Tips for learning...?

Question

For me... sure I like to be serious and study and all but sometimes I have had enough.

I like to find song that I like in Spanish and memorize the lyrics. Whenever you have a song you like a lot the lyrics kinda just stick in your head. So just learn them and their meaning then you can also learn the usage of the words/ phrases.

Pen pals are good too. I love chatting with friends that I have made on the internet. You can learn so much from them then what you learn in a class... and it really helps with the writing skills.

Last one I have it to just make some spanish speaking friends. Helps with the speaking a lot, and again you learn a lot more from them (slang and whatnot) then in a class...

Anyone have any different ways of learning that works well for them???

Answer 1

I listen to podcasts to help my listening comprehension. One of my favorites is "News in Slow Spanish," which slows down the speech to a manageable level.

• Do you have a link for that podcast show? - debdelafuent 27 de Ago, 2009

Answer 2

I occasionally like to read the dictionary......The words are already looked up

Answer 3

Podcasts are great!

There is this site called "spanishpod.com" and they are just wonderful. They only give you a 7day trial... and they after it cost money, but you can download the podcasts. I put them on my mp3 player

Also my boyfriend got me started on learning one word... such as "pecera" and then learning the definition as well...

recipiente de cristal que se llena de agua y sirve para tener a la vista uno o varios peces vivos.

then you learn how to explain words and learn new vocab.

• Very interesting. Have you managed to work it into a conversation yet? - samdie 21 de Ago, 2009
• For free on itunes under podcasts they have several reputable podcasts to teach you and help you learn. a good one that I've used is "Coffee Break Spanish." Also "Learn Spanish - Survival Guide" - LAtINaPunKRO 21 de Ago, 2009

Answer 4

Songs work great, though my listening skill isn't fantastic so I usually have to pick ballads and slow songs to fully understand.

Also, I read short stories that have difficult phrases or words translated in footnotes, and I end up learning a lot of new vocabulary from them. Ana María Matute is great. Also, I think there are some sites with contemporary short stories if you look them up. Unfortunately, literature doesn't help with slang, but I think talking to friends or people online in chats who are native speakers can help a lot with that.

Answer 5

I like to read the side-by-side bilingual books. For instance I have one called "Stories from Mexico" / "Historias de México" where the story is shown in English on the left-hand page and Spanish on the right-hand page. I also have a Bible that has 2 columns on each page, with the left side in Spanish and the right side in English. This is very helpful to me. I can see the translation and understand what is being said without taking the time to look the words up in a diccionary or online. I think reading is very helpful for learning vocabulary. I know that kids who read a lot often end up having a very wide vocabulary. I'm hoping that this works with adults too!

Answer 6

Ohh and I forgot

espanglishchat.com

there is always like 30 plus people to talk to day or night

Answer 7

Or you can just chat on this site! Go to the "chat" section and either participate in a group chatroom or a one-on-one chat (that way, you'll get to practice your listening/speaking, which is much more difficult than writing Spanish, in my opinion).

Answer 8

Yes, I go on this chat sometimes too, but they really isn't a lot of people, and it kicks me off every 5/10 minutes :(

Answer 9

In my home town, there is a Yahoo group that meets for dinner once or twice a month with the goal of conversation in Spanish. You might see if there is such a group in your area or start your own. It's a great way to meet new people with similar interests and expand your Spanish language skills.

Answer 10

And, sometimes I will print out an article from BBC Mundo (BBC news in spanish) and translate it into english as best i can.

• Thats a great idea, - ppmomof3 27 de Ago, 2009

Answer 11

I'm using this website and Rosetta Stone. Plus, I'm reading children's books that are written in spanish. I'm finding that a bit challenging, but it will increase my spanish vocabulary and understanding of grammar. I'm also, making flash cards and sorting them into categories and putting them on a book ring clip so that I can study whenever I have time.

I've been seriously at it for several days now and I do have a little background (jr/high school classes for several years). I think I'm recalling/learning pretty quickly.