Helpful multi-lingual resources from Secretary of State

Most of you probably saw the e-mail that just went around about Spanish-language resources for a patron taking his driving test. The Secretary of State website actually has information about obtaining both driver licenses and state ID's in Spanish (and some ID information is also available in Arabic!). If you visit the Driver License and State ID part of the SOS website, there will be links to various resources along the right side of the site. These are free to print off, or you can direct patrons right to the website if they are comfortable with computers.

Here are a couple of direct links to some useful information in Spanish:

Michigan ID requirements - what documents are necessary to obtain a state ID.

What Every Driver Must Know - information brochure about driving laws to study before taking the driving test.

Spanish Word of the Day

Patrice just passed along another wonderful resource! You can have a Spanish word e-mailed to you everyday!
Visit this website and enter your e-mail where it says "Subscribe to our Popular Word of the Day E-mail" and click the "Subscribe" button. Then you should receive a new word daily!
Enjoy!

Translation resources

When you're coming up with all those things you want to know how to say, here are some resources you can check out:

Babel Fish: An online translator. Just type in what you want translated, and then select from the scroll-down box what language you want it translated from and to. (Please keep in mind that this won't be a perfectly accurate translation. Instant, computer-run translators merely translate word-for-word and, as we've already begun to learn, word orders usually change between languages. However, this site seems to do a better job than most at using the correct word order.)

Yahoo Dictionary: If you just want to translate a specific word, try this site. It does a really good job of giving you a variety of meanings so you can pick the best word for the specific context you're looking for.

Keep checking back - I may as more as I find wonderful resources! Enjoy!

What would you like to learn?

In our second class (Wed, Nov. 7), I mentioned that I'd like you to post on this blog with any words or phrases that you think would be especially useful to your specific position! Then I can respond (or we can discuss in class, if there's time), with how to say that word or phrase in Spanish!

For example, someone in our class today discussed children running wild at her branch and wanted to know how to ask "Where is your mother?." In Spanish, you would ask: "¿Dónde está tu madre?" (Please note: we will always be learning "usted" as you and "su" as your in our class, because it's the form that demonstrates respect. With young children, however, it is appropriate to use the informal "tu").

What would you like to know how to say?!

You've found it! The KDL Spanish Class Blog!

¡Bienvenidos! Welcome!

Here it is, our Spanish Class blog! Check back here as often as you'd like for practice ideas, fun stuff, and more!

Sometimes, during class, I'll give you activities to do on your own, and then I'll post the answers here for you to check your work. Sometimes, the activity I give you will actually be posting something to this blog. While I'm not super knowledgable yet about blogging, I think the easiest way for you to post here is to respond with a comment. We'll explore the best ways to utilize this blog together as we go along.

And remember, the only way you'll get any better at speaking and understanding Spanish is to PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

So happy practicing, and happy blogging!