What do I need to do to learn Spanish effectively?
Hello to all SpanishDict members!
I am looking to learn Spanish, and I just don't know where to start. In a year, I want to achieve at least A1 fluency (see this document).
I want to learn grammar, vocabulary, etc. - everything that I need to read, speak, listen, and write well (at an A1 level, of course!) I, however, don't know how to go about learning all of this in the slightest. Your help is greatly appreciated!
If it is of interest, I have this software package called Instant Immersion. Please read the description and tell me if it would be good or not. (Side note: I'm in the US, and it teaches with an accent from Spain. If that's problematic, please let me know!)
Thanks for your help!
23 Answers
I recommend that you spend a few minutes each day with the language. This may mean lessons, videos, watching a television show or video in the language, playing games in the language or singing songs in the language. Just spend the time so your ears and brain become accustomed to the sound. You will be amazed at how much you will learn in a short amount of time. You may try immersing yourself for only 15 or 30 minutes a day and still make astounding progress.
Learning from a native speaker of the language is optimal. A native speaker will most likely not incorporate other dialects in the pronunciation. Enabling you to more readily understand other native speakers.
Practicing it yourself out loud is very important in learning and becoming conversational. It also helps to reinforce it in your mind.
Don't be afraid to look at different courses at the same time when you are learning. Each will have the same basic information (reenforcing it for you) and each will have something different (expanding your knowledge). In addition to your software, SpanishDict has free lessons and Scribe-Lady mentioned additional websites above. If you have the ability to pay for lessons, Rocket Spanish has some excellent lessons with a native Spanish speaker, who oddly enough learned his English from an Australian, making for some interesting English.
You will find that there is a specific way in which you learn best. It may be visual, auditory or tactile. When you figure out which way works best for you, focus on seeking out additional options that use the best learning method for you. Using two methods at a time is also an excellent strategy i.e. writing (tactile), looking at what you have written (visual), and saying what you have written (auditory).
Good Luck!
I used the older version of Instant Immersion and I found it to be very useful. I would take a much broader approach, though. This site has an extensive video course that is very good. Spanishpod101.com can give you podcasts at all levels. Cofeebreak Spanish is another. Once you have a feel for basic concepts, the Michel Thomas audio course is a different way to attack basic grammar.
Practice Makes Perfect is a popular series of workbooks, and is really good.
If you can commit to an hour a day of Spanish study, you should have no trouble reaching the goal you have set.
Hi edrickshaw, welcome to the forum!
Speaking personally I think there are few things you need which are vital to learning spanish:
- A Dictionary (picture dictionaries are best)
- A grammar book (both English and Spanish)
- A notebook
A notebook in particular is very useful for building your vocabulary. Can't find the word you're looking for in your dictionary? Write it in your notebook and look it up at home. It's better than simply using an app because you can revise what you've already written rather than forgetting what you looked up three minutes ago.
Try listening to Spanish radio or songs in Spanish - even if you don't understand it, you will get your brain accustomed to hearing it.
And talk. Talk much as you can. Speak as very slowly and focus on your pronouncation. It will be a while before you can have a proper conversation.
A1 is dead easy. If you stick to it, you could probably achieve at least B1 fluency in a year.
Practice speaking everyday, watch spanish television and study every day
Learn lots of vocabulary with flashcards--this will help you recognize words when you hear them in conversation or read them.
Listen to the radio and download Spanish songs with their lyrics.
Use the Practice Makes Perfect workbooks (amazon.com)
Find Pimsleur I, II, III, IV (not the quick version) This should be free to borrow at your local library.
Get a Skype tutor to practice speaking with a native speaker.
Hello, and welcome to the forum!
In regards to learning Spanish, you're in a very good place to start - this site has a great series of learning videos that take you through reading, speaking, listening and writing - and they're all free, as is the rest of this site. I haven't looked at other learning sites as such, but there are plenty of them around - Busuu.com and shortcuttospanish.com are worth a look, as is allfreespanish.com - it was set up by one of our users and it's very new right now, but it does look very good. As for listening, Youtube is surprisingly good as it has plenty of Spanish songs, dubbed films/TV shows and such. LoMasTv.com is also good for Spanish-language videos in varying difficulties, although I think you have to pay to subscribe. Hope this helps a little.
