MY NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS IN SPANISH (Tell Me YOURS in Spanish Too!)

¡Hola! ¡Te doy la bienvenida a Spring Spanish! (Welcome to Spring Spanish!) Yo soy Mariana (I’m Mariana) and I’m one of the teachers at Spring Spanish.

In fact, I’m not only a Spanish teacher, también soy estudiante de idiomas (I’m also a language learner). Yes! Estoy aprendiendo alemán (I’m learning German) and that’s why hice una lista de cuatro cosas (I’ve made a list of four things) that I want to do throughout the New Year to improve my German skills. All these things are fun, but I’m especially excited (and also a bit nervous) about the fourth one. I wonder what you think, so make sure you read until the end to find out!

I thought I’d share these language learning resolutions with you! Quizás te sean útiles (You might find them useful)… I will also teach you Spanish chunks you can use to talk about your own New Year’s Resolutions in Spanish, of course… AND if you have other suggestions and ideas, why don’t you leave me a comment below once you are done reading this article?

First Resolution

Mi primer propósito de año nuevo (my first New Year’s resolution) to improve my German skills is listening to a podcast episode in German por lo menos tres veces a la semana (at least three times a week).

Ya tengo mi lista de podcasts en alemán (I already have a list of German podcasts).

Now, listening to a podcast might seem pan comido (a piece of cake), pero implica encontrar un momento en el día para escucharlo sin interrupciones (but it entails finding a moment during the day to listen to it without being interrupted). 

¡Eso puede parecer ser difícil! (That might seem hard!), pero el interés tiene pies —that’s an expression in Spanish that literally translates into “interest has feet” and is used to say that your interest and love for something should be enough for you to get things done!

Second Resolution

Mi segundo propósito de año nuevo (My second New Year’s resolution) is finding a tandem partner.

What’s a tandem partner? Es una persona (it’s a person) whose mother tongue is el idioma que tú estás aprendiendo (the language you are learning) and who is, in turn, learning your mother tongue. Therefore, both parties help and teach each other. 

Hay aplicaciones y páginas de Internet (there are apps and websites) where you may find a tandem partner with whom to practice and from whom to learn, pero también puede ser una amistad (but it could also be a friend).

I actually have German-speaking friends and one of them is learning Spanish, pero me ha dado pena (but I’ve felt embarrassed) to ask her to be my tandem partner.

So, I think my resolution would rather be armarme de valor (to find the courage) to ask my German friend to be my tandem partner.

Or, maybe Spring Spanish co-founder Gabriel will also be willing to speak a bit German with me? He is from Germany after all. Perhaps, if you guys leave a good amount of comments asking him to be my tandem partner, he might agree to it. Shall we give it a try?

What about you? ¿Tienes amistades que hablen español? (Do you have Spanish-speaking friends?) If you don’t, would you be interested in finding a tandem partner? ¡Cuéntame en los comentarios! (Let me know in the comments!) 

Third Resolution

Mi tercer propósito de año nuevo (My third New Year’s resolution) is enrolling in the Spring Languages German course. 

Honestamente (Honestly), I don’t know how long I will have to wait until the course is launched, pero TÚ tienes suerte (but YOU are lucky)… because we already have a Spanish course!

If you want to enroll in a course that teaches Spanish in a fun and easy way, all you have to do is follow the link on our website! 

It’ll take you directly to our Free Chunking Training, where you’ll discover an innovative method that allows you to learn Spanish without having to worry about conjugation tables or vocabulary lists… you’ll get samples from our paid course and you’ll discover how you to join us in the Spring Spanish Academy!

Ojalá hubiera algo así para aprender alemán (I wish there was something of the sort for German)! Fortunately, there is for Spanish! So, no dejes ir esta oportunidad (don’t miss this opportunity)!

Fourth Resolution

Por último, mi cuarto propósito de año nuevo (Lastly, my fourth New Year’s resolution)… the most ambitious one… is leer un libro completo (to read an entire book)… in German, of course! Although that might seem quite challenging, tengo un año completo para hacerlo (I’ve got an entire year to do it)! 

Quizás te preguntes (You might be wondering) which book will I read. Well, I actually started reading it last year, but didn’t get past page four, así que pensé (so I thought) I’d make a commitment to myself and read this book from beginning to end. 

The book is called Als die Soldaten kamen, which translates into “Cuando llegaron los soldados” or “When the Soldiers came” and it tells a story que pocas personas conocen (that very few people know): the atrocities committed by the Allies after they took over Germany following the end of World War II.

¡Ya sé! (I know!) You might think that’s too grim of a subject to learn a language, pero en realidad (but the truth is) our language skills improve massively when we are interested in the book, the song, or whatever resource we are using. 

A mí me fascina (I’m truly interested in) World War II and everything that’s related to it. I’m also deeply interested in gender issues and this particular book talks about how much German women suffered at the hands of Russian, American, French, and British soldiers.

So, a language learning resolution that will definitely boost your language skills is to read an entire book —or maybe more— in the language you are learning. Escoge con cuidado (Choose wisely) because it’s a commitment that will last most of the New Year!

By the way, it’s important that an ambitious goal such as this one be broken down en tareas pequeñas (into smaller tasks). Lo que yo pienso hacer (What I plan on doing) is reading at least one page every day. It might seem like a tiny commitment, but that’s way better than tratar de leer (trying to read) the whole book in December. Wouldn’t you agree?

FREE Spanish Training

Okay! Now you’re more than ready to take on the challenge of mastering Spanish throughout the New Year! ¿Cuáles son TUS propósitos de Año Nuevo? (What are YOUR New Year’s Resolutions?) ¡Cuéntame en los comentarios! (Let me know in the comments!)

In any case, if you’re serious about improving your Spanish this year, I truly recommend you to sign up to our Free Chunking Training. Quizás ese deba ser tu primer propósito (maybe that should be your first resolution). Why? Because you’ll get free sample lessons that will allow you to discover the method we use in our Spring Spanish Academy to teach our students to speak fluent Spanish!