Tips on how to self teach yourself?
Well i'm half puerto rican and i hate not knowing spanish. I know some, mostly simple stuff, but still i;m not clueless. I'm learning spanish in school but, my teacher is white and doesn;t know anythingit's pathetic. So how can i tech myself for free? I learn vocab sometimes. But what else can i do besides find words and memorize them? Does watching telemundo and stuff help? I liste to bachata and regaetton. BUt yah, anything else?
6 Answers
I'm kind of in the same boat as you. My Spanish teacher doesn't teach me anything, so I figured I was better off learning on my own. When I first started learning, I used websites like SpanishDict as well as the Pimsleur language program. I'm done with the program now, so what I do is listen to a lot of Spanish music. But not just listen, I also translate the lyrics. I know them well enough to where I can listen to the song and know everything they're saying in English. I believe this is helpful because each song teaches me new phrases and different ways to say things as well as sentence structure. I use lyricstranslate.com to help me with this. I also watch Telemundo and Univision from time to time. There is also this channel on YouTube that I like to watch called ClevverTeve. They talk about celebrity news and it's all in Spanish. It's easier for me to watch this because they're talking about stuff that I actually care about. I also have this practice book series called "Practice Makes Perfect" that I work in to help me with my writing. I don't know if any of this will help you, but this is just what I do. It has helped me a lot and I'm far more advanced than anyone in my Spanish class.
The videos on this site are very helpful for the grammar part. It sounds like you may have relatives in the previous generation that spoke Spanish so you can practice with them. You may even already be one step ahead by knowing the sounds of Spanish and the rhythm of the language. Listening and repeating is a great way to improve. Knowing grammar helps you understand how to put things together.
Under 'ask a question' on this page, there is a search box. Type in, "how can I learn Spanish?" and you will get a lot of threads of learners just like you that may have answers and links that will be helpful. There are many previous threads on this.
Glad you are making a start to connect to your roots. You may find you are closer than you think since you already realize you know more than that simple Spanish learned in school.
Start by reading and writing Spanish. Get a Spanish novel and copy it in Spanish to a notebook. That will get you going. Words that you don't know, look them up in the dictionary and notate them, then make sure you understand what's being said in Spanish and then read out loud while recording yourself, then listen to yourself and re-record trying to sound better, according to what you know of listening to other Spanish speaking friends or from TV.
If you don't understand, I'll be happy to explain it again. I am also available in Skype (chileno74)
One option that is a pretty good supplement to formal classroom instruction is the CD learning series called the Pimsleur Approach. These CD's are generally available at public libraries in the US. Just do a catalog search for Pimsleur. One advantage of this method, if you spend much time in a car, is that you can do the lessons while you are driving or even riding. I think this is much safer than checking your text messages.
Another way you can improve your vocabulary is by watching movies in English using Spanish subtitles. Set aside a time each day to practice flash cards. Each week watch your favorite movies, but read the subtitles to see how many words you recognize.
I spend a lot of time in my car and will try the Pimsleur Approach suggested by Kirk1. I google and found : Pimsleur $9.95 + Free S&H - Best Pimsleur offer ever, web: www.pimsleurapproach.com/
