Any suggestions for me please
Been trying to learn Spanish for less than a year now and for the most part I have only used this site. It is going alright but interesting thing is, I just moved to Puerto Rico where my main man lives. Mmmmm.... and it is dawning hard on me beginners Spanish wont cut it. Any one got any good suggestions to help speed the learning curve.
(btw, not trying to take away from this site its doin great)
7 Answers
I never took Spanish course in school, but bought couple great books and began. Learn vocabulary,,, learn vocabulary,,, then grammar.. the hardest thing is hearing and understanding. Depends on the person and how they speak. Even people in USA have problem understanding someone from Arkansas if they are from north jajajaja.. I have lived a year plus in Colombia,, do not think you will simply go meet people, listen and learn the language. I have sufficient vocabulary and can ask questions and know the response coming and then understand, but this is from extensive vocabulary and of course doing the 4 courses here at SpanishDict.com. Then I simply keep learning vocabulary. by the way, I have a girlfriend who speaks no English,, but if I go on the street , believe me,, I can not understand someone who walks up to me and asks a question when I do not know the theme... It is hard to learn a language, but a great accomplishment,, and now I respect anyone with poor English,, I hate it when someone makes fun of a person's accent or poor English.
You have put yourself in the perfect environment to learn. I recommend making friends with as many people as you can, and putting yourself out there and speaking. Make friends with people in convenience stores, restaurants, etc. I see people in my classes that have been studying for many years, but they don't have the courage to talk to native speakers and use what they know. It can be a little intimidating at first, but speaking and listening are so important. Try finding some music you like. Since you are in Puerto Rico you may want to check out some salsa like "Eddie Santiago" or "El gran combo de Puerto Rico."
"El que quiera azul celeste, que le cueste"
Not sure what "and it dawning hard Spanish one won't cut it " means...but opening your mouth and speaking is the best way. Don't be shy, because you will never learn the language by being shy.
Study it every day. Listen to the natives...listen to how they respond to you in certain situations, inflections in their voice, gestures, etc...that will make you more comftorable in conversation when you can stand, speak, wave your arms around (this was my experience in Spain, as they like to gesticulate and make a show of conversations) and make the normal facial expressions and gestures that they do.
Good luck to you and DON'T GET DOWN ON YOURSELF!!!
I Googled, Spanish immersion classes in Puerto Rico, and found several to choose from. Between living there and taking a class you can probably improve quickly. As Vivalafuriar said, "don't get down on yourself."
Yes I have a few tips;
1 Use what you already know (if you don't use it you will really lose it ie forget it !)
2 Don''t be afarid to make mistakes but also learn from them so you don't keep repeating the same ones! lol
3 Learn about the Hispanic culture, too because the language and culture of a country are inextricably linked (tied up/connected together) This includes what is considered respectful and socially acceptable this will help you to avoid making social blunders which could cause you and others embarrasment and could perhaps cause unintended offence.
4 If there are any Spanish courses being offered by local schools go and find out about them you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain!
I hope this helps 
Having your feet on the ground there, you will likely absorb more in a week than you could from the books in a much longer time. Continue your studies,but now you can use what you learn every day. You are now on the "fast track"
It's simple, just lose yourself in the culture and you should be fluent in less than a year.
