Needing some advice on studying Spanish
Good Morning All
First I would like to say how much I have enjoyed reading all of your questions and responses for the past while. I think you are all the perfect people to ask for advice.
I am 53 and have been trying to study Spanish for the past couple of years now. I have tried many ways of studying. I have bought books with easy lessons, have taken a formal class ( 1 night for 12 weeks ), other on line courses including Roseta Stone and of course this site which I found a while back. Of all the courses I have taken so far, I do find this the best so far. I have a good understanding of the basics and can have a small conversation when I travel. But my troubles remain the same. After a few weeks of trying any of these courses, I come crawling to a standstill. Each time I start something new, it is easy for a short while, then it completely stops and I almost seem to go backwards. Information overload?
One of the common denominators seems to be my less than stellar understanding of verbs. It seems you need to know many many verbs to communicate, but most courses start off only teaching a few with all the conjugations. I also have trouble identifying verbs when I am reading. Thats where I get bogged down.
So I guess thats where my question comes in. I have reached lesson 1.11 and feel again my understanding of verbs and the conjugations is stalling me. Do I need to stop and take a course just in verbs? Or, do I plow ahead in this course? Is there something Im completely missing, or not getting? Is it normal for most to have difficulty here? Is it my age and you dont get it as when youre getting older...lol? Im really confused why I keep reaching this wall.
I apologize for being so long winded. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Gary
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11 Answers
You and I are the same age. I always find it stultifying to start to memorize anything, especially when it is a list of words that are important to someone else.RIght now I focus on learning words I may want to use instead of a word list chosen by someone else.That helps keep up my motivation as I agree all the conjugation possibilites seem daunting.
I don't think it will be too consequential if I never know how to conjugate verbs about most sports for example. I don't converse in English much about that except maybe to say I am not interested in sports.
Finding people to tolerate my mutilation of their beautiful language at this stage is difficult. However when I hear a word spoke in conversation it sticks with me more than even hearing it in the media.I think most of us start with reading and writing. I have to paraphrase Izanoni on the 4 legged foot stool approach to learning a language.He discusses a balance of reading,writing,listening and speaking. I think if you mix it up a lot of blocks will fall away.
Conjugate ON! and word up!
Gary-Halvorson:
Its been said that if you throw enough mud at a wall some of it has to stick there. I guess the answer is to just keep throwing the mud. It all reminds me of that tired old joke where, someone asks a passing pedestrian, who also happens to be a piano player, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall". The musician answers "Practice, practice, practice." I think thats how you learn Spanish.
Here is a link to a reply where a similar question was asked a couple of weeks ago. Read through the question and replies to see if there is any useful information for you in it.
The question and answers is here ----> Can an Adult Learn Spanish.
What else are you going to do on a cold winter night in Regina. Shovelling snow can wait till morning.
Recuerdos/Regards,
Moe
Hi Gary,
It is nice to meet you here on the forum. I think it is excellent that you are so committed to learning Spanish, no matter what your age.
I think we all hit a wall every so often so that is normal. So I hope you don't give up when that happens. It seems like you are not. Verbs are a very difficult part of learning Spanish. Since this seems to be a major area of difficulty for you, I would continue to do what you are doing, but also spend some concentrated time daily on verbs. I have found the book "601 Spanish Verbs" by Berlitz to be extremely helpful. The explanations in the beginning of the book are excellent.
I used to be totally overwhelmed with verbs because I was trying to learn too much at once. So instead of trying to memorize how to conjugate in every tense, I reduced my focus to just the present tense. Once I felt comfortable there, I added the preterit and the imperfect (past tenses). If you stick with one tense at a time until you have mastered it, you will not be as easily frustrated. You will also be able to more clearly see the patterns in the next tense you are about to learn.
So as you can see, I am being long-winded too. I really think you can do this. I have found that when something in particular frustrates me, it is so rewarding to be able to master it, no matter how long it takes. Numbers (in any language) have never been my strength, so a while back, I continued learning my regular vocabulary and grammar, but I also spent some concentrated time on numbers. Every time I looked at a clock, I would tell myself the time in Spanish. If I saw numbers when I was driving somewhere, I would translate them. Now, that is one area I feel somewhat confident in, so this method does work. Just hang in there. Anytime you have a question, just ask it here in the forum and there will be plenty of people to help you along the way.
Buena Suerte, Nicole
Hello Gary.
I used to use the "Michel Thomas" Advanced Spanish Grammar CD's when I first started and I think they are excellent. They gave me a real "feel" for Spanish verbs. I'll tell you now though - it's not easy (but you never thought it would be, right?). I like the way he presents the material.
He covers all the tenses and the joyful subjunctive but no "vosotros" (virtually unused outside of Spain) plus irregular verbs.
After that I supplemented my learning with a book on verbs like the one Nicole recommends.
Good luck Gary, I've got every confidence in you.
I can't speak highly enough of Rosetta Stone but I agree with the post above that you need to mix reading, writing, speaking and listening. I am fortunate to live in an area that has several bilingual periódicos gratis. Hola Arkansas has every article side by side in Spanish and English. This has been a great tool. Also, I am blessed with several local Mexican restaurants staffed by native speakers. On my own, I learned how to order my favorite dishes and, once I displayed an interest in their language, many of the waiters and waitresses took me on as a pet project. Now every time I dine out, I'm forced to listen and speak.
I would also recommend checking out a site like meetup.com. I recently started a meetup in my area for Spanish as a second language. I have no doubt that the chance to gather with others and practice on each other will accelerate my progress. Good luck and don't get discouraged!
This website is awesome, and I would also like to reccomend another website: www.mylanguageexchange.com, where you can choose a pen pal who speaks Spanish and is learning english! Or vice versa, and you e-mail each other through the website. Other than that, just keep trying
Thank you all for your words of encouragement. It sounds like I am not the only one here to have problems at some point, especially with verbs. But not to worry, I have no plans to quit. It really is something that I really want to do. Thanks again for your help and suggestions. I have a copy of the Barrons 501 Spanish Verbs and will take Nicoles advice and work harder at present tense first and build on the number of verbs I understand.
Gracias y hasta pronto.
i think the best answer would be to check out rosetta may God bless you 
Hi Gary, I thought it was just me struggling! I feel much the same as you but have decided to carry on and hope that it just clicks, not the best method but I feel it's all I can do. don't give up 
Personally, I would agree with the information overload. I am at the exact same point right now. I'm getting into parts that I've forgotten and it's getting harder. What I do is stop with the lessons, practice vocabulary, and use the Spanish I do know. In responding to posts, reading responses and speaking Spanish, I start to pick up on what I am stalled on without thinking about it so much. Then I move on to the next lesson. From what I remember of the Spanish that I learned in school, each course here is close to what you would learn in an entire year of classes. Take your time!
I'm 50 and have only been studying Spanish for a couple months, but I'm still learning rapidly, so I don't think it's your age. Maybe you need to rotate through a variety of approaches to keep from stalling, or perhaps you need to try a number of different things in parallel. I'm going the parallel route, but it is time consuming.
