How to learn Spanish faster
I have some people I know who speak Spanish and know hardly any English, so I was wondering if anyone out there has any tips on how to learn Spanish faster. Thanks for your help!
Butterfly14
7 Answers
"Practices makes perfect".If you want to learn other language, first you to need is vocabulary, second practice, third practice, fourth practice......practice. I am speaking very wrong English but "i throw to the water" to write and speak with every one to speak english. You can do the same with your Spanish. I recomended vocabulary, to learn songs in spanish beginnig with subtitles and next forever practice, too much practice.
"La Perfección hace al maestro". Si quieres aprender otro idioma lo primero que necesitas es vocabulario, segundo, tercero, cuarto, etc...practica....practica. Yo hablo muy mal Inglés, pero decidí "lanzarme al agua" a escribir y hablar con todas las personas que hablan inglés, Tú puedes hacer lo mismo con el Español. Te recomiendo vocabulario, luego aprender canciones que te gustan en español, al comienzo con subtítulos y luego películas. Despuñes y para siempre, practica, solo practica 
Ouch, gringojrf.!
All verb conjugations (including subjunctives and preterites, etc.) have to be learned…but,as agreed with gringojrf, at proper timing in your individual advancement.
Buy a nice picture dictionary or two to assist you with noun augmentation. You can find these at book stores. They are loaded with pictures and their nouns.
Subjunctives tend to be for advanced students...and can be intimidating. Don't be discouraged by them...and, don't attempt them until you are an advanced student.
Preterites and imperfects are less intimidating but should only be learned after mastering present indicatives.
So,...start with the basic present indicatives of verbs... then move on to present progressives (gerunds). Once you've mastered these two tenses you should then make an effort to learn the preterite and imperfect tenses of the verbs you have already learned.
I once had a young lady express her desire to learn Spanish. But, she remarked…”as long as she didn’t have to learn verb conjugations”.
A noun without a verb is like a car without wheels.
You do need to learn the 13 tenses used in Spanish… as you advance in your studies.
Visit Spanish restrauants. Look at Spanish magazines. Listen to Spanish music. Learn their lyrics. Watch Spanish tv…especially the comercials. Buy a great Spanish/English dictionary. Invest in learning materials such as instructional books,501 Spanish verb conjugation book, and DVDs. Join a Spanish class offered in your area...should one exist.
But, above all…practice, practice, practice….just as Oscar_Pardo said. Don’t hesitate to make mistakes. We learn from our mistakes…and are the better for it.
Use this website (SpanishDict.com) as your support. There are many educated people actively participating who have spent many years accumulating a wealth of knowledge. Take advantage of it. And, be patient.
Dedicate yourself...and, you will achieve your goal.
And, have fun! That's what we are here for. To learn and have fun with people of similar interest.
Thank you so much for asking this question Butterfly!
I think one of the most confusing questions in learning a language (at least for me in the beginning) is where should we begin? There are thousands of lessons on the internet promising to teach you the best way, and probably hundreds of thousands of books and films, but no one really tells you what is the most important basic to learn first.
If we assume that the learner knows absolutely nothing about the language, it is impossible to read the books, sing the songs, watch the films, or practice speaking with spanish speakers! You just can't do it. Sometimes even the basic lessons themselves seem impossible for someone who is just beginning.
Should we learn a ton of vocabulary before tackling basic verb forms? Should we learn basic grammar before trying to tackle those elusive verbs? It seems like such a simple question "Where do we begin?", but is there an answer that everyone can agree on?
I know there is no magic wand to learning; I know practice, practice, practice, is essential but what should we practice?; I know that serious study will get you where you want to be, but what do we begin to study?
I would be interested to know in what order everyone places the most importance. If we assume the student has already learned the alphabet and phonetics, and you have the following three choices from which to recommend a study order at the very, very beginning of the learning experience, in what order would you place the elements?
- ?Vocabulary
- ?Grammar
- ?Verb forms and conjugating tenses
Thanks in advance for your input.
Oscar is absolutely correct. Without vocabulary all you hear is a continuous stream of sounds. You need to know words (vocabulary) in order to break the stream of sound down into words. Second is basic grammar (and I do mean basic grammar). Forget about subjunctive and preterite v imperfect and gender and number matching. Yes they are important but they will cause you to hesitate when forming sentences. All of that will fall into place with all the practice that Oscar recommends.
Of course, there is no better way than to live among native speakers 2-3 months! Actually, if you know Spain more or less well, 3-4 weeks will be enough for understanding their grammar and speaking
You are lucky that you have plenty of people to practice with, but it does make it harder that they do not speak English well. However, this is an opportunity for you to learn from each other. You can use pictures or examples of what you are trying to say and each can give the other guidance on saying what you want in the appropriate language.
Good luck, and remember that practice makes perfect!
Faster is not always better. You goal should be to learn well no matter how long it takes. Try the World Word Exchange. It is very different from all the other methods I have tried and it very reasonably priced. The site has a learning timeline that records when and how long you study. You can try it free just sign up and you get 2 free lessons. Let me know what you think thanks L.G.
