Hello Emilio, welcome to Mansion Ingles. Can you tell me Emilio, how long have you been studying English?

- Well..erm..I’ve been studying English from when I was thirteen years old, but there…there was a great gap until I went back to studying English again when I was twenty-eight. I took some classes again, and from this time I’ve been studying by myself.

- I see, and how have you managed to learn by yourself? What systems have you used?

- Mmm..I..I don’t really know. I..I like..er.. reading a lot, in fact it’s very difficult to..to.to..find people that can speak with me, because my life..is..erm…it’s not easy to find people, er..so I try to read and watch English TV and..er.. things like that.

- Uh-huh. Have you taken any formal courses?

- Oh yes, yes, as I mentioned before, I..I took a short three-month course studying English in an academy.

- It must have been very difficult learning by yourself so many years.

-Yes, that’s true. In the beginning I..I was a little bit lost because..er.. everything seemed very difficult. Erm..There were many..many stages in my learning. But..er..well, I am very interesting in..in the English language. I find it quite interesting for me and, well I like languages in general.

- Uh-huh, and what do you do to keep in touch with English, to keep in contact with the language?

- Well, first of all I..I live with my ears wide open, and..erm..I try to pay attention to every piece of news I hear in English, and..er..every sentence I see in newspapers, or I hear in a terrace or walking in the street, and I try to..to watch English TV programmes as often as possible, or..or watch DVD’s or something...this kind..well, this is my method.

- I see, and how do you learn vocabulary, Emilio?

- Vocabulary, in fact, for me is curiosity of life. Er…I..I always want to..to know..er.. the way..er..some words..er.. are said in another language, so it’s curiosity. Er..I like to read. I..I think reading is the..the key for this..this way to..to achieve..er..vocabulary. When I find a new expression I try to..to picture this new word, and I go to the dictionary and look it up…or..and I try to remember it. And..er..I write it and look at it several times, because sometimes you need to go to the dictionary several times, not only once.

- I see, and finally Emilio, do you have and advice for people who are studying with Mansion Ingles?

- Well, my advice is..er.. be constant,..erm.. very keen on English and look..er.. for subjects that you are really interested in. And not to stop! Er..not to yield, Sometimes it’s due to the topics, not..not the English in itself, so you have to find your own subjects you’re interested in, the subject that you..you are really interested. This is my advice.

- That’s very helpful. Thank you very much for your time.

-Thank you to you.
 

       Vocabulario

A great gap = un gran paréntesis
Look up (a word) = buscar algo
Several = varios
Keen on something /someone= gustarle a uno algo/alguien