Singing in the Rain

I begin each class with the belief that today will be the day that I will master this language or at least have the feeling that I have grasped what I have been taught and am ready to move on to deeper Spanish. By mid-class my eyes begin to glaze over and I can sense my mind floating off to a happy place. It takes a lot of will power to pull myself back into active concentration and participation.

I think Orlando has begun to recognize when I am getting "the look". I'm sure he feels that he is loosing me and has no power to reign me in. Today as I began to feel "the look" coming over me, Orlando jumped to his feet and said "Kris, I have a surprise for you!". He walked over to the t.v., turned it on and pushed the play button on the VCR. Black and white figures appeared on the screen, smiling and singing a song. In our last class he had used the example of "Singing in the Rain" to emphasize the purity of the vowel sounds in Spanish. We watched the scene where Lina Lamont, played by Jean Hagen, visits the Diction Coach to improve her tinny accent that will now be heard in films with sound. The dialogue bounces back and forth in the pronunciation of the word "can't".

"Rrround tones,

Rrround tones."

"Cahn't."

"Cayn't."

"Caaaaahn'.t"

"Caaaayn't."

I sat back and giggled. We finished the scene, I pulled my mind in to focus on the rest of today's lesson. Maybe next time will be the day I master Spanish.