All of the responses to your post provide excellent advice. Do you have the opportunity to enroll in a Spanish class at a local school or university? That would be a good base to the learning process and sll the other suggestions could suplement your learning.
Follow the advice given above. Also tune in to radio programs on line to get familiar with the intonation.
Listening to Latin American Spanish is easier than that from Spain.
You can also check out www.nativespanishlearning.com to learn expressions that help you sound more like a native and move a bit away from the more formal textbook expressions.
Start with Basic greetings.
Them learn how to actually speak and structure the language. For instance: plural form,informal, informal, el, lo, las, la, conjugation... Remember that in Spanish, the noun goes BEFORE the adjective (The big house is "La casa grande" which basically means "The house big".... Seems like a handful but pick what you'd like to learn first (I'd recommend Grammar) and then learn what you've chosen. SpanishDict is a fantastic site to learn Spanish; when you don't get something, ask a question. You can use Yahoo! Answers too. Look at dictionaries, books, online translators, etc...
Be sure to learn colours, animals, food, other nouns. There are many iPhone/iPod/Android apps to help. (SpanishDict also has an app for Android and iPhone.
That's it from me!
Buena suerte! (Good luck)
Persistencia
I blogged about how I did it and the materials I used:
I want to learn Spanish, now what?
Some other things I did was take notes. Carry around a little pocket-sized notebook and write down new words you see or hear, and write down words or phrases you want to learn how to say in Spanish as you think of them.
Life can be busy, but you have to make time for Spanish. I literally changed my whole life to be able to learn Spanish. You don't have be that extreme, but make at least 5-10 mins a day (as much as you can, really).
Use podcasts, they're like mobile teachers that go with you everywhere and are avalilable 24/7.
Make Spanish speaking friends, this is really the best way.
Here's a few other links for you to take a look at:
Improving your conversation Spanish
Learning Spanish effectively can be an expensive proposition. If I had it to do all over again, I think I would just purchase Rosetta Stone Spanish and Barron's "Spanish Now" books. There are two, Spanish Now 1, and Spanish Now 2. Rosetta Stone is great, but you need some foundation in grammar, etc., for Rosetta Stone to be the most effective. I've tried both, and I think Rosetta Stone is far superior to Pimsleur, just due to its application of modern technology. Both are pretty-much founded on the same principles. Professor Pimsleur is now dead. The owners of Pimsleur Spanish have attempted to incorporate modern technology into the lessons he constructed long ago, but they have not been nearly so successful as Rosetta Stone in doing this. Once you become a little fluent, it doesn't hurt to eat at Spanish speaking restaurants and converse there as much as possible. Also listening to great Spanish speaking bands, like Maná, helps too, especially if you are a music lover.
You want to find a 100% comprehensible Spanish environment. By 100% comprehensible I mean -95% of the class is in Spanish and the Spanish you hear and see is comprehensible. This means you know the exact meaning/translation of every word you speak 100% of the time. -I've continuously heard that Rosetta Stone can be categorized as "sporadic". That means that you learn MANY vocabulary words, but are never really able to put them into use in complete sentences. You want to be able to learn the "chain" structures of the language like: wants to have -quiere tener, where do you find -¿dónde se puede encontrar?, at 5:00am- a las cinco de la mañana. Random vocabulary words will profit you little. But, "longer chain structures" or long phrases will profit you greatly. Find a company that offers lessons LIVE. The best environment to learn is with other people who are just as excited as you are about learning Spanish. This makes the process more fun, enjoyable, and valuable. It's good to get a group together. The best class sizes are 7 people +.
THINGS TO STAY AWAY FROM: -verb conjugations -memorization regurgitation -classes that teach about Spanish, and NOT "Spanish"
THINGS TO LOOK FOR: -conversational environment in Spanish -comprehensible conversation -repetition of structures (repetition is important for retention in long term memory) -immersion style environment -little writing and premature speaking and more listening, reading, and spontaneous output
You want a stress free and fun learning environment.
If you have any other questions please let me know!
Hi. I am Daniel from Spain. I speak Spanish. We can do an exchange. I am learning English. My Skype account is daniel.aguilar.martinez See you soon.
Verbling is a very good site.
It's a site where you can videochat (with or without a camera) to someone who wants to learn English (or any other language you may know) and that person can speak Spanish. I actually met my new friend from Chile on that site and we've been talking frequently
It's an excellent site and I strongly recommend it as that is a good way to practice your speech.
