Upon retiring Jenny wanted to make sure she kept her mind sharp. And as we all now know, learning a language is one of the best ways one can do that, In the end Spanish turned out to be an obvious choice for Jenny as her son was already married to a Venezuelan. Jenny is very unassuming about her progress - but we think she has plenty to brag about. She currently studying level C1 grammar in one of our highest classes - Superior 2. She's completed over 30 levels with us over 8 years, and honestly - we've lost count of the exact number of courses she's done! Jenny is a shining example that commitment and consitency does pay off. Read on to find out all about Jenny and her journey, and stay until the end to read a magnificent short piece that she wrote.

With my son and family in a restaurant in Sevilla

What was your motivation to start learning Spanish?

After retiring, sometimes I would read about the importance of stimulating the mind, and one way is to learn a language. I liked the idea because I like to study. I chose Spanish mainly because there are Spanish speakers in my family. My son is married to a Venezuelan and they speak Spanish together. She likes to help me but they live in Asia so there aren't many opportunities.

When did you begin?

I think it is eight years since I started learning. I searched for a class on the internet and enrolled in Elementary 1 in Northcote.

How did you start -  group classes, online, CD, book, podcasts, in the street ...?

As well as classes I bought various books of grammar exercises to do at home. I liked the series “Practice makes Perfect”. Also, for a long time I used the website SpanishDict and contributed to their games like Word of the Day. Unfortunately this forum has now closed but it is still a useful site. A few years ago I did their course ‘Fluencia’.

I now subscribe to the forum Spanish Help.

Have you travelled or lived in a Spanish speaking country?

Two years ago I visited Spain with my son and his family. I studied Spanish for a week in Salamanca and then we travelled to Madrid,  Sevilla, Granada and the village of Bubión in the Alpujarras mountains. Finally we spent a few days in Barcelona.

Do you have a current goal, and if so, what is it?

I want to continue learning. At times it is difficult and it seems I am never going to be fluent, but I have spent many years and I don't want to lose the little I have achieved. I enjoy the classes and the students and the teachers at El Patio are always good.

Do you have a particular study schedule apart from your group class?

I don't have a strict schedule but every week I try to do the homework and ,if I can, try to do something like read a Spanish book, listen to radio SBS in Spanish or News in Slow Spanish on the internet. I write emails to my daughter-in-law and my son in Spanish and sometimes I meet with a Chilean neighbour to chat.

What do you think is the most challenging thing about learning Spanish?

The verbs are difficult, the subjunctive especially of course, but I am not scared of grammar. The most difficult for me is listening and understanding spoken Spanish. When it is fast, I am completely lost!

What is your advice for anybody starting out learning Spanish?

Learning a language is a big task. You have to persevere and try to study a little every day if you can.

Look how far Jenny has come, oh so modestly! Here is a wonderful written piece of hers: La naturaleza y yo

Desde que era niña, me fascina el mundo natural.

En la escuela primaria me gustaba aprender como cultivar plantas y los nombres de los pájaros y otros animales.

Durante las vacaciones con mis padres, mi papá me mostraba varias plantas y animales en el bosque o en la playa.  Me interesaban los insectos, los cangrejos, las ranas, de hecho me interesaban todos los animales, de las lombrices a los elefantes.

En la escuela secundaria, las lecciones de biologia eran mis favoritas.

En los fines de semana a menudo montaba en bici a un lago no muy lejos y llevaba un tarro de agua a mi casa. Tenía un microscopio con el que podía ver los microorganismos en el agua. Me fascinaba mucho.

Así que, cuando fui a la universidad, me matriculé en un curso de biología. Estudiaba zoología, botánica y fisiología, y esperaba ser una zoóloga en el futuro.

Sin embargo, no logré encontrar un trabajo como así, pero en su lugar siempre he tenido varios pasatiempos conectados con la naturaleza. El principal de estos es el amor por los aves. Me encanta mirar los pájaros a traves de los prismáticos. He viajado a muchas partes de Australia para buscar los  pájaros en esos lugares. Los he visto en el bosque y el desierto, de Tasmania a Cape York, y de los Kimberleys a Lord Howe Island.

Por siete años fui miembro de un grupo que estudiaba el tipo de aves que viven en las orillas y emigran cada año a varios paises al norte como Siberia y Alaska para reproducirse. Esto era muy interesante y viajabamos a muchos lugares remotos y teníamos muchas aventuras.

Actualmente todavía me gusta mucho mirar los  pájaros y además ahora intento tomar fotos de esos, que es un gran reto.