Speaking fluency is related to thinking fluency.
The more fluent your ideas are, the more fluent your speech will be.
Of course, speaking fluency also requires sufficient vocabulary and grammar. However, vocabulary and grammar alone will not make you into a fluent speaker automatically if your thinking in English is not fluent enough.
Today I’ll show an example for thinking fluency, with the help of the Spanish word “aprovechar”.
The word “aprovechar” is a popular expression in spoken Spanish. The number of situations this word can be used for is pretty impressive.
Some examples:
- aprovechar la oportunidad
- aprovechar las sobras de la comida
- aprovechar la situación para mejorar
- aprovechar los recursos
- aprovechar el buen tiempo
Although the word is the same (aprovechar), the ideas it expresses are all different.
1-Minute Tip ⏳
Because in English we can’t express these ideas using the same one word, we need to get a little more creative.
And that is the lesson for today.
We need to say the concrete meaning in each situation.
This will make sure that we don’t slow down or get stuck, trying to use one dictionary entry of “aprovechar” as the only solution (take advantage of).
So what to do and how to do it in this specific example?
- We take the real meaning of the action that “aprovechar” expresses in each situation
- We pick an appropriate word or expression for each situation
- Done
Examples:
- aprovecha la oportunidad – take advantage of the opportunity
- aprovecha las sobras – use the leftovers
- aprovecha la situación para mejorar – learn from the situation
- aprovecha los recursos naturales – make good use of the natural resources
- aprovecha el buen tiempo – enjoy the good weather
See how simple? Instead of rigidly wanting to use one translation for “aprovechar”, we give ourselves permission to express these different ideas using different words.
The video below explains this point: 👇
In summary:
“Aprovechar” in Spanish can be used to cover various meanings.
In English using one dictionary equivalent of “aprovechar” (take advantage of) is not the way to go every time. We need more flexibility when it comes to expressing these ideas.
The content I share with you is from my 20+ years teaching experience. I don’t use AI to compose or think for me.
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Connect | Gábor Légrádi | MA, RSA/CTEFLA