any tips for español beginner? =)

Question

HI, I just started studying Spanish... I'm really interested in it and i love to study Spanish But, I'm not sure how to study.. would you please share your experience ? any good way to study Spanish? i'm Korean, so I don't have any chance to have a conversation with Spanish ...... =( `

Answer 1

Hi Eunbinkor. Awesome! You’re motivated. That’s the key.

1. Are you able to take a class in Spanish or are you doing self-study? Take a class if you’re able. You may meet other people who want to practice speaking.

2. Learning vocabulary: Write your own flashcards. You can get ideas of topically related words here or from a textbook you’re using. (Do you have one?)

3. Conjugating verbs: Get a big dry erase board. Start with the present tense and use some easy verbs. Write and then check what you have written with an online conjugator (SD has one; even better: 123 Teach Me.) Can you get a copy of the book 501 Spanish Verbs? It’s a wonderful resource. Anyway, if you have any mistakes, write the corrections. Writing really helps you to memorize, and reinforce.

4. Find partners to practice speaking with, maybe by way of Skype. Or you can try My Language Exchange. You cannot learn to speak a language without practicing speaking the language!

Eunbinkor, you can do it. I took my first university class in Spanish when I was 40. I loved it so much that I took eighteen more classes in Spanish. Why? Because I loved studying Spanish. I still do.

Welcome!

i must visit the web sites :) ! thank you for cheering me :D ! have a nice day ! - eunbinkor, Mar 18, 2013

Thanks, Brian5764!! I'll write my own flashcard as soon as possible haha :) it helped me a lot !! - eunbinkor, Mar 18, 2013

De nada y ¡buena suerte! Thanks and good luck! - brian5764, Mar 18, 2013

great advice Brian.. live mocha is another site - Athena-Aura, Mar 18, 2013

Answer 2

I've read all the answers above, and they're really good ones, if you have an iPhone-iPod-iSomething, try to use the Duolingo app, just to keep on training everyday, it's a really good way to practice every language, and it's really good to keep it fresh!

Thank you for sharing your experience :) - eunbinkor, Mar 19, 2013

Answer 3

If you have a camera and a microphone, you can use the Verbling site to practice speaking Spanish with people from all over the world:

Verbling.com

Thanks, Helind. I never thought about that!!!!! - eunbinkor, Mar 19, 2013

Answer 4

I'm a beginner - intermediate learner, so take my advice with a grain of salt. I'll keep it really simple. I must reiterate Sean Pie's sentiment, you'll learn what works for you. With that said, just expose yourself to the language like a child.

• Read as many children's books as possible. I'm talking about board books, level 1 books, especially picture books. How can you read without understanding each word? Just do it. It really works for me. There's a study online (Stephen Krashen, amongst others about the power of extensive reading (tadoku ??)) that provides a far better explanation about extensive reading.

• Listen to as much stuff as possible. You know, music, news, telenovela, etc. Chances are your favorite movie has a Spanish dubbed version on DVD, that's a start, especially if it is a film you're really familar with. You really need to get used to hearing the language as soon as possible. You can hear peope read children's books online (YouTube). I found readings of "The Very Hungry Catepillar", "Aesop Fables" and many others online. You will not only hear the correct pronunciations, you will see the words. There are a number of short free audiobooks available en español online.

• What do you want to do? In the end, I would suggest you answer this question.

• Do you want to be able to speak Spanish, then just speak. (See Benny http://www.fluentin3months.com/)
• Do you want to be able to read in Spanish, then start reading children's books as soon as possible. You really don't need to wait to learn words via FlashCards and stuff.
• If you want to study Spanish, well then, there's many grammar books available. Yes, I use them occasionally but I don't focus on learning the subjunctive tense.

you're so kind :) !! thank you. - eunbinkor, Mar 19, 2013

Answer 5

Hi Eubinkor,

I've been learning Spanish for a year now and I'm also an English teacher, and in my experience the main thing you need is a genuine desire to learn. With that you'll discover over time the various methods and techniques as well as resources that work best for you. Everyone learns in different ways but try and keep it fun and enjoyable so that you will want to keep going the next day and the next day and the day after that.

