Besides this website, how do you work on your Spanish?
Just wanted to share ideas on what others are doing to help them learn Spanish, because if you're not hearing it or speaking it often, you will forget what you know.
Here is a great tip, if you have a DVR on your TV. Record a spanish language show, I prefer Spanish soap operas or dramas. Then watch it with the closed captioning on. There are a lot of Spanish shows with Spanish and English closed captioning. I always start with it in Spanish, then rewind and switch the CC to English, and it gives the English translation. I like Paralee, but it's also good to hear the native tongue. You can also pause the show to look up any words on spanishdict.
And whenever you see Spanish that you don't understand, write the words down and look them up later. I always see billboards on my way to work that are in Spanish, and I always type them into my phone's notepad, then look them up on the translator/dictionary to see what they mean. One recent ad is for alcohol and it said "Las mejores fiestas no tiene horario." I had just gotten past the lesson about mejor, peor, etc, so the only thing I didn't know in that sentence was the word 'horario.' I should have known it would be something to do with time because of its similarity to hora (hour). I love doing this and always look for new spanish billboards.
15 Answers
I do a lot of different things, I get bored easily and am always changing things up. Here is a list of my favorite things:
- I use the blog ¡Y Qué Me Cuentas! (http://yquemecuentas.blogspot.com/) to practice writing in Spanish. The blog is associated with a class I take at my local library in Austin, TX, where we read short stories in Spanish, but is open to the public. My teacher has worked incredibly hard on it.
- I take free classes in Spanish at my local library. They have classes in conversational Spanish as well as the class mentioned above.
- My local library provides Power Speak Languages online. I've been taking advantage of that lately. I have a great library, don't I?
- I put Spanish Lessons in my MP3 player and listen to them at the gym. Sometimes, I put my earplugs in and listen to the lessons while I'm drifting off to sleep. Someone told me that this is equivalent to sleeping on top of a textbook; but I'm not deterred. I feel like some of it must be getting into my brain.
- I'm a member of the online game Second Life. The first thing I did when I joined was figure out how to use the game with English speakers. After I felt confident I knew how to use the controls, I searched for places in the game with Spanish speakers, using keywords such as España and Español. Most people who use the game are very nice. And, I've had the opportunity of speaking with people from all over the world. What fun!
- I don't much like the offerings on Univision and Telemundo. But, I very much like Radio Televisión Española (RTVE.es). I like travel programs and enjoy watching "Españoles en el Mundo" (http://www.rtve.es/television/espanoles-en-el-mundo/). They also have a very funny sketch comedy segment called "El paciente inglés" (http://www.rtve.es/mediateca/videos/20090508/ahora-que-paciente-ingles/521188.shtml).
- I've read "Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal" a bunch of times. I own a copy. I might be ready soon for the next volume. I also have a book of fairy tales in Spanish.
- I use Pandora to listen to songs in Spanish. I especially like: Jarabe de Palo, Ojos de Brujo, Chambao, Bajofondo and The Gotan Project. It's also nice to listen to Calle 13 because they sing/speak so clearly. And, I try to sing along as much as I can.
One of these days, I'm going to go to a local Spanish conversational group I've found on www.Meetup.com; but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I think that's about all for now. I hope this helps someone.
All good ideas. I download Spanish language podcasts and listen to them in the car, read newspapers from various countries online, listen to local radio (LA, CA), read books in Spanish, watch DVD's with the Spanish soundtrack turned on, and watch television online in Spanish. I've recently gotten into the Spanish TV program Águila Roja. I can plug my laptop into my TV and run the audio through my stereo. Heavy Castillian accent. It takes some getting used to.
I also own a ranch and the workers all speak Spanish. Some of them only speak Spanish. That's a learning experience. I've learned more words about the biological functions of horses and cows than I really ever wanted to learn.
It sounds like you are off to a great start! Not everyone realizes how important it is to supplement their learning with a variety of different material.
I do watch Spanish TV all the time, but there is a problem with the closed captioning, so I can't use that feature. I also write down unknown words as I see them. There are many billboards and signs everywhere in my city that are in Spanish. I have added so many words to my vocabulary by doing this.
I would also suggest that you download flashcards or make some by hand to bring with you wherever you go. There are so many times that we "wait" doing nothing. These waiting periods are excellent for going over a few flashcards.
Also, for beginners, many people find that labeling items around the home in Spanish is very helpful. If you label items like a mirror, the refrigerator, computer, etc., you will be surprised by how many times a day you will see these words.
I would also suggest finding some Spanish speaking friends to help you practice. It is great to have someone to correct you on the spot when you make a mistake.
