasos) that guarantee success no matter what your goal is:

Paso #1: Decide how much you want to achieve your goal and why it’s important to you. And then set a specific time frame to achieve it (otherwise you’ll be stuck on the “I’ll do it tomorrow/next year” mentality). For me it was, I’ll get my driving license before December because I want to pick my mum from the airport and show her around when she’s here. I want the freedom that driving will bring into my life. For you it could be learning Spanish fluently because you’re travelling soon and you’ll like to communicate in Spanish or because you love the language and want to become a fluent Spanish speaker. A good time frame for you will depend on how fast you’d like to learn Spanish. You can go anywhere from 12 weeks to 6 months, to a year or 2.

Paso #2: Hire an expert. Today you can pretty much do everything on your own or ask your best friend Mr Google for information. But taking this road is definitely harder and it will take you longer to get to where you want because it requires more effort and self-discipline. Spending money for expert help is the best investment you can make. Get someone that knows all the shortcuts to get you what you want faster, easier and with less effort. In my case I purchased a package of driving lessons with a driving school which played a key role in me passing the test. On a side note, I actually enquired with 2 different schools and I register with the instructor that I personally resonated more with. For you and your learning Spanish goal, it will come to signing up to a Spanish learning program that you connect with. It could be a face to face course if you have the time or an online self-paced Spanish program.

Paso #3: Take action, show up, do the work, keep going at it, have fun and enjoy the process. Do all in your power to achieve your goal which usually comes down to one thing: PRACTICE! Practice, practice, practice! Preparing for success is key, the more you practice the closer you’ll get to achieving your goal. In my case, I would also drive around with other people for extra practice every single day for an hour of so, 2 weeks prior to the test. If your goal is to speak Spanish fluently, practice what you learn in class, watch movies in Spanish, listen to Spanish music, venture and go to Spanish restaurants and order in Spanish, befriend Spanish speakers and practice as much as you can.

Paso #4: Enjoy your success and never stop learning and getting better. Once you achieve your goal, you want to keep enjoying it, always take it to the next level. In my case, now I need to get to know the roads better, keep practising and building confidence to drive by myself. When learning a language if you don’t use it you lose it, so you want to continue studying Spanish, maybe you progress to other levels, you program a trip to a Spanish speaking country or continue practising as you have done so far.

Before we get to today’s Spanish lesson, I don’t want you to miss on Today’s special. If you’re ready to achieve your goal and get expert help, then this special is perfect for you. Check out our Complete Spanish Program Package here. You get 3 courses: Level 1, Spanish Pronunciation and Spanish conversation programs (and save $50!)

I can’t tell you how happy I am that I got my driving license. Romi suggested we can do a ‘carpool’ style karaoke video with Spanish music (or should we call it caraoke jajaja). I thought it was a funny idea. Talking about Romi, this brings me to today’s Spanish lesson. Did you know Romi is my younger sister? I was watching the TV show called ‘Modern Family’ with the Colombian actress Sofía Vergara and today I’d like to teach you the different ways to talk about your siblings in Spanish. And what if you don’t have any? I’ll show you how to say that too. Are you ready for today’s lesson? ¡Vamos!

Now I would love to hear from you: ¿Tienes hermanos? Do you have siblings? Let us know in the comments down below.

That’s all for today! Remember to sign up to your Hola Spanish FREE lesson here. I’ll see you next week on your Hola Tuesday lesson! ¡Adiós! ¡Hasta la próxima clase!