Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Spanish Placement Test

We received an e-mail yesterday with a written Spanish placement test attached. The entire test was in Spanish, except for a single English instruction "do not use dictionaries, buddies, etc." I'm thankful that I took the class at Instituto Cervantes and have used Rosetta Stone, but it was pretty obvious that I should be in a novice group. I completed about a third of the test and suddenly didn't recognize any of the words. Plus, it looked like they wanted me to conjugate verbs in non-present tense...which, I don't know how to do. Overall, it took me over an hour to complete what I could. They will use this test (plus a phone interview, if needed) to put us into competency groups so that we all learn at the same pace. I don't think I'll be getting a callback for that oral interview.

4 comments:

Ethan said...

Keep it up Wolverine! Language (esp Chinese) was never my cup of tea either...so I know exactly how you feel! All I can say is do your best on the language part, and do even better on the rest! =)

You're in my thoughts and prayers dawg!

p.s. I like the countdown clock!

Joe Plumber said...

Thanks man, I'm hoping the immersion will help immensely.

Love the puzzle you gave me, too--definitely going into the pack.

Hope your sister is doing well!

Anonymous said...

No te preocupes. Español se viene más rápido cuando en las ciudades lo cual se lo hable. Soy una muchacha que quiere estar en el Peace Corps en unos años.

It's amazing to see someone go to Mexico, though do you know what city? If you wish, I can help you better your Spanish. But I hope to keep reading your blog and your adventures.

So, like we say here, (Así que como decimos aquí,)
mucha suerte y mucho éxito!

-Chrissy

Joe Plumber said...

Hi Chrissy, thanks for reading! I'm really excited that I get the gist of your comments in Spanish, although I can't quite figure out the grammar yet. Wish you the best of luck when you decide to apply! Knowing Spanish like you do will certainly qualify you for more countries and increase your competitiveness.

Right now all I know is that the first three months of language training are in Querétaro, near Mexico City. After that, it's up in the air until they give us formal site placements.

Time in México City, México: