Everyone who is learning a new language makes mistakes.  This is the nature of the beast, and is quite normal.  Here are a few common mistakes that native English speakers can easily make when they are practicing their Spanish skills.  Of course you won’t be able to avoid these all the time, but if you are a little more aware that these are common and easy to do, you will be a step ahead.  Keep in mind that the biggest mistake you can make when you are learning Spanish is not to speak and practice because you are afraid of sounding stupid.  Even if you perfectly grasp the following tips it is still certain that you will trip up from time to time and you may even embarrass yourself.  This is all part of learning a new language, and the pay off is totally worth the potential pain.

False friends: There are cognates, words that look and sound similar and have closely related meanings, between English and Spanish.  This is very handy when you are studying Spanish because even from the beginning your vocabulary is much bigger than you thought it would be.  However, a common trap is to assume that all words that appear similar in English and Spanish really mean the same thing.  A classic example is the word embarazada in Spanish.  An English speaker looking at this word would probably think that it means the same thing as embarrassed in English.  However, embarazada actually means pregnant.  So, if you are a woman and feel embarrassed, please remember to say vergüenza to express your feeling unless you want to up your embarrassment level by announcing to the world that you are pregnant.

Confusing prepositions: During your Spanish studies you will probably have to spend quite a bit of time learning about prepositions.  These are difficult for English speakers because there are very few that translate exactly from English to Spanish in all situations.  For example, if you want to say ?I am in love with you? in Spanish you say ?Estoy enamorada de ti? which looks like ?I am in love of you? if you translate it literally from Spanish to English.  However, if you say ?Estoy enamorada contigo? which may be your first instinct, the phrase does not make sense.  Por and para are two other notoriously confusing Spanish prepositions that can both be used to essentially mean the same thing as ?for? in English.  Most Spanish courses have entire lessons devoted to the differences between por and para. It can seem dry and tedious to study in class, but knowing the difference will really help you express yourself in real life.

Pronouncing Spanish the same way you would English: When I learned Spanish, I didn’t realize that the Spanish ?j? makes a guttural, throaty ?h? sound that we don’t even have in English.  It sounds like you are trying to clear your throat.  After I had been speaking Spanish and pronouncing the ?j? sound as a soft version of the English ?h? sound for years, a Chilean finally pointed out to me that it is supposed to be a much more harsh, throaty sound.  Other pronunciations that will trip you up and give you away are trilling the ?rr?, forgetting that ?ll? sounds like an English ?y? and making a distinction between ?b? and ?v?.

Again, making mistakes is normal for anyone who learns Spanish as a second language.  Most people who you talk with will realize that you are learning and graciously forgive your mistakes.  Keep these common errors in mind as you practice, but the biggest mistake you can make is not to practice because you are afraid of embarrassing yourself.  The only way to improve is to mess up and learn from the times you slip up.

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