What is the best way to learn and retain spanish?
I am currently in Spanish 1 in college, and I am having a hard time with the subject, I can understand something, but not all. What are some tips that you can give me that will aid me in learning Spanish?
9 Answers
watch Spanish TV with english CCs
All of the previous suggestions can be boiled down to a single one; you need practice/re-enforcement. How you obtain it is up to you. The process is more pleasurable (less painful) if it involves an activity that you would enjoy, anyway; e.g. listening to music, watching movies/TV programs. This does not make music/movies better than reading/conversing. It just means that, if you enjoy the activity, you are more likely to engage in it.
How or why you get your practice doesn't matter. What matters is that you get the practice.
I agree very much with what Samdie has said. Take what you can from this thread and the wonderful advice here, and find a way of practicing that you enjoy. Listening, watching, reading, writing... Then practice.
BUT NEVER FORGET - It takes time and hard work to learn a language. If you are discouraged that you cant remember a word, remember that you have only seen that word ONCE, while a native speaker of Spanish has seen that word a THOUSAND times - and in many different contexts.
Dont let the difficult work ahead of you discourage you. The more times you use a word, the easier it will be to pull it out of the back of your mind. Same goes with phrases, sentences, paragraphs, numbers, idioms.... etc,.
Dont think its going to come easily, because for most of us it doesnt. Thats the first step.
Buena suerte, estudiante!
I am in my first class of spanish in Middle school and I have found that listening to spanish music (slow music is easiest at first) and reading spanish kids books or articles helps a lot! Look for words that you recognize and try to sing along ( if you're into that kind of thing 
) Hope this helps you!!!!!!!!
For me, it really depends on the word. If the word looks like a word in english (celular- cell phone, lago- lake, papel- paper), then it's easy to recognize and memorize.
It is also easier for me to memorize a word if I can relate it to something that has to do with its definition (escalada deportiva- rock climbing. "escalada" almost has "scale" in it, like to scale a wall).
If you have some words that have absolutely no correlation to their english definitions, try looking at the letters in the word for visual clues (camiseta- t-shirt. It is similar to "camisa", but has a "t" in it. Therefore, t-shirt) Another example is "ojos"- eyes. The two "o's" look like little eyes staring at you
If none of this is helpful at all, use FLASHCARDS! They're an easy way to sort out words you have memorized and ones you don't. As you are reviewing, set aside all the words you know off the top of your head (without cheating!). That will leave you with only the words you need to work on at the end of your review session, and will save you time when you review again later.
Hope this helps!
hunt for mp3 file spanish podcasts in the web, download and transfer them to your mp3 player and listen to them as long as your spare time allows you...I'm doing the same with terrific results...except that I'm learning english because my native language is spanish.
Boy it was helpful for me to read this thread right now. It gives me a little hope for learning more of the language.
As with most other subjects, the more you can make it an "active" learning process, the more you will retain. One thing that I do is maintain a document of words, phrases, and grammar problems that I want to use frequently or that are problematic. The process of manually typing everything in, proofreading, and correcting, does a lot to help etch those things into my brain. So no copying and pasting. That would defeeat the purpose. This makes it more likely that you will retain something as opposed to just blowing through a set of flashcards.
Hi and welcome to the forum!
There have been so many great threads on this topic in the past, but it is always good to revisit this issue. For one, try doing a search to see if any of the older posts are helpful for you.
I can see that you have already started the videos here, which are extremely helpful. They will reinforce what you are learning in school and probably teach you more beyond that.
I'm not sure if this is your first venture into Spanish or not, but there are many things that help. Try finding a book you are already familiar with and try reading it in the Spanish translation. This can be anything from a children's book to something on the college level, depending on your skills already.
Labeling items with their Spanish names is helpful for learning vocabulary. Try to learn several new words a day and use them in sentences as soon as possible.
Probably the best way of learning Spanish, with the exception of being immersed in a Spanish speaking country, is to enlist the help of as many Spanish speaking people to have conversations with as often as possible. Having someone who will constantly teach, correct and encourage you is the best way to go. They will also laugh with you at the many mistakes you will inevitably make. 
Buena suerte,
Nicole
