Introduction

Greetings, my student.

I’m glad you have chosen Autonomy School for your Spanish-learning journey. So, you may be wondering, “What makes the Autonomy School different from every other resource I may have tried before?”

Well, the answer is simple. Unlike other resources, my goal is to get you to a working level of Spanish as quickly as possible. Most other resources, like college classes, give you words, yes.

But they teach you in a way that you are dependent on them. You will “know” Spanish, yes. But if you do not continue along their lesson paths, you will never be able to use the language. My style is different. I want you to be able to use the language. Not just to know it.

Because that is the goal, yes? You want to understand drama shows, speak at restaurants, and play different video games. There are things you want to do where knowing Spanish would be useful.

So, I will show you how I plan to get you there.

How I Teach

I know of a language-learning application that starts off by teaching you a lot of words. But if you examine them, you’ll realize that you cannot use them. For example, you learn how to say “suitcase,” “envelope,” and “airplane.”

You think these are words you can use. However, when have you last used the word “suitcase?” If you don’t even say the word in English, how often will you use it in a different language?

And the words “envelope” and “airplane.” These are words you use when traveling. Do you plan to travel to a Spanish-speaking country any time soon? No? Then when will you have the opportunity to use these words?

Actually, when will you use these words at any time except at the airport? Never, right? So, that is the difference between my teaching style and others. I will teach you words that I know you will use. Mostly, because you have a reason to know and use them.

For example, this is a course for you to learn Spanish words, yes?

Tell me, as a student trying to learn Spanish words, how useful would the word for “word” be? It is so useful, that it has a direct relation to what you are right now.

And the word is “palabra.” Palabra is how you say “word” in Spanish. You will see the word “palabra” a lot.

By the way, when I say “useful,” I mean you will either see, hear, or use the word a lot.

Cognates

Now, aside from showing you extremely useful words, I have another technique I will show you. That technique is to use “cognates.” Cognates are words that have similar sounds and perform the same function in two languages.

For example, the palabra “cognado” means “cognate.” Notice how the palabras are basically the same except for slight differences. That is what a cognate is.

Now, there are some applications who base their entire lesson plan on cognados. They say that if you learn enough cognados, you can learn a hundred or a thousand palabras quickly.

The difference is that not every cognado is useful. So, you will still fill your mind with palabras and still not be able to use them.

Some useful cognadas are “español” and “inglés.” They are useful, because you are in a Spanish class. So, knowing how to say “Spanish” and “English” would be useful.

Another one is “estudiante.” It means “student.” Obviously, it is useful, because you are an estudiante of español.

Now, there are palabras that look similar and can sound similar, but you’ll need to think about them a bit. Such as “lección.”

The palabra “lección” means “lesson.” Just replace the two ‘s’ with ‘c’ and add an ‘i’. But even if you need practice, remember that you are taking a lección in español.

“Mi” is another palabra that is very close to its cognate. It means “my.” But it’s pronounced like “mee.”

I will often tell you the inglés cognates of the palabras you will see. That way, you will remember them more easily.

Now, there are two types of cognates you should be aware of. These, I don’t spend a lot of time explaining. (Unless I find the word interesting.)

1. Exact cognates - These cognates look exactly like they do in English and mean the exact same thing. These include

• Formal
• Original
• Simple
• Final
• Actual
• Literal

2. Easy cognates - These cognates don’t look “exactly” the same, but you can tell what they mean just by looking at them.

• Básico -> Basic
• Estudiante -> Student
• Importante -> Important
• Brillante -> Brilliant
• Interesante -> Interesting
• Exacto -> Exact
• Persona -> Person (of note: in español most palabras are made plural by adding "s" to the end. So, "people" is "personas.")

Root Words

Now, for the third way that I will teach you palabras in español.

In elementary school, you may have learned about Latin roots. These are parts of a palabra that, when broken down, tell you what the palabra means.

For example, “aquatic.” “Aqua” is the root of “aquatic” and means “water.” So, “aquatic” means “something to do with water.”

Similarly, “hydrophobic.” “Hydro” a root that also means “water.” And “phobia” is a root that means “aversion” or “to turn away from.” So, “hydrophobic” means “something that avoids water.”

