Everyone who has taken the 20 Day Spanish Notebook Video Course can answer these questions ... on paper. How well can you do in real time? Answering questions in real time, out loud, is what the OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview) is all about. The name of the game is Reflex (not Recall). We don't care if you've memorized 70,000 words, can conjugate every verb, or have completed a year-long streak on an app. It comes down to one thing: can you answer questions in Spanish? In the pinned comment of this post, I demonstrate how you can take a self-administered video OPI. Bonus points for recording yourself and sharing. Written responses in the comments of this post are welcome, too. If you're unsure how to formulate your responses (using the concepts of Verb Starting Point, 123 Cups, Verb Map, and so on), then the 20 Day Spanish Notebook-Only Video Course is the place to start. Full Course: https://www.skool.com/linguablox/classroom

I just received an A1-A2 graded reader book, "Las Llaves de Cristal," I am sharing an experiment I tried with it as have understood that reading aloud helps to exercise the mouth muscles for speaking plus I was curious to see if I could be understood? I read the first paragraph aloud and recorded it. Here are the results of my experiment and regardless of the outcome, my husband and I had a good laugh! 😂 Have written the first chapter of the book I am reading so you will know what the book actually says: "El sol comenzaba a caer sobre el pequeño pueblo costero de Bahia Clara. Las gaviotas volaban bajo, el aire olia a sal, y las olas rompian suavemente contra las rocas. Sofía, un chica de catorce años con cabello rizado y mirada curiosa, estaba en el desv an de la casa de su abuelo fallecido. La madera crujia bajo sus pies mientras exploraba cajas viejas, mapas rotos, y libros contapas de cuero agrietado." Transcription through Google translate: "The sun was beginning to set over the small coastal town of Bahia Clara. Seagulls flew low, the air smelled of salt, and the waves gently lapped against the rocks. Sofia, a fourteen-year-old girl with curly hair and a curious gaze, was in the attic of her deceased grandfather's house. The floorboards creaked beneath her feet as she explored old boxes, tattered maps, and books with cracked leather covers." Now this is my recording of me speaking aloud while reading the first chapter of how google translate heard me: "El uso.Comenzaba a reír sobre el pequeño cero cero de la tarde cabreate.Toda la banda ayer se había alzado.Y las olas encanto y grandes generalmente son fallas.Okay.Sofía, una chica de cocina enviárselo.Qué pendejo pesado.Ya.Casa.Estaba entrando desde la casa de sus abuelas parecida.La verdad.Hija.Ah pues espiarse mientras exploraba las viejas.Yo diga." And this is how it was translated through google translate: "The use. He started laughing about the little zero zero of the afternoon, annoyed. The whole band had gotten up yesterday. And the charming and big waves are usually failures. Okay. Sofia, a kitchen girl, send it to him. What a heavy jerk. Okay. Home. He was coming in from his grandmother's house, it seemed. The truth. Daughter. Oh, well, spying while she explored the old women. I say."

Acabo de recordar algo. Soy bajito y gordo. ¿Puedo ganar un cinturón negro?

Hoy ha sido un buen día. Compré comida en el supermercado y pagué la luz en una casa de cambio. Después, volví a casa, vi un servicio religioso en línea, preparé el almuerzo y limpié mi apartamento. Ahora estoy escuchando música en un CD. La banda de mi primo lo produjo.

Tony's lesson about the mini-ensayo makes a lot of sense. The mini-ensayo allows students to organize thoughts for conversation and helps students retain vocabulary.