Buena suerte 
There are some really great ideas here. I already do a few of the easier ones and will definitely try some of the others. I only started learning just over a month ago and started on the BBC website with an interactive drama called 'Mi Vida Loca' I would really recommend it to any beginners.
I would really like to watch spanish tv or listen to spanish radio. I live in England and don't have a computer at home. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can do this. I only have freeview!!
There are many things that I do:
1) watch my local news in English and then watch the news on Telemundo. That way I already have an idea of what the story is, and then it is much easier to follow.
2) watch Telenovelas..the handsome guys make learning fun 
But, seriously, they are good because they have a beginning, middle and end so you will not be lost if you start at the beginning. If you are not too proficient in Spanish you can have the subtitles in English. When you are more comfortable you can switch the subtitles to Spanish, and when you are more comfortable yet, lose the subtitles. You can keep some of your favorite episodes on TIVO and watch them until you can understand everything without subtitles. I suggest any telenovela with Mario Cimarro!!
3) I like the workbooks that are written by Dorothy Richmond in the "Practice Makes Perfect" series. They are readily available on Amazon.com
4) I buy the same book in both English and Spanish and read them side by side. I have done with with the entire Harry Potter series as well as the NIV translation of the Bible. Charlotte's Web, too.
5) Speak Spanish with native speakers whenever you get the chance. I have found folks to be unbelievably patient and indulgent of my mistakes as well as my Spanglish. Try, try, and try some more.
6) teach ESL to native Spanish speakers. I have taught English classes to the men who work where I keep my horses (as well as their wives). It's a big win/win situation, and you may very well end up making a true friend along the way.
I hope some of these suggestions work for you, and wish you all the best in your quest to become proficient in Spanish.
Great idea for a thread! I always like hearing new things to check out. Aside from being here, I subscribe to ThinkSpanish magazine ( pdf. articles and mpg. readings in Spanish), through them I recieved a big discount for the Learning Like Crazy series, I have a great professor from Uruguay on Skype, and I am watching lacasarojas.com videos. On my iTouch is the great free SpanishDict dictionary app, I have the Verbos app, an app for listening to internet radio and watching tv stations from all over the world. You've got to keep it interesting!
You may be able to select subtitles in Spanish on your tv or Freeview box.
The BBC site is good, and there are several books/dvd's/cd's of their shows available.
You can pick them up quite cheaply on a well known auction site.
The Beeb show the programmes occaisionally, in the schools or university programming. I managed to record some a short while ago.
go to the library and check out a spanish/english translation book
I study on other websites, such as StudySpanish and LiveMocha. I also like to read short stories or children´s books. One good idea I heard from someone on this forum a few months ago was to watch English movies with Spanish subtitles. It has helped me a lot.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the educational telenovela, "Destinos" (http://www.learner.org/resources/series75.html). I finished watching it recently and very much enjoyed it. It was shot in the early 90s; so beware of shoulder pads.
Spanish podcasts mainly, to increase my listening ability. I try and practice a new verb every day. I'm ready Harry Potter in Spanish although that is going very slow.
Two things I do different from the above:
1, I have trouble falling asleep sometimes so I conjugate verbs in my head until I fall asleep.
- When I go shopping or to an museum, park, etc. I always ask for the spanish catalogue or map. Most places have them and they are free! (My favorite one right now is IKEA's catalogue.)
For me at the moment learning Spanish is just something i am doing by myself alongside studying 2 other languages at college, mainly because it's my boyfriend's language and now also because i love the sound of it and the countries that it is spoken.
To learn Spanish I:
- Try out my awful Spanish on my boyfriend when we talk on Skype
- learn from my boyfriend
- Just randomly start typing in Spanish when we are on MSN and then he tells me when I'm wrong and explains to me why- thank goodness for his amazing English!
- I've downloaded an amazing free podcast from iTunes called 'coffee break Spanish' . I would recommend it to anyone who's a beginner to intermediate level at Spanish
- I listen to a Mexican radio station daily
- I'm trying to read 'Harry Potter y el prisionero de Azkaban' and i'm slowly getting somewhere with it
- look through my grammar book
- look for word families (groups of related words) in any vocab i pick up and then make posters with those words on
Has anyone tried Verbling.com yet? It's a fairly new intercambio website. I tried it a couple of times with mixed results (sometimes the other peoples mics/cameras weren't working very well) but thought it was very interesting. It's surprising how long five minutes can seem.
Well lets see...
- I talk with my Mexican friends.
- Talk personal Spanish lessons
- Read children books and translate them to English.
- Watch Mexican TV
- Attended a few of the Skype chats...
I guess that's about it...