Because you know inglés, there are many words that, when broken down, will give you the Latin roots of palabras. For example, the palabra in español for “water” is “agua.” Yes, like the word “aqua.” Now, it will be hard to forget, because of all the palabras in inglés that have the word “aqua” in them.

• Aquatic - having to do with agua
• Aquamarine - sea agua (or the color of seawater)
• Aquarium - a tank of agua

In enspañol, the palabra for “root” is “raíz.” The plural form is “raices.” If you’re talking about how to use latin raices to learn español, I think it will be useful.

Now, these raices could be broken down into cognadas. Or a cognada can give you a raíz that will make up another palabra.

For example, examine the palabra “brilliant.”

The palabra in español for “brilliant” is the cognada “brillante.” Know that the two “l” make the “y” sound.

Now, what about the raíz of brillante? Well hold on, you must understand that “brillante” has more context. You see “brillante” means “shining.” Imagine a “brilliant diamond.” I bet you have used this palabra this way or heard it used that way but forgot that you could do so.

But yes, “brilliant” in inglés means “something that shines.” Why is that important?

Because the raíz of brillante is “brillar.” “Brillar” or “brilla” is a verb that means “to shine.” So, when the sun shines, the sun is brillar. And when a lightbulb shines, it is also brillante. And when you say a persona is “brillante” you can imagine a lightbulb shining above his head, showing that he has a “brilliant idea.”

Now, you cannot forget the palabra “brillar” because every time you watch a cartoon and someone has a “brillante idea” you’ll remember why a lightbulb is used as a sign for intelligence.

More Cognadas and Raices

Another easy example is “uno.” “Uno” means “one.” It is an easy palabra that most people who know even a little español know. But are there words with a latin raíz that means “one?”

• Uni - the latin raíz for “one.”
• Unit - a singular or uno object.
• “Absolute Unit” - A slang term that means the uno persona who stands alone as the absolute example of something
• Uniform - all people looking like “uno” another
• Unity - having “uno” mind.
• Unanimous - having “uno” voice or “uno” decision
• Unicorn - “uno” horn.
• Unique - The only “uno” who has that attribute or ability

So, “uno” means “one.” Another palabra is “numero.” Numero means “number.”

• Numerator -> The numero of parts in a fraction. (⅜ is “3 parts of 8”)
• Numerous -> Categorized by a great numero. (Basically, there is a lot of them.)
• Numeral -> Regarding a numero.
• Enumerate -> To count the numero.
• Innumerable -> Cannot be counted.

Another example of that is “luz.” “Luz” means “light.” Now, you need to remember a bunch of palabras where the raíz looks or sounds like “luz” and have something to do with light.

• Lucy - literally means “light.”
• Lucifer - means “luz bringer.”
• Illusion - “trick of the luz.”
• Luster - “to reflect luz.”
• Illustrious - a famous persona, noticeable like a luz shining among the darkness of mediocre people. (This definition is funnier when you realize that “obscurity,” which means “unnoticeable or unimportant” comes from the word “oscura” meaning “dark” or “darkness.” Can’t notice anything in the dark, right? Speaking of all the definitions of “oscura” isn’t there a guy named “Oscar” in a show called “The Proud Family?”

There are palabras that you may have heard that you didn’t “hear” because they were considered above your intelligence when you heard them. But Disney movies considered good enough to use in children’s cartoons. Like “elucidate.”

“Elucidate” is a palabra that means “to bring light to” or “to explain. In the movie called “Aristocats,” a character called Scat Cat said that he would elucidate why “Everybody Wants to be a Cat.” You probably didn’t even notice that word until now. But by learning español with me, you are also gaining a better grasp of inglés.

Because this is the Autonomy School. The goal is to allow you to think independently. But that can only happen when you have a keen and applicable knowledge of what is around you.

These steps that I have given you will allow you to learn español freely without any more instruction from me. And the lecciones that I will teach you will help you to make decisions about the world without being manipulated by others.

But you may wonder, “How will I know if I am truly grasping this?”

Well, continue until at least Lección 5.