Here is how I made progress over the last year:

Before I did anything I listened to the Michel Thomas, Spanish audio course.

http://www.michelthomas.com/learn-spanish.php

I actually borrowed the CD's from a friend and it was something like 8-10 hours worth of Michel Thomas taking two students, one girl (incredibly sexy voice) and one guy (infuriatingly useless) through useful grammar and pronunciation building.

You won't be able to speak much Spanish by the end but it gave me a very solid foundation to build upon and was a great introduction to the language.

Initially (first few months):

• Spanish apps for vocab building:
  • 24/7 Tutor (Spanish) vocab : very simple but very effective building of useful words
  • 24/7 Tutor (Spanish) phrases : same format as 'vocab' but for useful phrases
  • Mind Snacks (Spanish) : very colourful and fun approach to vocab and phrase building with lots of games and challenges to keep you motivated.

These were great for giving me a foundation and introducing me to the Spanish language in general and meant that I could be learning on the tube, in bed, etc.

After a few months:

• Spanish learning websites:
  • SpanishDict is amazing for the video lessons. I have gotten into many a complicated mess trying to understand various grammar points from books or other websites but then Paralee Whitmire explains them so simply.
  • Busuu.com is a great website for vocab and grammar using lots of fun games and challenges. You have opportunities to practice a lot of writing which is then checked by native speakers. It's also very good for finding native speakers to skype with etc. You can access a lot of the site for free but for complete access it costs money.
  • Duolingo is a great site for phrases and vocab and uses real world translation tasks to put it into practice. Has a very motivating course progress structure as well. It's free because I think users are actually helping to translate real world texts.
  • LyricsTraining is a fun website where you can watch Spanish music videos and fill in the gaps. I'm not sure how useful it is for learning but great for getting to hear some music from the culture you're learning about.

After several months:

• Language exchanges:
  • if possible find a native speaker to meet with, skype with, or even just to email, text, or chat online with. This is the best way to learn phrases and expressions that are in current use, as opposed to just formal Spanish. I meet 3 or 4 times a week with a Spanish friend and go to an exchange event every Saturday. It's a great way to meet new people as well and now I have a large social circle of predominantly Spanish speaking people from different parts of Spain and Latin America, each with their own accents, expressions and cultures.

Special mention:

Notes in Spanish

I cannot recommend this website more. Many people learn a language by watching movies/tv shows/listening to the radio etc but for some reason I have found this very difficult to do, either due to time constraints or not finding the resources in the first place. Also, for me at my level, I can't understand much at all.

Notes in Spanish fills this gap with audio podcasts (free) and worksheets (not free) with the charming Ben and Marina who discuss useful vocabulary, phrases and expressions before having a natural conversation in Spanish, and then further analysing.

There are different levels from beginner to advanced. I'm currently on beginner as my listening skills are awful.

Now:

Every day I try to do a mix of each of these resources. Sometimes I need to see a word or phrase used in different contexts before I remember it, so although there will be repetition across the different sites, apps, audios, this is actually ideal for me.

You'll notice that I haven't mentioned any books but that's just because it doesn't suit my learning style, but as I said everyone is different.

Good luck and keep it fun

Sean

Gracias! You wrote a lot. It really helped me :) thank you so much!! - eunbinkor, Mar 19, 2013

Answer 6

well theres a bunch of ways i bought rosetta stone for spanish which helps alot i got all 5 levels just this second purchased 501 spanish verbs english spanish dictionary and spanish grammar theres a bunch of free sites as well ill list some below www.studyspanish.com www123teachme.com www.notesinspanish.com www.thespanishblog.com wwwyoutube.com/userthespanishblog www.youtube.com/user/tontiofrito www.dictionary.reference.com www.italki.com www.myspanishnotes.blogspot.com wwwlearner.org wwwfluentfuture.com www.duolingo.com make flash cards do them everyday memorize them try to skype with native speakers and go to spanish chat rooms try hoy did spanish text books they use that in college to teach my sister lend her hers theres more then one volume but not sure how many im assuming 5

Thank you for sharing your experience :) ! - eunbinkor, Mar 19, 2013