ABBY ASAAD - VISION THERAPIST
ABBY: I wanted to start learning Spanish because I had had a little bit of exposure to it in high school and just loved the language. And I always thought since I live in Texas, it's a state that lots of people speak Spanish, that it would be so helpful and beneficial to know the language. And I would get a chance to use it a lot, but then once I started having kids, I was like, "I absolutely want to learn Spanish because I want to teach them while they're young," and we can learn together. So, yeah, that was what really pushed me like, "Okay, I'm going to really do this for real." And having people I can practice with every day and learn new words and phrases with, it's great.
ANGELA: Yeah, I know. Now, living in the USA is a luxury that now you have and is that there is no excuse like, "Oh, I have to travel abroad to be able to..." Exactly. You have opportunities to practice Spanish everywhere, everywhere. That's great. Perfect. I would like to know, what was your motivation to work with us?
«Once I started having kids, I was like, "I absolutely want to learn Spanish because I want to teach them while they're young" and we can learn together."»
PROFILE: Vision Therapist in Texas, USA.
THE GOAL: "To speak Spanish confidently at her neighbors and teach the language to her children"
LESSONS FREQUENCY: One hour of Spanish sessions per week, along with autonomous guided practice and some requested homework.
ABBY: Okay. Well, first, when I saw your video and who you were and how fun you are and knowledgeable and how clear your accent is to understand, I was like, "I need to take lessons with Angela," and that's when I reached out. And also learning Spanish with you has been incredible because, from day one, lesson one, I was speaking Spanish, you know, not very well, but from day one, I was hearing it and speaking it.
And I love that because it felt like I just could use it. Even the very little that I knew at the time. And getting comfortable to speak it is, for me, was one of the hardest parts because you're nervous. Like, "I don't know enough. I can't do this." But then in lesson one, it's like, "I said a few things in Spanish and she understood what I meant."
And it's, that was the encouragement to keep going, like, this is great because I think there's a difference when you speak it versus just hearing a teacher teach it. It's great because you're getting your mind in your mouth to actually use the language.
«From day one, lesson one, I was speaking Spanish, you know, not very well, but from day one, I was hearing it and speaking it.
And I love that because it felt like I just could use it. Even the very little that I knew at the time»
ANGELA: I want to ask you about the story in the restaurant because when you talked to me about it, I was very proud. I was thinking like, that's great. I mean, I'm proud of you, I mean your evolution, what you have been able to achieve and being confident to say it and to ask for things in Spanish. I'm also very proud of our culture for being so encouraging when those things happen, you know, so I just think like that's perfect. So, I'm all ears and I listened to your story.
ABBY: Well, in one of our recent classes, we were learning the phrase "Para llevar" for takeout. And that week, my family and I went out to a restaurant to eat at a Mexican restaurant and towards the end. I had tried to sprinkle in a little bit of Spanish, but at the end she was asking if we needed a box and I said, "Oh, sí, para llevar" and she lit up that I like knew that and, rather than just helping like pack up our food that we had, she threw in all these extra tortillas and all this extra food and then we started conversing in Spanish and I mean, she just lit up and then totally blessed us with all this food for like 12 instead of four. And it was so incredible just because we could relate in the same language. And it was such an encouraging moment to me to say, like, "I get to use my Spanish and she understands." And that meant a lot to her that, you know, I had taken time to learn her language and in turn, you know, she blessed us with so much food and it was incredible.
«...and I said, "Oh, sí, para llevar" and she lit up that I like knew that and, rather than just helping like pack up our food that we had, she threw in all these extra tortillas and all this extra food.»
I think that especially as a "gringa" I think she was so excited because a lot of people in America will just speak English and for someone to hear their own native language in a country where that's not the main language, I think that probably just really spoke to her because, um, she probably doesn't get that very often and Yeah, I think it was very special. And you know, that's so much of the time to learn language because, it's a big feat. It's not impossible, but it's a big thing to take on and, but it's so awesome and worth it.
ANGELA: How do you think is going to be the future for your daughters when they are able to communicate in both languages in the USA in general? How do you think is going to be for them?
ABBY: I think to be able to speak Spanish in the United States is going to be an enormous advantage for them. Not only does that quadruple the amount of people they can speak to and communicate with, but that opens doors to different relationships they can have and maybe future jobs. And I mean, it opens the door to the world, I think, because they have this chance to communicate with people. Otherwise, they would never be able to talk to or learn about. Also learning about different cultures not to mention just the advantage to knowing more than one language, like how that increases like your brain capacity and what you're able to learn in the future. So I think it sets them up for an incredible future.
«I think to be able to speak Spanish in the United States is going to be an enormous advantage for them. Not only does that quadruple the amount of people they can speak to and communicate with, but that opens doors to different relationships they can have and maybe future jobs.»
ANGELA: And if in any case they need to learn a third, fourth language, they're going to be more positive and relax about it because now can use them as bridges to build a new language. So yeah Yeah, that's true. Yeah, so of course I'm a huge believer of the importance of Spanish itself and and of course English because there are many many people who speak them but even something extra is that if they have to learn any other language, they will be more relaxed about it because they have been through that process. So that's, that's something great as well.
ABBY: And it's exciting for them too, because even when we go places, if I mean, we were in a store not that long ago where a woman came up to us and started speaking to them and she was talking about my daughter's curly hair in Spanish. And my daughter, turned at her like, "Gracias" and she lit up because, you know, she was not expecting my daughter to speak Spanish and to really know what she was talking about and she was like, "Oh, chiquita", you know, just like went off about that and then we were able to have a conversation. And again, that would have been a missed opportunity if we had not known Spanish. So I think learning Spanish is opening doors to more and more opportunities.
«...my daughter, turned at her like, "Gracias" and she lit up because she was not expecting my daughter to speak Spanish [...] and then we were able to have a conversation. That would have been a missed opportunity if we had not known Spanish.»
ANGELA: How was it for you to be in Mexico when you were able to travel? How did you feel? How was it for you?
ABBY: Oh my goodness. Traveling to Mexico was incredible. I was so excited that I would be able to use my Spanish every day, every moment of every day. And to meet people and speak to them in their own language where they understood everyone was so nice. I mean, they were just incredibly nice. And even though my Spanish was not perfect they wanted to like help me to understand and they wanted to communicate. And I feel like they really showed their love also through food. But you could just tell in their eyes when someone is like, Oh, you understand what I'm saying is like, you know, wow, it's an incredible thing.
And so I love that I got to go and have an opportunity to practice the language, learn more. And I mean, I felt like I was learning new words left and right. And expanding my vocabulary and just my confidence in talking to people. And also I had the opportunity to, if I wanted to say something, then if I didn't know how I had other words I could use to get there and they were like, oh yes, and then, and we could just go on and on. And I was, I was amazed at how many conversations I could have and hold with people. I just it was amazing. It was amazing.
